Chindiei Tower
Photo credit: (c) Cristian NISTOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE




Under Voivode Mircea the Elder, the first buildings of the Princely Court were erected — a residence and a church with a chapel.

A controversy persists over the Chindiei Tower. One version says it was built by Tepes’s father Vlad Dracul (1436-1448) around 1440. Another one dates it from Vlad Tepes second reign (he had three, in 1448, 1456-1462, and 1476).

Princely Court in Targoviste
Photo credit: (c) Mihai ALEXE / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

It evolved from a bell tower during the first half of 15th century to a sentry tower, refuge, and defence over the 15th and 16th century, then to clock tower in the 17th century; the later use gave its name.

Architect J. Schlatter of Vienna changed the tower’s features in the 19th century, when he restored it on a commission of ruling prince Gheorghe Bibescu (1840 — 1848).

It is a cylindrical brick building supported by a truncated pyramid based finished with wrought stone. It is 27 meters high, with an 8.5-meter diameter. Three wooden floors divide it inside; climbing is possible on a spiral stair to the top terrace bordered by crenels.

The tower is located inside the princely court of Targoviste, a complex of buildings and medieval fortifications used as residence by 33 Voivodes of Wallachia.

The tower now hosts an exhibition dedicated to the two Voivodes of the Draculesti family, Vlad ‘the Dragon’ and his son Tepes (the Impaler). ‘The Chindiei Tower of the Princely Court of Targoviste monumental complex is an emblem for Dambovita County locals; it’s the most visited tourist attraction in Targoviste. The number of visiting tourists was higher this year, more than 71,000, allowing us to hope for 140,000 by the end of the year,’ museum director Ovidiu Carstina told AGERPRES.

Several promotional items were created for the branding operation, including the Chindiei Tower chocolate and a ‘Voivodes’ wine’ marketed as Princeps Valachiae.

The first edition of the Dracula Medieval Festival was held at the Princely Court of Targoviste in 2014. It featured the re-enactment of the nighttime attack of Vlad Tepes on a Turks’ camp by 100 volunteers, stuntmen and actors, performing among the ruins.

Dracula Medieval Festival — 2014
Photo credit: (c) Cornelia DUMITRU / AGERPRES PHOTO

Local authorities voiced their satisfaction about the event held between June 13 and 16 and announced a second edition in 2015, to attract tourists to the town and the county. Several thousands of visitors attended over the four days of the festival, both in the court and in the Chindia Park. They could visit medieval craft shops, see a parade, shop at the Merchants at Citadel Gate fair, go to theatre and concerts, and witness the re-enactment of Tepes’s exploit.

The organizers want to turn the event into a hallmark of Targoviste.

‘I am happy about the first edition. (…) I want it to become a traditional festival to lead us where we want, that is to promoting tourism in Targoviste and Dambovita,’ said County Council Chairman Adrian Tutuianu.

Local authorities want as many events as possible organized at Chindiei Tower to attract tourists; in August and September, Kemal Basar will direct a performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet there — the same already seen during the medieval festival.

A sound sculpture show premiered at the tower in June; a Swedish artist created it using a multichannel audio system installed inside the tower to play sounds recorded at the polar circle, including snowdrops falling, rain, bells, and reindeer herds.

Last year, the Targoviste Municipal Council discussed the need for a town’s brand, and the Chindiei Tower was considered the best symbol for the purpose. AGERPRES

The Sphinx on plateau of Bucegi Mountains 
Photo credit: (c) Paul BUCIUTA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Monuments of nature, the Babele and the Sphinx in the Bucegi mountain range have been for long a source of legends and myths, sparking various explanations in the minds of people.

One legend regarding the Babele’s origin is the legend of Baba Dochia that says that Dochia was an old woman, who spiting her daughter-in-law sent her to the river to wash black wool until it turned white. With her hands bleeding, the young woman saw a magic flower falling in the river and turning the wool white. Seeing the flower, Baba Dochia mistakenly drove her sheep to the mountain believing spring had come and shed her numerous coats along the way, eventually freezing and turning to stone. Other explanations for the formations are that they are in fact the resting place of Dacian god Zamolxe, an energy field or earthly proof of an alien civilization.

It is said that the Bucegi Mountains are host to “areas of universal energy”, or more specifically areas of 1 square kilometer in which the body does not tire and is suddenly reinvigorated. Believers of this theory often wander in search of these areas in order to assimilate said energies. Dambovita County Mountain Rescue personnel, in June, were alerted by a group of 20 tourists that visited the Bucegi Mountains in search of these areas, but were surprised by thick fog and snowfall.

In reality, the Babele and the Sphinx are witnesses to a centuries-long process of erosion, powerful winds being responsible for their forming.

The Sphinx in Bucegi, which, according to unofficial sources, was first photographed in 1900 from the front, and not from the side, as the famous photographs now depict it, is situated at 2,216 meters altitude and resembles a human face. It earned its current name in 1936 when the rock, now 8 meters tall and 12 meters wide, was viewed from a specific angle.

“The rock, resembling a human face, looks toward the precession of equinoxes. Just as interesting is the fact that the Sphinx is contoured perfectly at dusk on December 21 [the Winter Solstice]. Some researchers believed it was carved by human hand and it represents a supreme divine figure of olden Indo-European tribes (N. Densusianu). Another curious thing is the observation made that the Sphinx in Bucegi is the same height as the Sphinx in Giza, Egypt (also resembling a human face), and is similar in appearance to a statue of Zeus found in Italy”, states hellodambovita.ro, a tourism website maintained by the Dambovita County Council.

The Babele, Bucegi Mountains 
Photo credit: (c) Paul BUCIUTA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Close to the Sphinx are the rock formations known as the Babele.

