A little bit of inspiration . . . 7 places to visit in Romania

7 wonders of Romania

The seven wonders of Romania – this is not a top, we don’t believe that someone could create a top with travel places because is always a matter of taste, of feelings and of inner world of the tourist. This is just a little part of a long list of Places to visit in Romania. 

Below you will see  some of the most interesting and the most spectacular places to visit in Romania, a part of the wonders of this fairy tale country. We chose for the instant 7 places but we will present others in the next articles.

1. Places to visit in Romania – The Happy Graveyard from Sapanta

The Happy Graveyard from Sapanta: it is famous for the colored crosses that are adorned with naif representations of the life and occupation of the deceased people buried there. On every cross there is also a simple poem with humoristic accents about the life of those people. It is believed that this graveyard has its origins in Dacian times. Nowadays there are over 800 crosses carved in oak wood, painted on both sides The Happy Graveyard from Sapanta is a unique outdoor museum in Europe.

Photo: Adrian Petrisor

2. Places to visit in Romania – Voronet Blue

Voronet Blue: Voronet Monastery is a medieval monastery in Romania built by Stephan the Great in 1488. Its frescoes are very interesting due to their shades of blue also known as “Voronet blue”. The Moldavian monastery it is also known as “the Sistine Chapel of the East”. The color was made after a secret recipe based on azurite. This specific color is also important because of the resistance that it confers to the frescoes against the weather influences. It is said that this shade of blue is identical to the color of the area’s sky during the grapes harvesting.

Photo:  Jordi Joan Fabrega

3. Places to visit in Romania – The Danube Delta

The Danube Delta: is the second largest river delta in Europe and the best preserved delta on the continent. It is part of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1991 and in 1998 it became a biosphere reserve. This Danube Delta is noted for the great variety as well as for the large populations of birds. Some of them are very rare. Many of those birds are migratory The Danube Delta hosts over 300 species of birds and 45 freshwater fish species in its lakes and marshes.

Photo:  fotografultau.ro

4. Places to visit in Romania – The Palace of Parliament

The Palace of Parliament: According to the World records Academy it is the world’s largest civilian building and the second largest building in the world after the Pentagon in America.  It is also named People’s House. Built in neoclassical style the Palace of the Parliament is the most expensive administrative building. In 2008 it hosted the 20th NATO Summit. It presently houses Romania’s Chamber of Deputies and Romania’s Senate.

Photo: George Ploaie

5. Places to visit in Romania – The Wind Cave

The Wind Cave: it is the largest cave in Romania with a length of 52 km. That makes it the longest limestone reservation labyrinths in South-Eastern Europe. It seems that the cave is not entirely discovered and explored because of its complex multi-leveled system. There are many passages that have never been discovered. Because there have not been made a proper mapping of the cave it is believed that its actual length reaches 70 km. The cave got its name because of the powerful draft that can be sensed at the entrance and the far corners of the cave. The average temperature in Wind Cave is 11.8 degrees Celsius. Nowadays only a small part of the cave can be visited and only with special equipment.

Photo: Szilágyi Palkó Pál

6. Places to visit in Romania – Scarisoara Cave

Scarisoara Cave: is the biggest ice cave in Romania. The cave is located at an altitude of 1165 meters. It is 105 meters deep and 720 meters long and a big part of it is open for visitation. The other part is a speleological reservation and is open only for scientists. The cave houses the oldest underground glacier in the world. The glacier is older than 4000 years. Some of the glacial formations melt during the summer, but they reappear during the winter. The flora of the cave is poor, but very interesting and rare due to its origins.

Photo: Adrian Parfenie

7. Places to visit in Romania – Sighisoara Citadel

Sighisoara Citadel: it is the oldest citadel still inhabited in Europe. “Transylvania’s Pearl” dates back since 1191. It was first mentioned in 1280 under the name Castrum Sex and then in 1598 under the German name Schespurch. The citadel’s walls protect the 164 houses first mentioned more than 300 years ago. Nowadays they are declared historical monuments. Here were found traces of habitations from Iron Age. The first settlement was meant to be a place of refuge. As a town it was a settlement of craftsmen organized in guilds. In the citadel is the Clock Tower, a tower that has on the top a golden globe which it is believed to be placed there by a giant.

Photo: Adrian Petrisor

Article: Andreea Andrei

In order to get far you must have the courage to begin the journey and the courage to keep going no matter what. I think that it goes the same way with happiness, the long lasting happiness. In order to get to it you must have the courage to start looking for it and really want to find it.

We, Pure Romania team and they, two young people from New York, both born in South Korea, have met with this thought about the happiness that lasts. They wanted a different wedding, a wedding organized in a special place, a wedding that could give them the chance to show their status of global citizens. In their opinion globalization should cancel the borders amplifying the cultural identity, the local atmosphere and the authentic magic of places. We wanted to relive authentic Romanian stories and succeed to bring through them inspiration. Actually, we all wanted a story. This is the reason why we have met – the desire of living an authentic story. And the desire was so great that helped us to find each other even though there were a few thousand kilometers between us.

In May 2014 we started to discuss about the possibility of organizing a traditional authentic wedding as was made long time ago in Romania. We chose a traditional village with beautiful people and a lot of stories. Furthermore this village from Arges named Corbi has a wonder – a church carved in a rock, old since Dacian times, Corbii de Piatra Church. We chose the costumes, we thought about the space design, we set the dishes that were to be served, we chose the music and we tried not to miss any detail.

On 2nd of September we organized the wedding. It was an exciting event for all those involved. Traditions old for hundreds of years were brought back to life in Corbi village. The villagers wore traditional costumes after more than 20 years, old songs resounded again, folk dances of the place were brought back to life and a suite of beautiful people dressed in traditional clothes climbed the path to Corbii din Piatra Church. We all lived a story, one that brought us closer to the essence of the Romanian people, actually closer to the essence of human nature, closer to the authentic things and their purpose in our life.

You can see the whole story and a series of videos here: http://www.pure-romania.com/south-korean-couple-living-new-york-traditional-wedding-romania/

When you believe in stories you get to live them and it is wonderful. You smile, you vibrate strongly, understand the things around you, all becomes mysterious, authentic, time stops and social values change.

We, Pure Romania team had the chance to organize a traditional wedding in order to realize who we are, which is the legacy that we, Romanians have from the people who gathered it on these blessed places (I cannot stop thinking that these places are often called “The Gardens of Virgin Mary”) and how big is the peace when you anchor yourself in the authentic.

There is also a sad part about the stories. They are quickly forgotten and the return to the daily noise is too sudden. We try to keep building stories. We want so much to keep alive the emotion in order to pass it on.

In the end I would like to highlight the idea that in this world each one of us has the duty to give and that the long lasting happiness exists when we get to give to others, when we are not alone. The traditional wedding from Corbi showed us clearly this aspect. All those involved, the villagers, the grooms and their families, the organizers were totally present and gave from their hearts creating an authentic story.

Put heart and soul into everything you do and that will take you further and above!

Article by  Alexandru Grigorescu

Photographer: fotografultau.ro

Organizer: Pure Romania