The Italians
They arrived in Romania over a century ago, and they were skilled craftsmen and scholars. Now, even if they only represent a small community, a couple of thousand people, the Italians in Romania try to perpetuate and promote their traditional values. Short historyItalians
Pentecost At Csíksomlyó - A Hungarian National Holiday?
Situated on a hill in the midst of the Csík valley in the heart of Szeklerland, the Franciscan order in the small village of Csíksomlyó hosts the largest annual pilgrimage in Central Europe. Regardless of their religious affiliation, three to four hundred thousand Hungarians
The Hungarians
Resentments between Romanians and Hungarians feed on a twofold frustration. Until 1918, the Romanians of Transylvania were generally looked down on by the Hungarians. They were largely peasants, with few townspeople and intellectuals among them, while Hungarians made up
The Hungarians
None of the minorities living in Romania had a tenser relationship with the majority of inhabitants. Still, Romanians and Hungarians have been living together for centuries. The Hungarians in Transylvania praise their past, values and traditions within a context that permits
Balkania - Our Eternal Return
I think I would never have come to love Balkania so much, had I not met Marina Marinescu in Munich several years back. We had been acquainted since we met for the first time in Athens. Florin Marinescu, the specialist in Byzantine history to whom I was talking one day in
The Faces Of the City
Life Histories in Bucharest – the 20th Centuryexcerpt All the Greeks in the city sought to make me their son-in-law. Demostene Gramatopol, 1910-? My initial intention was to interview both Greeks belonging to the old Greek community in Bucharest, and some of those who
Greek Artists In The Romanian Principalities
If Byzantium had been a close synthesis, Romanian art would be different from Byzantine art. But the Byzantine synthesis has remained always fresh and as such incorporates everything that, with added elements, has been accomplished by Romanians. Nicolae Iorga (1871-1940) Assuming
The Greeks
We do not hate the Greeks; quite to the contrary, we love them and we share the same heritage: a nationality to build; for we have the same interests, the same pains, the same hopes; and when we say 'we love them' we can bring proofs to support this statement:
The Bitter Aftertaste Of Finis Saxoniae
excerpt Let's not be beastly to the nemţi[1], indeed. We owe them solid buildings dating back to prosperous times, they founded many a fortified city and settlement of historic importance; in one of our common sayings, absolute fairness is equated to splitting costs
My Rosenau In The Carpathians
I have always wondered why so many of those who happen to be born within the Carpathian arch, in Transylvania, have a sense of coming from a unique, privileged area, why they keep an enduring and unquestioned commitment to it whatever may happen in their lives, whether they
The Saxons, The Romanians, The Fortified Town And Rural Tourism
excerpt Prejmer is a village a little further from Brasov, known, of old, for its peasant stronghold, the largest in Transylvania, begun in 1211 by the Teutonic knights. But also known, in the past, for the largest SAA (State Agricultural Association) in the area, which
The Croats
Representing a southern Slavic origin population, the Croats in Romania are a homogeneous community with specific traditions and customs, being preponderantly Roman Catholic. Short history Scholars from Croatia, especially linguists, are very interested in the language