The thirteenth-century fortified church in Sânpetru

What do we actually know about the fortified churches in Transylvania? Located mainly in the southeastern part of this historical region (along the borders with Wallachia and Moldavia), they had both a religious and a military purpose and were erected in 300 Saxon and Székely villages. Transylvanian Saxon villages appeared in the twelfth century, when the King of Hungary settled German colonists in the area. The most important and probably strategically located villages became fortified constructions, developed around a church, with sturdy walls and storage space for the goods and the people in case of military threats.

Interior of the church

If you have the opportunity to visit some of these Transylvanian fortified churches, you will discover a unity in purpose, yet a differentiation in architectural styles and vibes and you will conclude that every establishment has its own personality and charm.

The fortified complex in Sânpetru (Petersberg), located 8 km from Braşov, dates back to the thirteenth century. A Cistercian monastery is said to have been established here. The church found in the centre of the complex was built in its current form in 1798, following several fires and earthquakes that had previously resulted in the destruction of the bell tower. This is now built facing East, in order to prevent the destruction of the altar should it ever collapse again. The basilica is built in Romanesque style and impresses by the classic and simple lines of its interior; it still operates 3 out of 4 Sundays a month for the Saxon community of Sânpetru.

Enclosures

The church is surrounded by small enclosures. In the past, villagers would pay a fee to use these spaces for storage and as dwellings in times of peril.

Although historical sources claim that the fortified church in Prejmer (UNESCO Heritage Site, Braşov County) is the only fortified church in the region that did not fall during the Ottoman raids due to the height and massiveness of its walls, it is said that neither this one could be captured by the Turks.

Paintings in the chapel

A unique feature of this fortified complex is its chapel, decorated with impressive Gothic-style frescoes, whose exact execution period could not be determined. The colours and the technique used are closer, in my opinion, to those of the fifteenth than of the fourteenth century (as initially considered) and resemble those of the painted churches of Bucovina and Moldavia – possibly another evidence to support the uniformity of the Romanian states in a period when their union was not envisaged.

     

If you are in Sânpetru,

Beautiful view from Lempeş Hill

• Ring the bell at the house of the complex keeper, located near the entrance to the fortified church. Mr. Ciprian is a great guide and will provide interesting information on the region. No admission fees; donations are welcome. Opening times: 11:00am-4:00pm (Tue-Sun, in winter); 11:00am-5:00pm (Tue-Sun, in summer) 
• Climb Lempeş Hill nearby (turn left after ‘Bielmann’ Hotel) for a gorgeous view over Sânpetru fortified church and a breath of fresh air. On clear days, you can also see Hărman fortified church.  

       

Cum să obţinem autorizaţia de vizitare a Rezervaţiei Ştiinţifice „Gemenele” din Parcul Naţional Retezat

Anul trecut, la sfârşitul lunii octombrie, pe drumul dintre Batumi şi Zugdidi am întâlnit un ceh (acelaşi amintit în postarea cu biletele de avion) care m-a intrigat şi m-a făcut să mă simt foarte mândră că sunt româncă spunându-mi că în Retezat i-a fost dat să vadă unele dintre cele mai frumoase privelişti din viaţa lui. Şi era umblat omu’ – din Svalbard şi până-n Noua Zeelandă. De ce m-a intrigat? Pentru că nu explorasem până atunci această zonă sălbatică a ţării mele. Iată însă că a venit şi acest moment, pentru că în luna mai voi porni într-o tură fotografică prin Parcul Naţional Retezat.

Deoarece Rezervaţia „Gemenele” mă fascina de o bună bucată de timp prin marmotele, caprele negre şi plantele endemice pe care le găzduieşte şi mă atrăgea prin sălbăticia desăvârşită care sunt convinsă că mă va întâmpina acolo, o zi îi va fi dedicată.

Informaţiile necesare pentru obţinerea autorizaţiei de vizitare a Rezervaţiei „Gemenele” nu se găsesc cu prea multă uşurinţă, aşa că vă voi comunica în continuare paşii parcurşi de mine în acest sens:

• Trimiteţi o cerere prin fax (la numerele 0216504010 şi 0264599523), în care să includeţi:

-          Numele complet al solicitantului (de dorit, responsabilul de grup – a se specifica în cadrul cererii), domiciliul, actul de identitate, profesia şi locul de muncă;

-          Numele membrilor grupului, domiciliul acestora, actele lor de identitate, profesia şi locul lor de muncă;

-          Motivul deplasării prin rezervaţie (fotografiere, turism, cercetare);

-          Traseul care va fi urmat în cadrul rezervaţiei;

-          Perioada pentru care se solicită autorizaţia.

