She followed her dreams all the way to Romania

A 20 year dream was achieved last year when I traveled to Romania. To see the rolling green landscapes, 15th and 16th centuries historic towns protected by UNESCO status, and land of the ancient Magyars all ran through my mind as I signed up for the trip. But at the top of my list were the world known painted churches. I had heard about them during the 1980’s when Romania was still under the rule of the dictator Nicolae Ceasuescu and was off limits to foreigners.

 Then in 1989 led by a brave Calvinist minister in Timasoara, riots broke out as over much of the country. The people overthrew, quickly tried and  executed Ceauscuescu and his wife. When the liberated Romanians set up their republic in 1991, the first legislature consisted of 250 parties. There are now only about eight..

 However, history and tradition remained strong in the seven regions and reflected the people who have lived there from the 9th century, according to ancient church records.

Those were the Magyars, an invading tribe from the western steppes of Asia. While most pillaged and plundered making their way north into what is now Hungary, many settled in Moldavia. One subtribe, the Szekely (pronounced See-kay) has kept the ancient Hungarian dialect and tribal tradition.

Before the Magyars came, theRomans in 200 A.D. displaced the Dacians or ancient Greeks. The Romans occupied the rich trading city of Constanta on the Black Sea .Trade routes extended north and west along the Danube River where ruins of ancient Roman forts and towns are being excavated. Once the Romans left 400 A.D. to defend Roman against the Goths, little is known or recorded about Romania. It seems to have faded into obscurity until the advent of the Magyars. These invaders were followed by Mongols, Huns, Tatars, Poles, Lithuanians, Turks, and Ottomans. Such was the danger to local rulers and their economy that Saxons were brought in from what is now Germany in the 1200’s by the Hungarian rulers to guard mountain passes against the Tatars.

 As we drove from Moldavia to Transylvania, we found the overwhelming influence left behind by the Romans. Over 60% of the Romanian language is Latin in origin. Other influences are Hungarian and German with a smattering of Turkic.

Leaving the small houses fronted by walls and gates, possibly a carryover from days of invaders, we see the countryside and architecture changing vastly.

While Transylvania is known as land of the cruel ruler, Dracula or Vlad the Impaler, his story is one the Romanians dismiss with a shrug. They dwell on the exploits of early  King Stephen who won 34 or 36 battles against the Turks, Poles, and Lithuanians. All these nobles were vying to conquer the land that centuries later became Russia.

Later the second most important personage was Michel the Brave. He for the first time united Transylvania and Moldavia  in the late 1500’s by defeating the Turks . He was crowned king in 1595.However his reign was short as a year later he was beheaded. His head lies  in honor beneath a marble slab in Dealu Monastery in Wallachia.

As the towns and villages prospered, fortified castles and villages were created as a defense. One such  was Miko Castle in 1623. Its 12 feet thick stone walls have recesses or rooms inside where provisions and water were store in case of a siege. Parts of the castle have now been restored as an artist’s colony where artists from all over come to live and work.

 The Carpathian mountains gird the underside of Transylvania, then swing north. They protect the eastern front of Transylvania. Some believe the name means “across the woods”, and seeing the thick forests even now on the mountain side makes one wonder how an invader ever penetrated them. Most did not, but were bought off or bribed by the rich merchant class that settled the small towns.

Scattered on the mountain tops are watch towers which were placed one day’s distance apart. If an enemy was spotted, signals were sent to the next tower. Villagers and farmers took refuge or armed for battle. In fact, there are some churches known as “bandolier or gun churches.”

 Men were required to wear their arms at all times when attending services. Now tall slender Lutheran Church spires reach to the low hanging clouds.

The third distinct geographical region lies south of Transylvania. It is Wallachia, or land of the Vlachs, a tribe of shepherds who wandered farther south even to Albania. Some believe this region was named by its mostly Saxon inhabitants for its beech trees. Saxons from what now is Germany had been brought in to guard mountain passes against invaders.

The countryside is largely pastoral. Cows are seen going home in the evening by themselves, no little boy or dog leading them. Large flocks of sheep cover the hillsides , guarded by shepherds against the ever presence of wolves. The rule of the road all through the country is” animals rule the road.” Fortunately, automobile traffic is still limited.