In keeping with the legends surrounding the Sphinx, they were also named the Caraiman Cyclopean Altars, dedicated to the Earth and the Sky, the Sun and the Moon, as well as to Mars, Roman god of war and agriculture. The legends regarding these rock formations are in constant development, bringing together reality with the supernatural. As such, several theories regarding their appearance have been developed, some researchers believing that water and wind were the main factors in their formation, while others do not exclude the possibility that they were shaped by human hand.

The two monuments at the moment are a matter of dispute due to their proximity to the County demarcation line between Prahova and Dambovita County. AGERPRES

Photographs by Angelo BREZOIANU / AGERPRES PHOTO

At the wisent reserve of Bucsani there are 48 wisents living in a pen that covers 162 hectares. The reserve is located less than 80 kilometers from Bucharest City.

The animals were given names starting with RO, the indicative of Romania: Rosia, the red-haired female; Rotunda, the round female; Rococo, Robokap, Romario, Romela, Rocarita, the rocker female, and Rosactu, the red-haired male. Born in June 1986, Rociu is the oldest one. At the end of last year, the reserve got bigger as five more wisents were born.

‘This is an oasis 8-10 km away from the commune of Bucsani, inside the Neagra Forest, hence the name of the reserve. It was established in 1978, and it is currently the largest breeding ground for wisents in Romania. There are 48 individuals in a pan in a reserve that covers 162 hectares. There is a visitor centre, a cottage and a landscaped area where guests can sit and drink water. I can tell you that on May 1 hundreds of hikers came to the reserve. Mornings and afternoons are the best times of the day to watch the wisents. In summertime, there are 20 to 30 hectares of pasture and the wisents seek food and shelter from the sun in the forest. October to March we bring them to the mill, where we place their food and they come and eat. Travellers here can see the wisents. Older individuals — their lifespan is 25-30 years — isolate themselves from the herd. Wisents are generally gregarious animals that gather in herds. The area of our reserve can accommodate about 30 individuals, but there are some orders for wisents from Vanator Neamt and we hope to deliver to other parks as well. In conclusion, I urge everyone to come to the wisent reserve for an unforgettable experience,’ head of the Dambovita Forestry Directorate Costel Preda told Agerpres.

At maturity, seven, eight years of age, a wisent male can weigh about a tonne, and a female around 600 kilograms. A wisent can live up to 28 years in captivity, with its lifespan reduced in the wild. Wisents feed in the early morning, after which they seek shelter in the upper third part of the slopes to ruminate. The best time to visit is in the morning, at 10:00hrs, when the wisents come for food supplements. In wintertime, the wisents can no longer fully feed by themselves, and here is where the reserve carers step in to help.

Wisents are gregarious animals, seemingly peaceful around humans and tolerant of other animals. However, they may be surprisingly aggressive with unpredictable outbursts, displaying great agility and nimbleness despite their bodily massiveness.

‘In the ancient forests of Romania, aurochs and wisents seemed to have coexisted. In those days, no one would mistake them, as any of them would be admired for their own skills. Then, in the 16th century, the aurochs vanished from Romania. In Western Europe, the wisents disappeared from the local fauna as back as the 11th century. They survived until later in Eastern Europe, with the last killed wisent being reported in 1927 in the Caucasus. Back then, there were only 50 wisents in captivity. The species was in great danger. Aurochs had disappeared as a distinct species 400 years previously and history seemed to have reserved the same fate to the wisents. Some say the confusion between aurochs and wisents has been going on for hundreds of years. Others, however, consider that on the contrary, aurochs and wisents are one and the same,’ reads a post on the official website of the Bucsani wisent reserve zimbrarianeagra.ro.

For 169 years, there were no wisents left in Romania. The last wisent of Moldavia was killed in 1762, and Transylvania’s last in 1970. The wisents reappeared in Romania in the autumn of 1958, when a male and a female were imported from Poland to a game park near the town of Hateg, Hunedoara County.

Tickets for the reserve cost 4 lei for adults and 2 lei for children. Tours are unlimited. Visitors who want to spend more than a day at the reserve have a nearby cabin to stay. AGERPRES

Photo credit: (c) Cornelia DUMITRU/ AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The centre was built in 1991, and two years later, it started operating under the auspices of the UNESCO — the National Commission of Romania. Located 20 kilometers from the city of Targoviste, the interfaith settlement of Vulcana Bai is a place of pilgrimage for Christians, Jews and Muslims. Access is from the national road DN 71 Targoviste — Sinaia, continuing west on County Road DJ 712 B.

The synagogue, mosque and church are built on three hills in an area called Braneasca of Vulcana Bai to stand for the world’s three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

Photo credit: (c) Cornelia DUMITRU / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

‘Church services are currently held at the Orthodox church only. The synagogue and mosque have remained only symbolic, but church services may be held if there are believers who want to come to pray here. The Orthodox church was declared monastery in 2000. It was founded on the highest hill and is larger than the other two churches, built in a traditional style in the form of a cross, with an open porch in the Brancovenesc style. The fresco paintings are by painter Emil Stoica of Sotanga, while the interior sculptures are made of linden wood by the Dobra family of Vulcana Bai. Some small relics of St. John the Baptist are kept inside the church that were donated by Patriarch Diodorus I of Jerusalem,’ says spokesman for the Targoviste Archbishopric Marian Puiescu.

Judaism at the International Ecumenical Centre is represented by a Hebrew synagogue. The building is a simple one fitted with 12 windows representing the 12 tribes of Israel. There is also the Star of David and a seven-arm menorah.

The mosque at the International Ecumenical Centre is different from the other buildings in that it faces towards Mecca, instead of the East.

Helping with the construction of these houses of worship were a Christian called Ion Popescu, two Hebrews, brothers Rubi and Michael Zimmerman, and a Muslim family, Leila and Omar Akill.

