Textiles of Romania

We’ll take a sightseeing tour of Bucharest this morning, visiting several squares in the city including Piața Universității (University Square), Piața Romană (Roman Square), and Piața Victoriei (Victory Square). Piața Revoluției (Revolution Square) is a landmark of local and national history. It was here that Nicolae Ceaușescu (General Secretary of the Communist Party & Head of State 1965-1989) made two landmark speeches. Piața Constituției (Constitution Square) is home to the Palace of the Parliament. At a height of 84 m (276 ft), a floor area of 365,000 m2 (3,930,000 sq ft) and a volume of 2,550,000 m3 (90,000,000 cu ft), the Palace of the Parliament is the heaviest building in the world, weighing about 4,098,500 tonnes (9.04 billion pounds). It is the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon.

Our time in Bucharest continues with a visit to the Romanian Peasant Museum, showcasing Romania’s traditional culture through numerous artifacts including a variety of textiles and embroidery samplers.

This afternoon we’ll enjoy our first hand-sewing workshop with Karin at the hotel. Tea and coffee will be served part-way through the session.

Bid farewell to Bucharest as we travel by train to Sibiu in Transylvania, possibly the most famous region of Romania.

Sibiu is a charming medieval city known for its rich history and beautiful architecture. Features such as cobblestone streets, stunning churches, and historic buildings in Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance styles can be found here, particularly in the well-preserved Old Town. This area of the city is divided in two, the Upper Town and the Lower Town. Characterised by its cobbled streets, colourful façades, and medieval architecture, the Upper town is the historic heart of Sibiu, perched on a hill and home to some of the city’s most iconic landmark including Piata Mare (Grand Square), Piata Mica (Little Square), and the Evangelical Cathedral. Built in the 14th century, the 73 metre (240 foot) high steeple is a landmark of the city. The Lower Town lies at a lower elevation, where the streets wind around the city’s medieval fortifications. This area is more intimately connected with the city’s working past; the narrow alleys, colourful houses and charming courtyards were once home to artisans and tradespeople.

Here, we’ll visit Liar’s Bridge, the first cast iron bridge built in Romania, to hear about the many legends that surround how the bridge got its name. Connecting the Upper and Lower Towns is Stairs Passage, it’s intricate design with arches and wrought-iron railings create a unique and picturesque pathway.

Check in and enjoy dinner at the hotel.

The first stop on today’s full-day excursion will be Astra Ethnographic Museum, the largest open-air museum in Europe. Our time here will take us through peasant homesteads, handicraft workshops, wooden churches, wayside shrines, sheepfolds, water wheels and windmills. Through the well-preserved original interiors, we’ll learn about country life and traditional skills and see how they are being preserved for the future.

Since the medieval period, Cisnădie was known for its large number of guilds, but especially for its tradition in weaving. The proximity to the village of Mărginimea Sibiului, where sheep breeding was the main occupation, allowed the emergence of wool processing workshops. In the 18th to 20th centuries, these workshops were transformed into factories. During the communist period, Cisnădie was known as a true centre of the textile industry, the woollen carpets made here were sold all over the world. We’ll visit the Textile Museum inside the town’s medieval fortified church. The museum presents various craft objects in chronological order that will take us from the oldest times of Cisnădie's existence to the beginning of the 21st century when the famous carpet factory was still operating.

This evening we’ll drive to the village of Sibiel, where we’ll be welcomed by a local family to enjoy a home-cooked dinner with lots of wine and brandy.

We check out of our hotel and travel to Sighisoara, making a couple of stops on route.

Biertan is one of the most important Saxon villages with a fortified church in Transylvania and was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1993. Here we’ll visit one of the best-preserved medieval fortifications in the region. Built in 1500, on the foundations of a previous Romanesque building, the fortification features three mighty ring walls, two outer baileys and several defence towers.

Surrounded by forests and rolling hills, Malancrav dates from the early 14th century. Today, the village has the largest ethnic German population in the region. Here, we’ll visit weaver and embroiderer Elena Pascu, who creates the iconic folk blouses of the region, 'ia cu ciocănele'. The blouse is decorated with rows of embroidered motifs starting from the shoulders and continuing all the way to the puffed sleeves. The variety of motifs is endless, so no two blouses look alike. The most popular motifs are grapevines, clovers and roses, and only three colours are used: black, brown and gold. Delicate embroidery in blue, yellow and red (colours of the Romanian flag) is worked in the neck band. It takes Elena about 3 months to complete a blouse.

Designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, a walk through the Sighisoara’s hilly streets with their original medieval architecture, unique mix of winding cobbled alleys, steep stairways, secluded squares, towers, turrets and enchantingly preserved citadel, make visitors feel like they are stepping back in time. Sighisoara is also the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, who inspired Bram Stoker's fictional creation, Count Dracula. Vlad’s birthplace is just one of the many attractions here. Others include the Church on the Hill with its 500-year-old frescoes, the 13th-century Venetian House and the Church of the Dominican Monastery, known for its Transylvanian renaissance carved altarpiece, Baroque pulpit, Oriental carpets and 17th-century organ. We’ll enjoy a walking tour here, before checking into our hotel and enjoying dinner.

