Reghin – A City of violins
Unique through its beauty and history, Reghin has been dubbed the “City of Violins”. And violins built here are being played in concert halls all over the world
Daniel Bilț, 27.03.2025, 13:36
The workshops where these musical marvels are being created are open to visitors. Reghin per se is a surprising city but can also serve as a starting point for various trips in the area, to the mountains of Calimani and Gurghiu and for visits to the main attractions in this picturesque region.
Cătălina Orban, coordinator of the National Center for Travel Promotion and Information in Reghin, says the city still has the atmosphere of a small Transylvanian burg because here, the ethnic diversity and multilingualism has generated traditions along with a specific cultural and spiritual heritage.
Catalina Orban:”We are recommending tourists to start visiting the city right from its historic center, which abounds in various buildings built in several architectural styles such as baroque, neo-classical, secessionist and eclectic. The entire city center was built between 1850 and 1910. Part of these buildings used to house cultural institutions and all of them form a colored ensemble, which gives a special charm to the city.
Not far from the city center visitors may discover the city’s oldest monument, the Evangelical Church, whose construction kicked off around 1330. The building has numerous and valuable architectural elements. Organ concerts are staged here in summer almost every year. The church is also interesting because inside it, tourists can discover a fascinating museum of the Transylvanian Saxons, which speaks volumes about the city’s Saxon heritage. In front of the church there is a monument known as the Violins Pyramid and it was built to honour the local craftsmanship, its skilled violin makers also known as luthiers who gave the city its international fame. Not far from the city center we have a small wooden church, which was brought around 1725 by a group of Macedonian traders and which has a series of beautiful interior decorations of traditional inspiration.”
A lot of tourists are willing to visit the next objective recommended by the National Center of Travel Information and Promotion in Reghin, namely the Ethnographic Museum Anton Badea.
Catalina Orban:”Besides vintage technical installations and traditional art objects, tourists can discover here a garden, which is actually an outdoor exhibition in the form of a village, quite unique in the Mures County. The village includes Romanian, Hungarian and Saxon households as well as a wooden church and vintage technical devices. And, if our visitors are willing to take a short hike, we invite them to go to the Round Forest, one of Reghin’s most beautiful areas, where they can admire the local colony of European bee-eaters, a colorful species of migratory birds, which nest here from May to September.”
We’ve learnt from Cătălina Orban, with the National Center of Travel Information and Promotion in Reghin that the local production of musical instruments got underway back in 1951 after luthier Roman Boianciuc had arrived in Reghin. Boianciuc came here after having completed his studies in Prague.
Catalina Orban:”He founded inside the local wood processing factory, a special section specialized in producing musical instruments. Practically that section became the factory of musical instruments that we have nowadays and the biggest in Europe. Roman Boianciuc is believed to be Romania’s greatest luthier and the founding father of the violin-making industry in Reghin. Another factory of musical instruments was founded here in 1992. And besides the two factories in Reghin, numerous luthiers are taking further the violin-making tradition of the area. This art practically contributes to the fame of our city. And we recommend the tourists that they visit the workshops of these luthiers and this is an unforgettable experience they are actually looking for. Once they are in such a workshop they get familiar with the stages in the production of a musical instrument and they can speak directly with its maker. We got positive feedback from a lot of tourists who had visited suchlike workshops. There are tourists who don’t necessarily want to visit these violin maker’s workshops but come here specifically to purchase an instrument. When they learn it is possible to visit a workshop like that, they don’t miss the chance.”
If you have plenty of time, you can also visit the numerous tourist attractions around the city of Reghin.
Catalina Orban:” I would start with the Kemény Castle in Brancovenesti, which is a jewel of Renaissance architecture in Transylvania. Then there is also the Teleki Castle in Gornești. A castle in pure Transylvanian baroque style whose charm resides in its 52 chambers and 365 windows representing the days of the year. Another castle close to our city is Rákóczi-Bornemisza, located 13km away, in the center of the Gurghiu town. The castle was built in late 16th century by Prince Gheorghe Rákóczi1stwho wanted an accessible residence during his numerous hunting trips to the Gurghiu Mountains. Then there is the royal hunting castle in Lăpușna located at an altitude of 815 m, which served as the hunting residence of the communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, although it initially belonged to the royal family of Romania until 1949. From Reghin, nature lovers can visit the centuries-old oak trees reserve in the forest of Mociar. Here one can find trees with ages between 650 and 720 years.”
The list of travel objectives in the area may also include the caves in the Mureş Gorges. They were carved out of volcanic stone five million years ago, in the period known as the Pliocene Epoch.
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