Transportation is by old wagons with balloon tires drawn by two horses. Poverty, you think, is the reason for their reliance upon this primitive mode of transportation.

Yes, to some extent, but the few paved roads down the middle of the town or village. All side roads are unpaved. In winter with heavy snows and the quantity of spring rains, how else could one travel on muddy roads?

Later, realizing their vulnerability, some local rulers persuaded merchants from Saxony and Hungary to settle protect and develop the resources. Szekely peasants were brought from the east to work the coal, gold an silver mines. About this same time Orthodox Church began Christianizing the people.  But the locals were reluctant to give up their pagan beliefs.

Evidence of the rites and symbols of paganism blended into Christianity can be seen in one especially interesting small village church Prelin. Built in the 11th century, the tower is painted with pagan symbols – stars, crescent moon, animals, and even a shaman. Dressed in his peaked cap and wearing items of his trade, he holds a large ring out to a fallen person. Was he healing the man, blessing him? Nearby another man hangs from a gibbet. What was his crime?

When these merchants and warriors came in, they built walled villages. One especially charming town that grew from a rustic village is Sibiu with nine of its 13 original towers still remaining.

Each tower was built and maintained by one of the local guilds. Trading in wheat, leather, gold and silver, coal and salt became important. Cistercian orders were invited to build schools and educated the sons of the wealthy. Their monasteries also were walled.

One famous example is Biertan, a large fortified church and monastery founded in 1283. To gain access one has to climb a steep hill, its wooden stairway covered with a roof to protect the worshippers from bad weather. I asked how older and infirm people come to church, and was told the church went to them. This church felt a need for protection of its sacristy by using 19 locks on the door. There also was a room in which a couple seeking a divorce were locked in for two weeks. Did they change their mind? The records do not say.

This church is one of the finest Saxon fortified churches and is on the UNESCO list of protected sites .Other charming Saxon churches can be identified by the silver painted “mushroom” domes.               

Also important to the development of the economy were the Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492 by Queen Isabella.

Many made their way to Romania, where they were welcomed as bankers, money lenders, merchants, and skilled craftsmen.

Nancy Cramer is a retired elementary school teacher from south Kansas City.

They settled mostly in Moldavia, and it is here their tragic story ends centuries later.

A small museum in Bucharest tells how in the months of July and August, 1940, over 180,000 Jews were rounded up in Basarabia alone and deported. Some were sent to labor camps, but many to concentration camps where they were executed. 

We saw a large Jewish cemetery in the Moldavian countryside, long abandoned. Tombstones were toppled or falling, some had been vandalized. One of our tour members read Hebrew haltingly. He interpreted the Hebrew on one grave where a hand is holding a knife or perhaps a short sword. This grave contained the body of a man killed in the Great War. At that time Romanians sided with the Allies and valiantly fought the Russians on their eastern door. Another stone depicts a five candled menorah with hands carved over it, blessing it.

The Jewish story doesn’t end with the horrors of World War II. Of the over 300,000 Jews in Romania in 1940, less than 10,000 remain. Few places have the requisite number of 10 males to hold a service. There is a small group in Bucharest who maintains the museum. The courtyard contains six other marble plaques telling how many Jews were killed in different areas. Most were in Basarabia, land on the eastern border taken from the Russians in the Versailles treaty after World War I and given to Romania.

 But in 1775 the Hapsburg Empire had its eyes on this rich country and annexed by  the Hapsburg Empire. Their long rule was to last until 1918 when Austria was defeated by the Allies. Again Romania changed its shape, adding lands from Hungary and Bulgaria that had been parts of the Hapsburg Empire. The Romanians set up a republic with a president but this brief rule lasted only until the coming of World War II, when Romania unfortunately sided with the Axis.

Romania has constantly had its borders enlarged or shrunk, but old traditions still remain. Partly this is due to the geographical barriers of the Carpathian  Mountains and to the heavily forested hillsides. Mountains there are the size and shape of Missouri’s Ozark Mountains, about 5,000 ft. in height.

Finally, we saw the famous medieval painted churches. There are 13 of the best that survive from the 14th and 15th centuries in Bukovina, an area in Moldavia. Legend says that after a noble defeated an enemy he built a church in celebration. These churches are tiny, some the size of a large living room. The early ones had a rounded apse with a peaked roof extending eight to ten feet as an overhang.