We check out of our hotel and drive through the magnificent landscapes of Transylvania. In the village of Corund, we’ll enjoy a ride in a horse-drawn wagon, visiting the studios of local potters, weavers, and beekeepers, for a tasting of the honey. One craft, unique to Corund, is the creation of a material called Amadou, derived from the polypore mushroom fomes fomentarius. Traditionally used in the village to make small items such as hats and bags, amadou has absorbent, insulating, and anti-inflammatory properties. The material is processed by hand, with the amadou layer carefully separated from the cuticle and spore tubes and then stretched and left to dry.

We’ll make a stop at the Red Lake, a natural dam lake in the Hășmaș Mountains, where we’ll learn how the lake got its name.

Continue along Bicaz Canyon, one of the most spectacular drives in the country, before arriving into Piatra Neamt, in the region of Moldovia.

Check in and enjoy dinner at the hotel.

Our full-day excursion starts at Voronet Monastery. The monastery was constructed by Stephen the Great in 1488 over a period of 3 months and 3 weeks to commemorate the victory at Battle of Vaslui. Often known as the "Sistine Chapel of the East" for its vivid frescoes, Voroneț's walls feature an intense shade of blue known in Romania as 'Voroneț blue'.

In the village of Vama, we’ll visit the amazing Museum of the Egg, where a local artist displays her impressive collection of dyed and decorated eggs from all over the world.

After our included lunch in Gura Humorului, we continue to Monastery of Agapia, whose church was painted by one of the greatest Romanian artists, Nicolae Grigorescu. The monastery is home to more than 350 nuns and is an important centre for promoting traditional crafts. Here the nuns work on their textile craft, weaving rugs and the richly decorated vestments of the priests. They also assist with the restoration of older woven rugs.

Check out of our hotel to travel back to Transylvania, making a couple of stops on route.

In Zabala, we’ll visit the Csango Ethnographic Museum. The Csangos are ethnic Hungarians of Roman Catholic faith, now living in the Moldovia and Transylvania regions of Romania. The museum will take us through the key items of life for Csango people including traditional costumes, textiles and pottery.

The commune of Prejmer, noted for its fortified church, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the best-preserved fortified churches of its kind in Eastern Europe. Built by the Teutonic knights in the early 13th century, the oval-shaped courtyard is protected by 40-feet high / 12-feet thick defending walls, which are surrounded by an 18-feet deep / 25-feet wide moat. Entered by a 100-foot-long arched passage, the fortification has 275 rooms for us to explore on four stories, each connected by wooden staircases. Each family in the community had a designated room in the fortress, to store their provisions and for use as a shelter, in case of an enemy attack. These storage rooms were used by the citizens of Prejmer until the early 20th century.

Fringed by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and resplendent with Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance architecture, Brasov is one of the most beautiful and visited places in Romania. Settled by the Saxons in the 13th century, Brasov shortly became one of Transylvania's seven walled cities. Our walking tour will visit Strada Sforii (Rope Street) one of the narrowest streets in Europe, Piața Sfatului (Old Townhall Square), lined by colourfully painted and richly ornately Baroque buildings and Biserica Neagra (Black Church), the largest Gothic structure in Romania. The church got its name from the appearance of its exterior walls, darkened by the flames and smoke of the 'Great Fire' of 1689. The impressive interior of the church houses one of the largest organs in Eastern Europe and a unique collection of antique rugs and kilims.

Check in and dinner at the hotel.

Our full-day excursion is to Bran and Bran Castle, associated with Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. The castle has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Romania. After Transylvania became part of Romania, Bran Castle, then owned by the city of Brasov, was gifted to Queen Marie by the people of Brasov. The Queen transformed it into a royal residence in the 1920s, and today it is one of Romania's most popular visitor sites.

Return to Brasov to visit the Ethnographic Museum in the city centre. The central pavilion houses a weaving exhibition, covering both home interiors and traditional costume.

Return to the hotel for a half day hand-stitching workshop with Karin. Tea and coffee will be served part-way through the session.

Today we check out of our hotel and travel across the Carpathian Mountains to return to Bucharest, making a couple of stops en route.

Nestled at the foot of Bucegi Mountains in the picturesque town of Sinaia, Peles Castle, considered by many one of the most stunning in Europe, is a masterpiece of German new-Renaissance architecture. Commissioned by King Carol I in 1873 and completed in 1883, Peles Castle served as the summer residence of Romania's royal family until 1947. The castle's 160 rooms are adorned with fine European art: paintings by great artists, Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows and Cordoba leather-covered walls. Each room is decorated in a different style or theme.

The town of Breaza is known for its traditional needlework. Here, we’ll visit the studio of a local expert specialising in the ‘ia’ traditional blouse. The name of the garment is derived from Latin “tunicae linae”, or thin tunic. It is not known exactly when the ia appeared, but some sources believe that this specific cut of the blouse is to be found during 5500-2750 BC and that it has remained almost unchanged for millennia.

It is suspected that, inspired by beautiful ceramics, with shapes and designs painted or carved on the dishes and statuettes, prehistoric women copied these geometric patterns on their clothes. Fabric and the decorative threads, dyed with plants and flowers, were handmade in households from linen, hemp, cotton, or Romanian raw silk, borangic. In late autumn, when all the agricultural work was completed, women and girls of the village would gather to begin the needlework. Each blouse reflects the local area and the age and social status of the wearer. Popular motifs sewn on the chest include the cross which offers protection, the evil eye, counteracting spells and hatred, and the diamond, flower or sun, bringing harmony, happiness and peace.

Check in to our hotel. We enjoy a farewell dinner at a traditional restaurant in Old Bucharest.