‘The International Ecumenical Centre is not intended to be a parliament of religious denominations, or some religious authority, and it has not set to create a fusion between the denominations or to practice religious syncretism. It is simply designed to impart knowledge, to achieve rapprochement and understanding that ultimately determine vivid, dynamic and harmonious collaboration between ethnicities and religions,’ reads a description posted on the website of the Vulcana Bai’s Mayor’s Office vulcanabai.ro.

Photo credit: (c) Cornelia DUMITRU / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

At the Ecumenical Centre in Vulcana Bai, tourists come from all over the world, especially on weekends. They may pause for prayer and relax watching the unspoiled beauty of the place. Entrance to the centre is free. AGERPRES

Photo credit: www.crestinortodox.ro

It was dug by the Horoaba Stream, a tributary of the Ialomita River, in Late Jurassic, in the limestone of the southeastern ridge of Mt. Batrana. It is still one of the tourist landmarks of Mt. Bucegi and even Romania.

Photo credit:ontheroad.ro

The cave has always been a tourist attraction. The first bibliographic record of it dates back to 1793, in a book on Transylvanian caves by I. Kleinlauf. In 1897, it was considered the largest underground cave in the Romanian Principalities. In 1953, a detailed plan of it was drawn up by a team led by Mihai Serban and Iosif Viehman and published in 1974 in the bulletin of the Emil Racovita Speleology Club.

The Ialomitei Cave has both galleries and halls, and its unfoldment is mixed going on for about 480 m on a single level, of which 400 m are accessible to tourists to the point called Altar, followed upstream by a portion of another 80 m, galleries and halls. Among the halls, there are the Mihnea Voda, Decebal, St. Mary, At Crossroads, At the Altar halls, the Hidden Grotto and the Bear Grotto, where skeletons of cave bears were found.

Photo credit: www.crestinortodox.ro

Upon entering the Ialomitei Cave, visitors are greeted by the Ialomitei Monastery, dedicated to Saint Apostles Peter and Paul, built in the sixteenth century, by ruler of Wallachia Mihnea Voda the Evil. Legend has it that the ruler took shelter here for a while, on his way to exile in Transylvania (1510) and founded this place of worship to thank God for having escaped the Ottomans. The monastery burned down several times (four times in four hundred years), but it was rebuilt each time and a wing of monk cells was added, which cornerstone was laid by Archbishop Vasile Costin of Targoviste in 1993. The story of the monastery goes back in time to ancient times, with legend having it that St. Andrew himself, the founder of the Romanian Orthodox faith, took shelter here for a time.

Entrance to the cave is above an old cemetery of the local monks that lived here centuries ago. The gravestone on one of the tombs is always hot. Dowsers have found the place imbued with energy, but they cannot tell the nature of the energy or what generates the vibrations detected inside the cave.

The semi-elliptical mouth of the cave opens to a horizontal terrace 18 m above the valley floor. The first hall of the cave called Mihnea Voda is 115 meters long, 15 metres wide and 10-25 meters high. Before 1924, the Pesterii River would flow through the cave. Today, the river goes underground before reaching the grotto and flows far below into the Ialomita.

Photo credit: magiamuntelui.blogspot.ro

Next is the Passage Gallery, 20 meters long and 1-8m wide. At the entrance to this gallery there is a metal gate, beyond which unguided access is forbidden. It is a wide corridor 1-2 m wide and 1.5 — 2 m high that leads to the dome-shaped Decebal Halls, which open to several galleries, including the St. Mary Grotto thus named because of the likeness of its stalagmites with a statute of the Virgin Mary.

St. Mary Grotto
Photo credit: magiamuntelui.blogspot.ro

The largest and most spectacular part of the cave is the Bears’ Hall, devoid of water and having a rocky soil. When it was discovered, bones were found in the soil proving that about 10,000 years before, this was probably the last refuge of Ursus Spelacus Blum cave bear. From the Bears’ Hall, a 2-m high gallery opens up to the Bottom of the Cave, which once contained columns joining the roof to the soil. Next is the Water Gallery that runs to the Altar.

Grotă în Peștera Ialomiței
Foto: magiamuntelui.blogspot.ro

Legend has it that the Altar was used by monks in ancient times for religious services. The positioning of the stalactites creates the illusion of a church altar. A cave stream called the ‘fountain of living water’ that is said to be Dacian holy water without bacteria or nitrates flows here. It is assumed that the underground spring flows over massive silver deposits that give the water maximum purity, while scientists argue purity is due to geo-magnetic anomalies. Also here there is a wish-fulfilling rock about which legend has it that it was given by god Zamolxe to humans.

As far as the local fauna is concerned, there are representatives of almost all groups of fauna living in Romania’s caves, notably a species of troglomorphic coleopterans, Duvalius (Duvaliotes) procerus, which spreads outside to the mountains around Brasov.

Air temperature in galleries ranges between 9 to 12 ° C, and humidity is 85 — 100%.

The cave has wooden walkways and stairs, and it is partially electrified. It is open to visitors all year long in guided tours. AGERPRES

Photo credit: (c) Cristian NISTOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The legend says that Vlad the Impaler tried to punish several Turkish soldiers who had dared to set foot on Romanian territory by putting them in brine. The Ottoman troops have been kept prisoners in the salty waters of the lake for an entire week, and when Vlad Tepes ordered his soldiers to impale them in the forest nearby the lake, according to the costume, the Turks resisted unexpectedly well to the torture. This showed that the brine treatment has strengthened the Ottoman troops and since then, the Prince ordered his troops to heal their battle-stricken horses in the lake’s waters.

The Salt Lake resort is located in the Chiscani rural town, only 5 km from the Braila municipality, with a tram line built as early as 1900 and a bus line being permanently available.

