In today’s instalment of Traveller’s Guide, we will be taking you to an area with breathtaking landscapes and full of mystery: the Buzau Mountains. In Buzau, which unfortunately is not included in heavily publicised tourist programmes, travellers will find 12 very interesting rupestral vestiges, ancient places of worship carved in stone, which also served as refuge, some of them as early as in the first two centuries A.D. In some of them altars, nooks and traces of arrows are still preserved, and a good guide or gifted storyteller can make this trip a truly unforgettable experience.
Doina Ciobanu, an ethno-archaeologist with a doctor’s degree in ancient history, who is also the director of the Buzau County Museum, tells us about the mysteries of these mountains, some of which remain an inexhaustible source of legends:
“I would like to invite your listeners to visit the mud volcanoes, to see the salt mountains in the Buzau area, which are the most beautiful in Europe. I would also invite them to see our archaeology sites near Pietroasele. Diggings carried out this year revealed more information about settlements in the Pietroasele castrum. Most of today’s village is located on the ancient castrum. Any part of this area is worth being studied by experts, and to our amazement and satisfaction, every patch has something to offer. Last year we found a water supply system built using Roman cement.”
The stones around them watch over a lot of tiny churches, and the glades in the area are hiding places for treasures, as the locals say. We learned from them that above the places where treasures are hidden, there are delicate flames burning, by whose colour one can tell whether there is gold buried there or not. According to local legends, the flames that can be seen at dusk are bad omen, and the treasure buried under them will bring bad luck. But villagers also say that no one has got rich from these treasures without being the victim of some misfortune. Nonetheless, the beauty of the landscape is comfort enough for tourists, as nature here has not been altered by human intervention. Winter holidays spent in the guesthouses near snow-covered fir forests will make them feel just like in a fairytale.
Doina Ciobanu also tells us that another not-to-miss area is that of the settlements carved into the mountain.
“In the Buzau Mountians, between the villages of Colti and Buziorul, there are several hermitages carved into stone. They are actually geological formations that people widened and adjusted so as to make them suitable for living and worshiping. In the first millennium A.D., monks used to live a secluded life in these settlements. The area sparked a lot of interest and there have been a lot of people coming for research, but the mysteries here have never been unveiled. Apart from these hermitages, there are also many terraces carved into the mountain, with engravings that no one has managed to decipher. Experts working with our museum tried to record them. We copied them and introduced them in the national and international circuit. Next, we will put together a detailed description of these engravings, which date back to the first millennium before Christ. A cave in the area also boasts drawings depicting ancient weapons, which are similar to the actual weapons that we have found on the site, and which date back to the Bronze Age or the beginning of the Iron Age.”
The Buzau Mountains also host a number of natural reserves, protected areas where one can see rare and endangered plant species and interesting geological forms. The Milea-Viforita forestry reserve, for instance, is the place where a portion of century-old fir, spruce and beech forests is preserved. And another interesting site, particularly in summer time, is the Daffodil Glade in the Penteleu Mountains. But during the winter, the yellow patches of daffodils are replaced by sparkling white snow, perfect for sledge riding. And deep into the forest, visitors should not be surprised to find a small church here and there. Doina Ciobanu tells us that such small churches are quite popular with tourists:
“There are many tiny churches, such as the Church of Dionisie the Spinner, Joseph’s Church or Fundatura. The latter is very beautiful indeed. The inscriptions on its walls give us reason to believe that these churches were in use until the 18th or 19th centuries.”
What’s certain is that the Buzau Mountains, with their components, Siriu Mountains, Podu Calului and Penteleu Mountains, are one of Romania’s most beautiful mountain areas. We conclude today’s show with an invitation made by the director of the Buzau County Museum, Doina Ciobanu:
“We invite all Radio Romania International listeners to take part in the competition that you organise, because this will give them a chance to truly enrich their souls. And once they learn more about this amazing area, they will be happy to share this with as many people in their home countries as possible.”
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2010-07-31
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