Travel Stories - Romania

"hunedora"

introduction

It was hell to find the little busstation in Timisoara with busses that would take me to the little village of Hunedora. In the end I found it. When the minibus is leaving I actually see for the first time what the landscape of Romania has to offer - at least in this region. I see fields full of sunflowers and grain as I can remember from my train journeys from Hungary. The plains with sometimes a village but more often agricultural land with many storks interspersed with every now and then a brand new company of a Western concern. The further we drive from the city "Timisoara" the more fun it gets and the more interesting the view becomes - small villages with typical Eastern European architecture, old females on benches next to their house under the trees that feed their chickens while others try to sell some fruit along the road. Dressed with cloths on their heads against the heat, you can see them laughing (without teeth) when the bus tears around, especially with young people.

After the city "Logetz" it becomes more hilly and I think we are approaching the province "Transsylvania" which always evokes a separate feeling. Just the name gives you the nervs. We drive through a forest full with black trash bags filled with dozens of pieces of toilet paper. Trucks are parked in small parking spaces where sometimes a door is open and I see someone lying down and trying to get some sleep I guess. Here, too, women who walk into the forest with buckets - I think they are looking for brambles, or is this the wrong season? On the land the first hay bales with a big wooden stick in it and the first tractor pulling a cart full of hay (with sleeping people on it). Fortunately, you can still see it here. But everything is interspersed with horrible "Soviet" factory halls, big long pipes and empty parking lots.

arriving in "hunedora"

On the signs I could follow the road a bit and after 3 hours driving on small roads we arrive in the city "Deva". When I take my bag out of the trunk, I ask the driver where buses go to "Hunedoara" and he points to the minibuses down the road. When I arrive, there is one at the point of departure and I get in. This ride takes half an hour. From the window I can already see the highlight of the city "Hunedoara" - the "Gothic Corvin" castle; people told me this is the second fake castle of Dracula. A girl helps me with the walking route, so I don’t have to take a taxi. It appears to be one of the most communist-looking cities that exist; skeletons of buildings that once housed factories and large gray blocks. It is still a minute or 20 to 25 walking before I come onto the parking lot next to the castle. It’s kinda full so I guess this must be a pretty popular attraction. After I walked on top of a long wooden walkway over the canal, I pay the entrance fee and ask if I can leave my bag for a while so I can visit the castle which is here in Romania no problem.

the Dracula castle

First I visit two rooms that are decorated as torture chamber - a number of tools have been recreated and to make paper-dolls you have an idea what these devices can do to a person. There is a whole route mapped out that show all important chambers of the castle but first I want to see what the view is from above. Arrived on the plateau is a local girl in Medieval clothing and asks if I want to get into it as well. It is also busy with cross (bow) shooting. After enjoying the beautiful view over the Romanian landscape I come across the chapel, the armor of that time, the bathroom and the most beautiful room, the "dinner" room. This one is decorated with weapons banners and made of a number of arches. This castle is actually a showpiece of Hungarian rule since two very popular kings have built this and have embellished in the centuries that followed. The castle was therefore a thorn in the eye of the dictator "Ceausescu" in his time because he hated the Hungarian. Salient detail to mention is perhaps the fact that this castle is even mentioned in "Jules Verne's" Around the World in 80 days ". Maybe I went through it too quickly but found it too busy and to be honest, it turned out again that the outside is more impressive than inside.

Sarmizegetusa:

Not far from the city "Hunedoara" lies the old capital of the "Daciers" "Sarmizegetusa". This city served as the most important city of the tribe of the 3rd century BC until the Romans occupied the city in the year 106 BC. The Dacian king "Burebista" would have, according to Roman leader "Caesar", interfered too much with the enemies of the mighty Empire. Caesar would no longer experience the victory - both leaders would be murdered in the year 44 BC. Emperor "Trajan" would still fulfill "Ceasar's" wish by setting the city ablaze. During the 14th century local people from the region used the stones from the ruins to build churches. Only in the 19th century was this forbidden. Despite the fact that only 2% of the ruins have been excavated, the site is now on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

tips & advice (2013)

Name: "Gothic Corvin" castle

Price: 20 Lei

Time: from 09:00 (pay attention - in the high season daily)

Content:

Unfortunately surrounded by new buildings (apartment buildings and old industry) this is a kind of castle where you read about in comic books and/or see in classic horror films. By means of a long wooden drawbridge over a deep empty moat you pass under a stone gate the marital castle. Built and extended in the 14th and 15th centuries (probably on an old Roman fort) by a then Hungarian king, this is a fort with a large courtyard and pointed cornertowers to defend it. Inside, an "audio" tour is offered through the most important areas of the building. From the kitchens, to the torture chambers and from the dining room (armed with banners and old wooden dining table) to the chapel - everything is there and kept in a reasonable condition. You can practice archery, crossbow and hoist in Medieval clothing and in your delights in this dark age. You may have heard about it because of the name of the castle in Jule Verne's "Around the world in 80 days" (1873). It’s the second fake castle of Dracula.