The lake, formed on an old Danube river course, which is now completely isolated, is surrounded by 70 forest hectares that mitigate the steppe climate. The water depth varies between 0.6 and 1.80 meters, and the bottom of the lake is entirely covered by healing sludge highly mineralized. The lake stretches on an area of 1.72 square km; due to the high content of iodine, caused by the anaerobic digestion of invertebrate species (artemia salinas), the resulted sludge alleviates dozens of diseases, for which reason sick people from all over the world have been visiting this place to get treated.

The therapeutic properties of the Salt Lake water and sludge have been highlighted as early as 1879. I. C. Apostolescu, in his work ‘The Salt Lake Baths’ released in 1884, wrote about a patient who was unable to get out of the carriage when arriving to the resort, and after about 15 baths, he managed to take long walks on foot.

It’s said that one of the country’s most values types of sapropelic mud and waters with the highest salt contents are found here, proved by the fact that the majority of patients are in a better health condition at the end of their spa treatment. After a stay at the Salt Lake resort, Nicolae Iorga wrote about “the picturesque location and ancient park stretching far away, with narrow alleys and thickets filled with charming mystery on summer nights.”

A century ago, the resort was known in Romania and in Europe as one of Romania’s luxury resorts, visited by the country’s aristocracy. In 1875, the spa complex included rooms for cold and hot baths, freshwater showers, individual or shared baths, “hydrotherapy, physiotherapy cabinets, massage rooms, electric baths and midwife for gynecological treatments.” In late 19th century, the resort could boast a modern casino, an English park where a fanfare used to sing, a room for “bowling and croquet”, chic villas such as the Royal Villa, Popescu Villa, Nisipianu Villa, and modern restaurants such as Untaru and Cazacu.

The spa complex includes its own treatment unit equipped with basin for hydro-kinetotherapy, sauna and gymnastics room, sun and mud baths facilities. The resort can receive up to 250 patients and is open the entire year.

Access to the private beach costs 5.5 lei for adults and 2.5 lei for children; a chaise-longue can be rented for 9 lei.

Tourists can also rent one of the 23 wooden little houses, with 2 beds, for 45 lei per night.

The resort also offers therapy for the tourist’ souls, as it hosts the Lacu Sarat Monastery dedicated to Saint Pantaleon. The Maramures-style wooden monastery was built in 1996, at the initiative of the Lower Danube Archdiocese, being an oasis of tranquility and greenery for the patients of the spa complex.

The lake contains significant reserves of sapropelic mud and hypertonic mineral water, with sulfur, chlorine, magnesium and bromine compounds, mineralization of 70-84 grams per liter. Patients come here to be treated for degenerative rheumatic diseases, inflammatory diseases, gynecological, dermatological, endocrine diseases, peripheral nervous system diseases, post-traumatic disorder, respiratory affections.

The main natural curing factors of the resort are: the lake’s water with high contents of sulfate, chloride, sodium, magnesium, a mineralization of 83.955 mg/liter, sapropelic mud that contains 41 percent mineral substances and 39 percent organic substances rich in hydrogen sulfide.

Patients have available procedures for the following groups of diseases: degenerative rheumatic disorders — cervical, dorsal and lumbar spondylosis, arthrosis and polyarthrosis; inflammatory rheumatic diseases; abarticulaire rheumatic diseases — tendonitis, periarthritis; post-traumatic disorders — traumatic joint stiffness, recovery after immobilization in a cast, after surgeries on muscles, joints and bones, twists and sprains; skin damage — some forms of psoriasis, neurodermatitis; peripheral neurological diseases; gynecological diseases — ovarian failure, chronic cervicitis; endocrine diseases; musculoskeletal impairments — rheumatic, inflammatory, post-traumatic after fractures, strains, sprains.

Among the procedures used to treat these diseases, there are: hot baths with sulfur water, warm mud body wraps, galvanic baths, heat therapy, aerosols, electrotherapy with low, medium and high tension frequency, with shortwave and ultrasounds, laser therapy, procedures with low frequency magnetic fields, massage therapy, physiotherapy and medical gymnastics.

In recent years, Lacu Sarat has experienced two extreme phenomena: in the summer of 2009, 90 percent of its surface dried, and since 2010 it turns into a natural ice rink every winter.

According to the manager of the treatment unit and beach in Lacu Sarat, Ion Tanase, the curative properties of the lake are the same also during drought periods, because in the areas where water withdraws, the salt forms a crust that protects the mud layer. “The lake is fed by the underground waters and totally depends upon their condition. It’s similar to fountains, they have water when the ground water rises and they run out of water when the ground water decreases. In 1947, it dried up completely, but the lake returned to its initial water level afterwards,” Ion Tanase said.

The elderly claim they heard about an alleged spring of the lake that if cleared of obstructions, it would allow the return to the lake’s initial water level.

However, SC Traian SA Director Sorin Bosneag argues that this is only a legend, there is no spring, the lake being fed only by the region-based ground water, which is currently very low.

He explained that the lake cannot be fed with water brought from elsewhere because the salt of the lake is a mineral deposit that has to be surrounded by anaerobic environment and have minimum 50 cm of water, in order to preserve its qualities. “If we got water from any other source, either industrial, from the Danube or elsewhere, we would damage the qualities of the lake, we would knowingly kill those little worms in the water,” said Bosneag.

Another phenomenon facing the Salt Lake in recent years is frost, with the ice layer on the lake measuring over 10 cm, although water has a salinity of 300 grams per liter.

Sorin Bosneag told AGERPRES the employees of the Braila-based complex are forced to clasp the healing mud, because there are many patients who cannot interrupt their treatment.

In 2008, the Chiscani Town Hall sued SC “Unita Turism” SA, the company that operates the Salt Lake beach and the therapeutic mud, requesting the collection of taxes and fees, because the Salt Lake resorts would belong to the rural town.

The Braila City Hall was called party to the suit, for SC “Unita Turism” to be given back the money paid to the municipality, if the Chiscani Town Hall was granted a favourable ruling.

