Today we'll take you to Bukovina in northern Romania.
Bukovina is an ideal area for family people, for those who want to relax and actually for all those who love tourism. The historical region of Bukovina is famous for its monasteries, which are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List and are well-known destinations for pilgrims. But the region is also renowned for its beautiful landscapes and its villages preserving their old architecture and traditions.
Catalin Nechifor, president of the Suceava County Council tells us that many forms of tourism can be practiced in Bukovina, from active tourism, spa tourism, equestrian tourism, hunting tourism to cultural tourism. Extreme sports can also be practiced there.
Catalin Nechifor: “We can meet everybody’s wish and conceive a specific route, providing a holiday of a few days. In Bukovina, monasteries hold pride of place: first of all the monasteries that are UNESCO monuments, namely Voronet, Sucevita and Moldovita. But there are many other religious monuments that are worldwide known. Worth mentioning are also our villages where traditions are still alive. Unfortunately, in towns, we have lost contact with tradition, with our cultural legacy. In the mountain area, in Vatra Dornei and in Campulung Moldovenesc resorts, there are a lot of beautiful landscapes. There are beautiful mountains like Rarau, Giumalau and Calimani. In the lower regions one can visit museums. For instance, the ‘Ion Irimescu’ Museum in Falticeni has the only solo collection in Romania; Ion Irimescu was a famed Romanian sculptor.”
Catalin Nechifor worked in tourism and had the chance to meet a lot of Romanian and foreign tourists.
Catalin Nechifor: “I worked in a hotel being permanently in touch with the tourists. Obviously, 15 years ago, we didn’t fare so well as we do now. In Bukovina tourists get good value for their money. There are few unhappy tourists and we haven’t received any complaints. People working in tourism have realized that it is the tourist who can make the best publicity and so they are keen on meeting all his wishes.”
In Marginea there is an ethnographic museum laid out in an over 100-year old house. However, it is not the house that is appealing but the folk costumes, fabrics, necklaces and above all, the ceramics on show. You can admire handicraft objects and even meet crafts people, willing to make a demonstration. Corneliu Magopat is a potter.
Corneliu Magopat: “First of all, our center is different from the other pottery centers through the colour of our ceramic ware, which is primarily black. To obtain the colour, we don’t use oxides or dyes, we extract it from plants, which makes us unique in Romania and in Europe. That’s what attracts our tourists in the first place. Secondly, the ambience is attractive. 40% of the tourists are foreign and the remaining tourists are Romanian who greatly appreciate us. There is an exhibition where our clients can admire our products, can buy them, can visit the workshops, the kilns, everything. People are curious. Some visitors want to have a go, so we show them how to mould a pot, we jointly create some models which they can take home. Tourists have a great time here. They leave this place with nice memories, promising they will come back and why not, have a go again.”
We continue our journey and get to Vama. It is a small village surrounded by hills. There, in a traditional house, you can see the largest collection of painted eggs in Romania and one of the most important in Europe. The eggs are displayed in 22 showcases.
Teacher Letitia Orsivischi takes care of the collection.
Letitia Orsivischi: “Representing Romania and Bukovina at international egg shows and exhibitions, I succeeded in setting up this museum, actually, the largest egg collection in this country, including over 3,000 eggs from 72 countries with tradition in egg painting. Worth mentioning are the well-known beautiful eggs painted here, in Bukovina. Formerly, in Bukovina, the eggs had rough designs, but with the same elements to be found today on towels, rugs and traditional costumes. Colours are extracted from plants, onion leaves, beet and coal.“
On view are also painted eggs from Bali, Vietnam, China, the Czech Republic, Germany and Australia, each of them with its own story.
The town of Falticeni boasts the largest solo collection in Romania: more than 300 sculptures and 1,000 drawings, exhibited in the Ion Irimescu Art Museum. The director of the museum, Gheorghe Dascalescu introduces us to fine artist Ion Irimescu.
Gheorghe Dascalescu: “He was one of the greatest 20th century sculptors. His work is a carry-over of a golden generation of artists, from Dimitrie Paciurea to Constantin Brancusi. Ion Irimescu emerged in a special cultural area in Falticeni, the birthplace of over 100 personalities, writers, fine artists or actors. His work is a mix of classical and modern elements, starting out from Greek classicism. Keeping contact with the great artistic trends in Paris, he was responsive to the new, but he didn’t imitate those trends. His creation is a synthesis of classical and modern elements filtered through his soul and talent.”
We hope we’ve talked you into choosing Bukovina as your future holiday destination.
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