About two weeks ago I posted about my visit to Mini Transilvania, a park with miniature historical buildings, replicas of the original. You can see a lot of miniature buildings, castles, churches, fortresses, fortified structures, very old schools, bastions, you name it. Basically it's the reproduction of Transylvanian history from early 13th century till today. This is my best guess based on what I saw, but I could be wrong, maybe 14th, 15th century. Anyway, it doesn't matter as you have all the information available, courtesy of the organizers, which is the best thing as you not only see the wonderful miniatures, but you also learn each structure's history. What can be more beautiful and educational than this?
When you arrive, and have a look, everything looks interesting and lovely, then browsing through them and reading the details, you realize how little you know. As I mentioned in my previous post, as soon as I exited the park, I had the plan already made in my head. I knew time is going to be a problem and here I am, after two years my plan is still in planning stage, but stronger than it ever was.
Kolozsvár - Cluj Napoca
This is the mock-up of the city center of Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca), an important Transylvanian city. It's not just a building as in the previous cases, it's a good part of the city and here each language got a whole board allocated. Kolozsvár has a rich and colorful, sometimes painful history. It's been a while since I last visited the city and miss it as from cultural point of view, it's a real treasure.
Herculane Baths
This is a famous tourist destination, especially for those who are seeking different treatments. I wonder what this building looks like today. I have read that these mock-ups do not necessarily reflect the current state of the buildings. These were made to look good and to show the state in which the building once used to be, if at the time of creating they were deteriorated. This is a good idea in my opinion. Anyway, this is a place on my list and hope to visit it soon.
Bánffy Castle - Bontida
The Bánffy family is an ancient Hungarian noble family, whose members occupied prominent positions in the Kingdom of Hungary and later within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Across different branches, the family was elevated to baronial rank in 1729 and to comital rank in 1855.
The Bánffy family had several castles, this was one of them. I've heard about it, but never had the pleasure to visit it. Turns out this place was luckier than others and there's a nice activity going on there.
In 2005, The Built Heritage Conservation Training Centre was officially opened at Bánffy Castle, which functions to this day, teaching traditional building crafts skills for the restoration, repair and maintenance of historic buildings and which was awarded, in 2008, the Europa Nostra prize in Cultural Heritage for education, training and awareness training. The program is supported by Charles, Prince of Wales, who visited the castle. The patron of the training centre is Princess Margareta of Romania.
In my opinion, these historical buildings should be given back to the people to use, and used as libraries, museums, culture centers and so on.
Bethlen Gábor Collage - Nagyenyed (Aiud)
Two years ago I passed through Nagyenyed (Aiud) and saw the collage. It's an impressive building and knowing its rocky past, it makes you appreciate it more. I had the chance to study in schools with an impressive past and it gives you a different feeling, trust me.
Nagyenyed (Aiud) Fortress
All the fortresses are interesting and unique in their own way, but this looks particularly cute to me. Looks like I need to go back to Nagyenyed (Aiud) and visit the place thoroughly.
The Fortified Church of Calnic
For those of you who are not familiar with the history of my country or how things used to work in the mentioned times, most of these fortified churches, fortresses were built on a hill, to be less accessible by the enemy. The tower served as observation point, to know when the enemy is coming and many were surrounded bu water as well. The bridge connecting the structure to the outside world was lifted when the enemy arrived and penetrating the establishment was made harder.
The tall walls of this fortified church were also serving for defending the people sheltered inside in case of an outside attack. I've never been here, so this place made the list too.
Coltesti Fortress
I've heard about this place but have never been there. After running a search, I sadly can tell that there are only the ruins available to visit today.
I was wondering if it would be possible to rebuild these fortresses, if the original place is still available, but the problem is, the budget is barely enough to maintain the existing ones, let alone build new ones.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