After several terms and adjournments, the Galati Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Chiscani Town Hall, but the Braila City Hall and SC “Unita Turism” appealed and in April 2014 they got a final favorable ruling issued by the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

Braila Mayor Aurel Simionescu told AGERPRES that a map of Braila dating from 1968 he managed to obtain following repeated requests to the Government, has played a vital role in winning the suit. “I managed to obtain the original map that shows clearly that the resort is part of Braila’s administrative territory. So far, there have been no copies of the 1968 map in Braila. Before the adoption of Law no. 2 in 1968, there have been various proposals. According to one of these, the territory of Braila municipality should not go beyond the belt highway, what’s beyond this line should belong to Chiscani. But this was just a proposal. According to the original map, the resort belongs to Braila municipality,” Simionescu said.

Modernization works on the resort could have started as early as 2010, when the Government allocated 570,000 lei for investments, but the money remained stuck at the Treasury due to the suit pending before the Court.

No funds have been invested in the resort over the past 20 years, and the state of degradation has become more and more visible. There are no chaises longues on the beach, access bridges to the lake, hot water showers, the solarium was also destroyed. The Braila City Hall has finally managed this year to set up the access paths to the beach.

According to Aurel Simionescu, the resort will undergo capital repairs as of next year, with three million lei to be invested in this project by the County Council, the Braila City Hall and the Center for Information and Documentation, all three administrative units being part of the Lacu Sarat Inter-community Development Association.

The Braila County Council also seeks to develop here in cooperation with the Braila County Hospital a pilot project to treat infertility. Within the project, a group of women who want to become mothers will be treated with salt baths and sapropelic mud. An example in this regard is the Baile Sovata resort in Mures county visited annually by hundreds of women facing sterility problems and other gynecological diseases, the rate of success of this type of treatment being of 45 percent.

The Lacu Sarat treatment complex in Braila is one of the most popular spa resorts in Romania, director of the Braila County Pension House, Sorin Enache told AGERPRES.

Despite the lack of investments over the last 20 years, the resort continues to be visited each year by hundreds of tourists who are only interested in the healing properties of the sapropelic mud.AGERPRES

Sangeorz-Bai Spa Complex
Photo credit: (c) Tina TUCUI / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

In the meantime, the absence of substantial investment in the tourist accommodation infrastructure has led to a decrease in the number of tourists at Sangeorz from one year to the other. Yet the Baile Figa spa, opened on a European investment four years ago near the town of Beclean, 40 km away from the county capital, has caught up with it.

* The town of Sangeorz-Bai became a spa town in the 17th century. It possesses sparkling mineral water springs rich in chloride, sodium, calcium and magnesium, as well as mineral mud and mofette.

The Sangeorz-Bai mineral water is said to rival in properties the springs of Vichy (France) and Karlovy Vary (the Czech Republic), and it is in high demand for treating digestive tract diseases, hepato-biliary diseases, nutritional and metabolic diseases, as well as rheumatic diseases. The spa is equipped with electrotherapy and hydrotherapy installations for inhalations, warm mineral mud wraps, paraffin wraps, medical gymnastics and fitness halls.

Sangeorz-Bai’s fame as a holiday destination is proved by the existence of two local hotels of 900 places and 600 places, respectively. Only some decades ago, they would be full to capacity and they were the picture postcard examples for the tourists that would come here for treatment or relaxation.

Besides the two hotels, guesthouses and villas have also been built, but the number of tourists here has plummeted so much that in wintertime the two big hotels either barely operate or place their employees on short work.

The town’s mayor, Roland Venig, says the number of tourists barely stays below 5,000 a year, most of whom are pensioners coming on treatment tickets and students spending their summer holiday at the Sangeorz-Bai camp, the only operational camp in the entire county. That is why the local administration barely collects anything of the accommodation taxes, because pensioners and students are exempt from such tax.

The Sangeorz-Bai Mayoralty has nevertheless got European funds to rehabilitate the town’s support infrastructure for the development and improvement of tourist activities under a project jointly conducted with the town of Turda, Cluj County, that was completed in 2012. Ten streets leading to the town’s landmarks were modernised, along with the alleys in the spa’s park and related parking lots and street furniture, while water supply and sewage works as well as public lighting were improved.

* Whereas the current owners of the hotels at Sangeorz-Bai have no intention of investing the necessary amounts in restarting health tourism there, at Figa, administratively belonging to the town of Beclean, a spa resort came into existence that manages to attract 25 times more tourists than Sangeorz-Bai does. The Figa spa resort was established under a regional infrastructure project for economic and social cohesion, the PHARE 2004-2006 programme, alongside the spa resorts of Baile Cojocna and Ocna Dej of Cluj County. The overall objective of the project was improving regional infrastructure for economic growth by establishing a favourable framework that would attract local and foreign investors.



Opening of Figa spa resort
Photo credit: (c) Tina TUCUI / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The Figa investment, five km away from the town of Beclean, opened in June 2010. The design of Baile Figa cost nearly 1.9 million euros, one million euros of which were European funds, and the construction works comprised sport fields, therapy centres, camping lots, saltwater and freshwater swimming pools, a mud pool, an indoor swimming pool, playgrounds for children, access ways and pedestrian alleys. The tourist potential of the spa includes therapeutic water springs rich in chlorine and sodium and saltwater mud, which is particularly efficient in treating peripheral nervous system disorders, diseases of the locomotor apparatus and female genitalia.

In the autumn of 2010, preparations started for the construction of a small aqualand with three water toboggans, a project that qualified for 500,000 euros in European funds and that was completed in two years’ time. When the summer season 2011 started, the spa added a new saltwater lake to its offerings, which maximum depth is four metres, and a leisure ground called the Lazy River, a place where tourists can relax on floats.

