Traditional and Alternative Tourism in Transylvania

Transylvania is best known for its picturesque scenery, its fortified citadels and its traditions

Daniel Onea, 07.09.2017, 12:11

Transylvania is best known for its picturesque scenery, its fortified citadels and its traditions. Some new travel programmes, however, aim to also promote the region through its cuisine. Cristian Cismaru, a project manager of My Transylvania Association, told us more about the groundwork that goes into the creation of the associations travel programmes for the more isolated villages in Transylvania.

Cristian Cismaru: “We travel a lot around the area from April until October, when you find most local products, and spend every weekend in a different village. During our stay we look for places in the village that could accommodate guests. Most of these places are part of so-called neighbourhoods. These are informal associations comprising one or two streets. On special occasions, such as when someone is building or hosting a wedding or a christening ceremony, everybody in the neighbourhood helps by doing the cooking for that event together. During our travels, we get these neighbourhoods to cook with us older or more recent recipes based on locally produced food. We invite everybody to taste these local dishes every Saturday.”

Cristian Cismaru says the recipes used are from village chronicles and 19th century cookery books, from before industrialisation began in these parts, if possible, before WWI. The volunteers of My Transylvania Association collect the recipes used at different events and those used by the village cooks. The events organised by the association are grouped into different categories.

Cristian Cismaru: “Our best-known programme is Transylvanian Brunch, where we cook together with the people in the village, whether a neighbourhood, a family or a group of producers from the region. The goal is to promote both the local cuisine and the local culture. We take visitors to meet the local craftspeople, to the village churches in the area and for a tour of the village. Another programme we provide is called Picnic in Cindrel and takes place in Marginimea Sibiului, in the Cindrel Mountain area. We walk to a place with a beautiful panorama and have a picnic with the food we carried ourselves in our rucksacks. Another event we organize is Flavors and Sounds of Transylvania, for which we combine gastronomy with local music. We choose representative products such as cherries from Cisnădioara, raspberry from Sărata, sage, wax cherries or bellows cheese. Depending on the region, we find a special product and we flavour it with local music, such as organ concerts or pipe music played by shepherds”.

Although the names of the programs are in English, they are not necessarily designed for foreign tourists. These programs are for all the people who are visiting Transylvania, says project manager Cristian Cismaru:

“There are many people coming to Transylvania who work in big cities such as Bucharest, Cluj, Sibiu and Braşov. Among them many foreigners: Swiss, Dutch, Germans and Hungarians. Consequently English is the lingua franca there. There are also many foreign tourists coming to Transylvania and their number is growing. I am happy to say that the main visitors are young families with children. When foreign tourists come, their first reaction is great joy at seeing such small villages, which they would have never had the chance to see anywhere else. We are looking for very small villages, difficult to reach. Foreigners second reaction is that of gratitude. At the weekend, for instance, we went to a village in Agnita, near Apoş, where we visited three different workshops. We visited the roof tiles workshop in the village where tiles are still made manually. Then, we visited a workshop where wool is processed manually. Some young enthusiasts have thought of reviving this old craft. Another initiative that we support is a small riding center, which we also visited. You dont get the chance too often to see so many locals getting mobilized for such an event.”

VF Transylvania is well known for its fortified citadels, so there is a program devoted to citadels called “Discover the soul of Transylvania”. Visitors can use a holiday card called Transylvania card. The current season for visiting fortified citadels will last until October 31, 2017. This holiday card gives tourists free access to the most important 52 fortified and medieval churches.

Here is priest Stefan Coşoroabă with details:

“Besides free access, this card also provides discounts for tourist services offered by our partners to visitors interested in monuments. We have an integrated tourism system. We promote the fortified churches in the area as well as the entire area and the people living there. This card has its own dedicated site. Those interested can find there information about fortified churches, services provided and the project Discover the soul of Transylvania in German, Romanian and English. The card can be purchased in 8 villages in southern Transylvania. It costs 50 lei, that is 11 euros. The money is invested entirely in restoration works. The card can also be purchased online, by e-mail.”

Also in Transylvania, near Hunedoara, tourists looking for a special holiday will find an amusement park with military themes, which is unique in Europe.