• Ar fi de dorit ca la finalul cererii să se precizeze că „s-au luat la cunoştinţă informaţiile privind regimul ariilor naturale protejate, conservarea habitatelor naturale, a florei şi faunei sălbatice”;
• Cererea îi va fi adresată Domnului Dr. Dan Munteanu, Preşedintele Comisiei pentru Ocrotirea Monumentelor Naturii din cadrul Academiei Române, care poate fi contactat pentru informaţii suplimentare la nr. de telefon 0744577358.

Ţineţi seama că pătrunderea în rezervaţie fără această autorizaţie va fi imposibilă sau veţi fi pasibili la plata unor amenzi. Luaţi în considerare şi faptul că pe cuprinsul rezervaţiei nu se permit camparea, focul, culegerea de plante sau animale, zgomotul şi abandonarea deşeurilor.

În acest moment, sunt în aşteptarea primirii autorizaţiei.

Promit să vă ţin la curent!

Alitalia: never again!!

Following flights on 4 continents, the airline company providing the worst services was in my opinion Alitalia and I am writing this article to let everybody know on the type of services they offer.

My Letter of Complaint:

Dear Sirs,

I am writing to you because I had several problems connected to my last four flights with Alitalia, grouped under the aforementioned reservation code.

Firstly, I was not able to make the booking online, because your online booking system did not work, so my boyfriend was forced to call your Romanian office and make the bookings by phone. Your employee was so ill-trained that he was not able to make the booking for two persons at the same time, but for one person at a time, which led – as you can imagine – to seats in different areas of the plane instead of next to one another, as it would have been normal. When asked, this employee also said that we would not have any meals on any of the four flights and that there would only be snacks, so there was no need for us to reserve vegetarian meals. This led to another uncomfortable event, meaning that on the flights to and from Tbilisi, I was not able to have a proper meal. I checked-in online one day prior to our first flight (and I still could not select the meals, although the cabin crew onboard said that I should have been able to).

Approximately one month after making the booking, our return flight from Rome was cancelled. I contacted your support team via Facebook, I waited for one week and received no reply or solution to this issue. Consequently, I decided to contact by phone your office in Bucharest. It took them 2 days to solve this issue and book us seats on another flight.

The worst thing was however about to come. Yesterday evening, when picking my bag at Otopeni Airport, I sensed a strange smell coming from the bag. I had bought some very rare wine from Armenia (which had been packed in a protective case at the Armenian wine factory), yet one of the bottles still broke. Needless to say that my clothes are stained and ruined.

I cannot imagine how a company of your standards and reputation can make such serious mistakes related to ONE booking alone.

I would really like to know your opinion on this and your solution to this situation.

Thank you,

Olivia-Petra Coman

Braşov, October 31^st 2012

Alitalia’s reaction:

• 21.12.2012 (e-mail):

Dear Ms Coman,

We confirm to you that we received your claim from 31 October, 2012 regarding your flight with Alitalia. We wish to express our apologies for this incident. You will receive our reply as soon as possible. For any future communication, we kindly ask you to quote the following reference number: 5337278.

We thank you for choosing Alitalia and remain,

Yours sincerely,

Alitalia Customer Relations

• 19.02.2013 (telephone):

After nearly 4 months, I was contacted by a person who could barely speak Romanian and who told me that:

a) The failure of his co-worker to simultaneously book 2 tickets was caused by a ‘technical error’;

b) The fact that my wine bottles broke was my mistake and I was treated like a child doing a bad thing.

The fact that I could not be provided vegetarian meals and that our initial flights were cancelled, Alitalia offering a solution only at my insistence, were not considered.     

• 19.02.2013 (e-mail):

Dear Mrs Coman,

In reply to your email of the 31/10/2012 and further to the telephone conversation you had with our Customer Care Office 19/02/2013, we wish to renew our sincere regrets for the inconvenience you experienced while travelling with Alitalia on flight AZ 494 on the 30/10/2012.

As per our telephone conversation, I can confirm that the airline does not accept any liability for fragile items packed in a checked luggage and that no refund can be considered on this occasion. …

I believe that we are all entitled to express our opinions whenever we feel deprived of our rights. I don’t believe that the aforementioned events speak well for a company like Alitalia and I would like to advise you all to choose other companies for your flights, because with Alitalia… you’re walking on very thin ice… and you wouldn’t want your business or leisure travels to suffer, would you?