Photo credit: (c) Tina TUCUI / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Tourists coming to Baile Figa this year will be met with new surprises. Beclean Mayor Nicolae Moldovan says a new 500-sq.m. lake has been created, salinity of the existing saltwater swimming pools has been increased, the beach area has been extended by 500 chaise-longues to the previously existing 1,500, new rest rooms have been created and more shower stalls.

Moreover, tourist accommodation is said to no longer be a problem. While in the beginning, the only accommodation facilities were the hotels and guesthouses of Beclean, four years later now cabins, guesthouses and a camping lot have sprung up, all private investments.

Some 1,000 accommodation places are thus secured, says Mayor Moldovan, adding that still the number of people arriving at Baile Figa, both local and tourists, is 130,000 a year.

Photo credit: (c) Tina TUCUI / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Close to the Baile Figa spa complex covering 15 hectares, a 3,000-year-old abandoned salt mine has been discovered. The area is located in a depression crossed by the Paraul Sarat stream, on which banks many traces of decommissioned salt mining settlements were found. Diggings have unearthed special wood implements used for mining salt, stone mining hammers, wood fences and structures and a well in the entrance area of the salt mine flanked by overlapping massive beams, most likely dating back to the second period of the Iron Age. The local archaeological site is currently considered to be the oldest and most important saliferous site in South-Eastern Europe, and efforts are being made to capitalise on it, including for tourist purposes. AGERPRES

Photo credit: (c) Leontin CUPAR/ AGERPRES ARCHIVE

It is Romania’s second largest national park and in administrative terms, it stretches across the Bistrita-Nasaud and Maramures counties. It is also one of Romania’s three biosphere reserves, alongside the Retezat National Park and the Danube Delta.

The Rodna Mountains National Park is located in the north of the Eastern Carpathians, incorporating just a part of the Rodna Mts. chain. It covers more than 47,000 hectares, with 80 percent of the area lying in the Bistrita-Nasaud County. The only settlement inside the national park is the Valea Vinului (Wine Valley) village of the Bistrita commune of Rodna, plus seven hectares of the built-up area of the Borsa town — Maramures County.

The national park was established in 1932 through the Order of the Council of Ministers No. 1949/1932, reconfirmed by Law No. 5/2000, and is considered a protected area of national and international interest, classified in IUCN category II: National Park — biosphere reserve.

The Rodna Mountains have always attracted researchers concerned about the protection of nature, flora and wildlife. Thus, in 1932, 183 hectares of dwarf vegetation alpine strip in the area of the Pietrosu Mare Peak (2,303 m high) were declared scientific reserve, the first of its kind in Romania. The importance of the area, as well as its beauty were the driving force for the subsequent expansion of the surface to 3,300 hectares.

There are currently four scientific reserves within the boundaries of the Rodna Mountains National Park (Pietrosu Mare — 3,547.6 hectares; Piatra Rea — 291 hectares; Corongis — 614.9 hectares; and Bila-Lala — 1,318.2 hectares), completed by six natural reserves: the Cave and Iza’s Blue intermittent spring (100 hectares), Izvoarele Mihaiesei (61 hectares), the Valea Cormaia reserve (50 hectares), the Daffodil Meadow in the Saca Massif (7.8 hectares), the Cobasel Cave (one hectare) and the nature reserve Izvorul Batrana (0.5 hectares).



The Horses’ Waterfall, of glacial origin, located in Rodna Mountains, near to the Borsa Complex Resort, has a total height of 100 m
Photo credit: (c) Bogdan BARBULESCU/ AGERPRES ARCHIVE

A landmark in the evolution of the protected area in the Rodna Mountains is considered to be the award of the most important status, that of biosphere reserve, to a surface of 3,300 hectares, declared as such in 1979 in Paris, by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization — “Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB).

In 2007 the park was designated a NATURA 2000 site (SCI — Site of Community Importance, and SPA — Special Protected Area) on a surface of 47,975 hectares which includes both the 47,177 hectares of the national park and the 1,576 hectare ice cauldron Gagi, in the east.

Over 2,300 hectares of the Rodna Mountains National Park represent a strictly protected area due to stretches of high scientific importance which include pristine areas with extremely sparse human intervention. Except for research, education and ecotourism, all human activities, including those related to the exploitation of natural resources are prohibited here.

A specific feature of the Rodna Mountains landscape are the lakes which, by genesis, fall into the category of glacial lakes formed in the valleys of former Quaternary glaciers. Some of the major glacial lakes in the Rodna Mountains are Lala Mare, Lala Mica, Iezer, the Buhaescu, Repedea, Negoiescu and Stiol chain of lakes. Caves are also richly represented here, with researchers mentioning about 80 caves and sinkholes, the most notable of which are the Cobasel Cave (570 meters long); Grota Zanelor /the Fairies Grotto (4,269 meters), Baia lui Schneider/Schneider’s mine (791 meters), Iza’s Blue Spring Cave (2,500 meters). The Tausoare Cave which, with its 20 kilometres is the longest in the Eastern Carpathians, also stretches in the vicinity of the national park.

The flora of the Rodna Mountains National Park has attracted researchers from the country and abroad ever since the end of the eighteenth century. This is home to rare species protected by law and glacial relicts. Alone the erudite botanist Florian Porcius, who lent his name to the secondary school in the Rodna commune, has identified over 800 mountain flower species on the Transylvanian slope of the Rodna Mountains. Among the species that can be seen in this national park are the alpine willow, the bicolor willow, the edelweiss, the mountain peony, the spotted gentian, the willow gentian, the angelica, the red vanilla orchid, or the yew.

This is also where Juncus castaneus, or the chestnut rush — an aquatic herbaceous swamp plant, to be also be found in Alaska or Greenland — grows. Of a particular beauty are the forests of the national park, covering almost 28,000 hectares and consisting of beech, spruce and fir trees, while at altitudes above 1,600 meters, the juniper shrubberies creep towards the loftier areas of the massif.

