“Romania and the Fortified Church of Biertan”

• September 3, 2020
• By Daryl
• 2 Comments

As we got further into the rural countryside the Gypsy population  increased. Their short stature with dark hair and unique sharp features, make them a stand out. Horse-drawn Gypsy wagons are only for work and not for living out of. Their lifestyle of staying in one place, is now the norm. Fencing, farming and private ownerships make the nomadic lifestyle, here at least, a thing of the past.

We were drifting through the most unique villages with each home brightly painted. Most yards are donned with groups of flowers which each family follows, with complementary repetition. The home pride was evident, as each village had different themes; some with roses, specific flower pots or woven wood planters. 

I love the small villages but it makes me curious, for no businesses can be seen. The motels, markerts and gas stations are someplace else. Locals can be seen along the road selling a couple bags of potatoes for 150 leu; about $0.36. Sometimes a truck will have many different vegetables.

Our drive to get to the Fortified Church was mostly rural, with farm fields and trees. We got to our destination and the church towers rose high above the roofline of the homes. We snake our way to the back of the Fortification and follow a path around to the entrance. 

This was a nice way, as we followed the walls past neatly groomed yards with flower-filled window boxes and twisted rooflines. The impenetrable walls loom large with buttress reinforcements every twenty feet. As we made our way around, a festive atmosphere emerged with coffee shops and trinket stands in front of the entrance. A lady was carving wooden spoons and a man was standing all alone. He was talking away with a low voice, and his hair was messed up with a cap he wore off to the side. He was of small stature, and I was looking for a phone, for he never stopped speaking. I then started walking to look at the honey, jams, and wooden objects the lady had made. The talking man was walking beside me and it was as if he was now, talking to me. I told him he had a lot to say, then he walked away continuously talking. The lady in the small building selling jams and homemade candy told me he was local, simple and talked to himself all the time.

We sat on the steps for a short while, for the church had closed for lunch. I started to talk to a young lady, who spoke English very well. After talking about all that we were doing with traveling and blogging, I asked where she was from. She told me she was from Romania. I was shocked, because she had such command of the language. She told me she now lives in Malmo, Sweden. I told her my daughter, Michelle lives there. She gave me her blog name, Sanna Fey, and I posted it on my page. This is the second young lady I spoke with in weeks that was from Malmo.

After visiting with a nice local family, where the young gal spoke good English, and tired of waiting for the ticket booth to re-open, I turned entered the grounds, by walking up a long covered stairway; reminiscent of the covered bridges of the days of yesteryear. A doorway opened to a path that led to a cobblestone pathway, from another entrance, used for carts. The reinforced arched gate was heavily fortified. Back up the walkway were several fruit trees on the steep slope with the tall clock tower blocking the sun. I finish my way up the covered stairway to another level with a courtyard and the magnificent church, with a mausoleum off to the side. I found Bunny sitting on a bench looking so beautiful. 

I toured the area some more, still waiting for the church keepers to return from lunch. From the tops of the massive walls the view of the village below, showed the manicured, tidy nature of the inhabitants. More buildings are found in the back of the church, which I thoroughly explored. One building had furniture with the so, very short beds and complementary furnishings. In another room, woodworking tools and a wooden grape squeezing contraption could seen on display. Coming around to Bunny again, I told her of another special place I had seen. Soon she was off in search of more photo advantages.

The church opened up, so I made my way back down the covered stairs to pay for tickets and return. Catching my breath, we entered the church. Simple wooden floors complement the church. The planks lay directly on dirt, as one area had none and the pews sat directly on the natural ground floor. The archaic nature of the seventeenth century church was evident for some of the murals were quite faded. 

Having been filled up with all we had seen, we made our way out of that village called Biertan to find another town which will have hotels and food for weary travelers.