Horezu

Horezu, a magic place. Horezu pottery and Horezu Monastery, places to visit in Romania.

Pottery is an ancient profession which implies a lot of force, ability and knowledge.  There is a whole process until a decorative plate is made. First of all the men bring home clay from special places only by them known and knead it with their hands or feet or with a big wooden hammer while mixing it with water. Then the clay is cleaned from any impurities and cut into slices. Only after this process the clay gets on the pottery wheel. The women are the ones who decorate the objects made of clay using specific techniques and instruments to draw traditional models.

In 2012 the Horezu pottery was introduced on UNESCO world heritage list due to the people’s skill and talent to combine shapes and colors in order to give birth to a unique type of ceramic. The colors used in Horezu pottery are lively ranging from dark brown, red, green and blue to the famous Horezu ivory.

In terms of ornaments a dominant symbol on Horezu pottery is the rooster followed by stars, snakes, double spiral, straight lines, wavy lines, leaves, the sun, the tree of life and the peacock tail.

In this area can also be found Horezu Monastery built by Constantin Brancoveanu in the 17th century. The monastery is built in the Romanian style of that century, Brancoveanu art which is distinguished by originality and the artistry of lines and colors. The monastery is the largest monastic ensemble in Romania and is situated in a picturesque place at the foothills of Capatanii Mountains where the silence is disturbed only by the song of the huhurez (a sort of owl with colorful feathers).  Here Brancoveanu founded the famous library which remained over time under the name of “The Library of Constantin Brancoveanu” and which currently includes more than 4,000 volumes.

It is said that the monastery which seems like a fortress was built mainly during the night because of the Turkish invaders. The night birds were singing and somehow covering the sounds made by the workers. It was often said that the Horezu Monastery architecture had as model the architecture of Curtea de Arges Monastery.

In 2005 in one of the monastery’s rooms stayed for three days Prince Charles who is fond of these lands in Romania.

Article: Andreea Andrei

Photo: Pure Romania

Enjoy below Horezu photos