The biggest attraction for the tourists coming to the Rodna Mountains National Park in May is the daffodil meadow on the Saca Mountain. Spanning 7.8 hectares, this natural reserve lies at an altitude of 1,600 meters and access to the area from Valea Vinlului is possible via two routes that can be covered in about three hours.

The daffodil meadow in the Saca massif lies at a higher altitude than any other reserve of its kind in the country; other plants to be found here are the endemic Lychnis nivalis — or the ‘Multicolored candle’ in the local idiom, Heracleum carpaticum — called by the locals the ‘Earth cross’, and other rare species.

Thanks to the ecosystem diversity, the park boasts a varied fauna too. The “Monograph of the Rodna Mountains National Park” published in 2011 by the park’s administration states that about 3,000 species of animals live here, many of the invertebrate groups being still unexplored. The rivers are rich in trout, grayling and minnow; soaking the sun up the mountain are lizards (relict species), while the agile chamois, stags or marmots are a quite frequent sight. The forests of the park accommodate boars, wolves and bears, martens and lynxes, while large-size species like the birch rooster, the mountain rooster or the golden eagle are representative of the winged creatures’ category. Hunting and fishing are prohibited in the Rodna Mountains National Park with a view to protecting the fish and wildlife resources. AGERPRES

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES PHOTO

After years of restoration, “the other capital” (nickname for the city of Alba Iulia, the city where the Grand Union of Romania was accomplished) offers tourists a totally unconventional history lesson, one that they live through, together with characters such as the soldiers dressed in Austrian uniforms dating back to the first half of the 18th century, when the citadel was constructed in Alba Iulia. Local authorities claim that in Alba Iulia, in the heart of the city, the Alba Carolina citadel is “reliving its glory years” and that “traveling back to that time” is possible.

If in past years tourists would stop only for a few hours in Alba Iulia, on the road towards Cluj Napoca and Sibiu, currently, more and more tourists, fascinated by the fortress, take a longer time to visit the Alba Carolina citadel and attend the various events organized here, such as the changing of the guard ceremony, that takes place daily, or the gun salute ceremony organized every Saturday in the tourist season.

In Alba Carolina, most anywhere you may stumble upon a “Habsburg soldier”, member of an “army” composed of an infantry corps, an artillery corps and a cavalry corps. The soldiers of the Guard of the Alba Carolina Citadel are among the main attractions of the fortress, not only children, but also adults flocking to take a picture with the ‘men-at-arms’.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES PHOTO

Tourists cannot leave until they pose for a picture with the bronze soldiers placed in several locations inside the citadel, and other bronze characters — the Lady and the Knight, a florist, city folk, or the Philosopher. They can find accommodation inside the citadel in the only five-star hotel in Alba Iulia, the result of an investment worth over four million euro, housed inside the first building built by the Austrians in the Vauban-type fortification, that had a military purpose for around three centuries.

The Medieval Hotel, named so because the ground floor rooms, of the Saxon Bastion, are from the medieval period, is host to spacious rooms, each with a living room, hallway and large bathrooms, all with natural ventilation. The roof of the restaurant in the Royal Hall is supported by massive wood beams nearly three centuries old. Tourists from all around the world have spent some time accommodated here, coming from countries such as England, Croatia, France, Switzerland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Hungary, Turkey, but also Israel, China, Canada and the United States.

The building, initially host to the military foodstuff storehouse, was constructed between 1714-1715. It was used as a military storehouse by the Austrian army for two centuries, and later on was used by the Romanian army.

The Medieval Hotel architectural ensemble is also host to the Sightseeing Hall, the Hall of the Roman Vestiges, the Knights Templars’ Hall, as well as the Capitulum Hall.

The Alba Iulia fortress holds immense tourist potential through the large number of historical, cultural, natural, and man-made points of interest found within the site, with a potential to constantly attract Romanian and foreign tourists year-round.

Raised during the Habsburg rule over Transylvania, between 1714 — 1738, using the plans drawn up by Italian architect Giovanni Morando Visconti, the citadel, which occupies over 100 hectares of land, has seven bastions — Eugene of Savoy, Saint Stephen, The Trinity, Saint Michael, Saint Charles, Saint Capistrano and Saint Elizabeth.

It was supposed to become the main fortification in Transylvania, being built using the latest methods of construction of those times, inspired by the systems conceived by Marshal Vauban, the French military architect. The fortification had a dual role of keeping at bay potential Turk incursions, and of consolidating Habsburg rule in the occupied territories.

The bastionary citadel is defended by three systems of fortifications. It is shaped as an irregular heptagon, the seven bastions portraying it as a 7-point star, image characteristic for citadels of this type.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES PHOTO

Entry into the citadel can be done through one of the six highly-ornate gates, showing bas-relief decorations. Three of the gates lead to the city, while three led to the training grounds. Of the six gates, which were true architectural monuments, part of the defensive construction ensemble of the citadel, only Gates I, III and IV were kept in their original state.

The gates were subject, in last years, to ample restoration works, one of the gates being practically rebuilt.

The most imposing of the six gates, Gate III, where Horea, one of the leaders of the 1784 revolt, was imprisoned, was restored to public use after more than a decade of restoration works, begun in 1998 and costing around 3.3 million lei, expenses covered by the Culture Ministry of Romania.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES PHOTO

In order for the restoration to be complete, the wooden draw bridge was also reconstructed, a replica of the one used in the medieval times. The last documentary reference to the old draw bridge dates back to 1849, from the time of the siege of Alba Iulia during the 1848 revolution. It is not known under which conditions the old draw bridge was removed and the moat filled with earth. In order to reconstruct the bridge, the architects in Alba Iulia have studied the citadel’s plans, housed in an archive in Vienna, as well as accounts of how the bridge would be crossed during peace time or war.