The entrance was always on the west side and led into the small rectangular nave. No chapels were in these small early churches. What is so amazing is that literally every square inch both inside and out is painted. Early in the 1500’s one unknown monk, realizing that the people could not understand or read the old Church Slavonic, was inspire to have important stories from the Bible painted on the walls. Every church has its own version of St. George slaying the dragon, the Nativity, and life of Jesus with crucifixion and resurrection. Other stories include the Garden of Eden, Tree of Jesse tracing the lineage of Jesus, and the siege of  Christian Constantiople when it fell to to Turkish invaders in the 15th century.

While the art uses the the Byzantine style, the clothing is of the time period when painted. No paintings are signed. Probably itinerant painters portrayed the stories  as they understood them. Not to be forgotten are rows and rows of bishops, Apostles, Orthodox saints and local legends.

The final painting is over the western exit. It is the Last Judgment depicting the just and good being judged, while the sinners are falling into the Mouth of Hell. The paint has remained in good condition in most churches because it is mineral based. It seems incredible that these brilliant murals have survived all kinds of weather, fires, and wars for almost 600 years.

Romania has constantly had its borders enlarged or shrunk, but old traditions still remain. Partly this is due to the geographical barriers created by the Carpathians and heavily forested hillside. Another reason is that the ethnic groups of Hungarians, Saxons and Wallachians have clung to their own customs, celebrations and culture.

Romanians are looking to the West today for their future. The stabilizing of their government has interested foreign investors. The rich oil fields of Ploiesti are being expanded and more refineries built. However, gasoline and electricity are rationed to the Romanians themselves. Oil revenues create a cash trade and are vital to the economy. Some readers may remember the importance of these oil fields to Hitler in World War II. They were his chief source of oil. The Allies could do no damage until August, 1943 when the Americans flew the newly developed B24D long range bombers. These could fly from North Africa, drop their bombs, and return. Most returned safely, but at least 360 crew members and their planes were lost. The raids were a costly effort by Americans but it hastened the end of the war.

A curious sight greeted us in the western region. All road and street signs are printed in three languages- Hungarian, German and Romania. Our guide, with the Hungarian name of Arpad, was born in Cluj . He attended the Unitarian Universalist grade school and high school. This church was founded in Cluj in the 1500’s as were Lutheran, Calvin, and Uniate. Cluj was declared a “free town” which meant the people could worship as they wanted to and not have to follow the religion of the manor lord. Arpad was skilled in all three languages. His English was almost perfect, a result of his college studies in England. During his off seasons as a tourist guide, he is involved in the national conservation movement. Cities in Hungary and Germany sponsor sister cities in Romania, providing funds, advisors and skilled craftsmen.

 

One place we unexpectedly visited was a former castle and manor, formerly owned for 500 years by the same family. The last heir, an elderly lady, lives in London and has deeded the estate including the village to the conservation organization. It is slowly being restored and serves as a school to train architects, stone carvers, plaster workers, painters, and other crafts required in restoration. Arpad was quite proud of this organization and took us to the village. There homes were being restored following many of the same guidelines and requirements as our National Historic Trust. Women used the ponds to wash clothes, the streams to wash vegetables, roofers were replacing clay tiles, and painters coloring the houses their original glorious colors.

But while this conservation movement is gaining strength throughout Romania, unfortunately the citizens of German and Hungarian heritage are moving back to the land of their origin. Many families have been in Romania for centuries, but the economy and stability of their homelands prove too much a temptation for them.

Meanwhile, Romanians are also cleaning up rivers polluted by drainage from factories, which the dictator Ceauscuescu shared the same disregard for the environment of his Communist predecessors .

But the day comes too quickly when the trip ends. The memories of what I have seen and experienced linger, and I hope to make another trip to see more of Romania. What impressed me the most were the history and its people. Through centuries of invaders, tyrants, famine, wars, Communism and a dictatorship, the indominatable Romanian spirit has never been conquered. Its young people face the brightest future Romania has ever been offered.



Nancy Cramer is a retired elementary school teacher from south Kansas City. She owns and operates Modern Supply Co. Inc. in northeast Kansa City. Her hobbies are foreign travel and photography.