Transylvania - history
It’s a magic country with an incredible soul and atmosphere, which can only be felt by somebody who is willing to deal with the moved history of the country. It shows a dark countenance, a constantly returning struggle for surviving, against the hordes of Mongolians and Turks who were pillaging and murdering, against pest and cholera, against famines and the elemental force of nature. Life here has always been harder than in the western parts of Europe, the arguments tougher and the wars more cruel. Besides all that the social life, culture, economy could grow and develop, thanks to the strong will to live and the ambitiousness of people, so that from time to time there were even richness and glamour.
For thousand years the intellectual life of Europe was present here. Romanesque, Gothic, , Renaissance and Baroque where blooming in Transylvania as well as in western countries. The country had a lot of interesting people to offer- politicians, highly educated sovereigns, genius poets, scientists and artists. The design of several nations worked together unconsciously. As there was a clash of so many different cultures and artistic influences of course they started to mix a little bit, but the national differences never disappeared.
Germans and Hungarians stayed close to influences of western culture and tradition, while the Romanian population is rather related to the eastern culture by their commitment to the Greek-orthodox religion. Folk art and traditions played an important role, because that’s how each particular cultural identity and nationality has become manifested. Even today the ethical affiliation, at least in the rural areas, is not only represented by the structure of the villages, the architecture and the way of life, but also by the clothes of the people, especially by their extremely colourful liveries.
back to capter 1 [ misterious country]
Siebenbürgen um 1750 - aus: Homann Nachfolger: Regni Hungariae Tabula Generalis / Königreich Ungarn