Situated between the bastions named Eugene of Savoy and Saint Capistrano, Gate III is composed of four columns and eight smaller pillars that hold, through their powerful arches, the pedestal upon which the equestrian statue of Charles IV, the Austrian emperor at the time of the citadel’s construction..

Gate I, that faces eastwardly, houses four impressive bas-reliefs depicting scenes from Roman and Greek mythology, and was the first to be restored completely, the works ending in December of 2006.

Photo credit: (c) Angelo BREZOIANU / AGERPRES PHOTO

One year later, after a lengthy restoration process that took several years, Gate IV was restored to public use. It is situated on the citadel’s western side, between the bastions of The Trinity and Saint Michael, being the only one on the western side of the citadel that is decorated in the baroque style. It is decorated only on the interior side, where a narrow opening flanked by telamon columns appears.

The gate was utilized efficiently by the Austrian army. As such, the upper levels would house military personnel, occasionally even reprimanded officers. Underneath, in the citadel’s earthwork, the sentry posts were placed.

Five years ago, Gate II was reconstructed, placed in the second line of defenses, in the upper part of an uphill pathway. Destroyed in the interwar period, in 1937, during the construction work associated with the raising of the Obelisk of Horea, Closca and Crisan (the three leaders of the 1784 revolt), Gate II’s only remnants were some side pillars and a few hinges. As such, until the reconstruction, many Alba Iulia residents did not know exactly where it was situated. The gate itself was reconstructed on the basis of photographs and sketches kept in Vienna. In what regards the decorations, namely two telamon pillars and the lions that crowned the pillars, the original statues were used, as they were kept for all this time at the National Union Museum and in the courtyard of a nearby military unit.

Situated in the south-west corner of the Saint Michael bastion and partially demolished in 1921, during construction work for the Nation’s Unity Cathedral, Gate V is one of the secondary entrances, situated in the western part of the citadel. Its architecture is simple, with little decorations.

Gate VI was included in the project to reconstruct the western defense wall, destroyed in 1921, occasion on which the Royal Road was reconstructed as well, the latter being the road taken by King Ferdinand on the way to his coronation in 1922.

Recently restored for public use, Gate VII was dedicated solely to troop movement, being situated on the southern side of the citadel. During the besieging of the citadel by Hungarian troops in 1848-1849, it was walled off.

The City Gates Tour is the most important tourist tour, and due to their placement on a single axis, from east to west, offers easy and unhindered access. The tours of the city focus on the main historical points of interest and monuments.

Photo credit: (c) Angelo BREZOIANU / AGERPRES PHOTO

As such, the Tour of the three fortifications offers tourists the possibility to see vestiges from three different time periods, built successively in the same spot, each new citadel comprising the older one — the Roman castrum of Apulum (106 AD), the medieval citadel (16th-17th century), the Alba Carolina citadel (18th century). Included in the “Beautiful Romania” project, initiated by the United Nations Development Programme and the Ministry of Culture, the Tour of the three fortifications project was inaugurated seven years ago. The tour also crosses underneath the southern gate of the Roman castrum (fortress), Gate Principalis Dextra, also largely restored, the only gate still standing of the four of the ancient Roman castrum.

Another tour is the one dedicated to the Nation’s Heroes, an homage brought to the leaders of the Transylvanian Revolt of 1784. The tour starts in front of Gate III, where the Obelisk of Horea, Closca and Crisan, a monument built by public donation, is situated. The monument, the joint work of architect Octavian Mihaltan and sculptor Iosif Fekete was inaugurated on October 14, 1937, in the presence of King Charles II and of Michael, future king, then Voivode of Alba Iulia.

Photo credit: (c) Angelo BREZOIANU / AGERPRES PHOTO

Situated near Gate III, the granite monument measures 22 meters at its pinnacle. Its prismatic step base features a narrow opening from east to west that shows granite plaques with the names of the three heroes inscribed. The monument’s eastern side is adorned by a depiction of a winged Victory, holding a laurel wreath. The tour continues with the cell in which, according to legend, leader Horea was imprisoned by the Austrian authorities, it being situated underneath the pedestal of Charles VI’s equestrian statue that adorns Gate III.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES PHOTO

During works to restore the medieval fortification a discovery was made, nearly 200 meters away from Gate III, an old dungeon from Habsburg times being uncovered, now representing an intermediary point on the Nation’s Heroes Tour. Situated on the eastern flank of the Eugene of Savoy bastion, the dungeon underwent restoration works so that it may be visited safely.

The Nation’s Heroes Tour ends in one of the bastions where the breaking wheel upon which Horea and Closca were executed on February 28, 1785 was reconstructed. The third leader of the revolt, Crisan, hanged himself in his cell using the leather laces of his traditional footwear. It is said that this was the last act of breaking upon the wheel in the Hapsburg Empire.

According to the representative of the company that made the most important restoration works in Alba Carolina Citadel, Emanuel Dragusin, the total value of the restorations is around 60 million euro.

During the restoration works, a sector of the Via Principalis, the road that connected the northern and southern gates of the Roman castrum of Apulum, was uncovered, preserved so well that the marks from the wooden wheels of carriages can still be seen.

The sector, 3.10 meters in width, was conserved in situ, being among the newest tourist objectives in the citadel, together with the Union Hall and National Union Museum, the Nation’s Unity Cathedral and the Saint Michael Roman-Catholic Cathedral, as well as the 16th century Princely Palace that hosted Michael the Brave, the nation’s first unifier, all tourist objectives on any Alba Iulia tourist’s map.

Standing in front of the Princely Palace is one of Alba Iulia’s symbolic monuments, the equestrian statue of Michael the Brave, constructed in 1968 by Oscar Han, and inaugurated on the occasion of a half-century since the Great Union of 1918. AGERPRES