Viscri

You arrive into the village on an unpaved road, and when the road conditions are bad, you take a horse drawn cart that was designed for these roads a few hundred years ago. The little houses lining the 2 or 3 roads are the original Saxon houses, many of them lovingly restored, and painted pale blue, typical of Saxon villages. As you walk down the road, chickens are happily roaming the yards and pecking for food, residents are spotted working on some type of archaic implement that is still used for their farming. Viscri is also home to a cottage industry for knitted goods – socks, hats, sweaters and scarves, whose income is the sole source for many households. Here, Prince Charles bought his first property in Romania. A Saxon House from 1750. Today there are over 15 properties in several exceptional rural areas in Romania. Viscri, part of the Unesco World Heritage, will spell you right away!

Saschiz

Romania has more Saxon Villages to offer! Like all the fortress churches from Transylvania, the fortress church from Saschiz is part of the UNESCO patrimony, being considered the only living testimony of the German history. Located in the southern part of Transylvania, the fortified church from Saschiz was built in 1493, on the place of a former Roman basilica, made from quarry stone. The church has a large naval, a central tower, and a choir closed in three sides. The church has been surrounded by a defense wall. Near the Saschiz church it’s located a peasant fortress, built in XIV century. The large roads, the orchards full of flowers and fruit trees, the old houses, painted in the pure German tradition, turn the Saschiz village into an especially welcoming and picturesque place that induces serenity, contemplation and inner peace. At a couple of km away from the village, in the north, are located the ruins of a fortress dating back to 2500 B.C., known under the name of “the fortress of the giants”.

Crit

The simplicity, discretion and hospitality of the people from Crit became the subject of some writings that were passed on from generation to generation. Crit, one of the authentic Saxon Villages, astonishes through its abundance and serenity. The wars, and then communism marked the life of the people from this Saxon village. The name of the village, Crit – Deutschkreutz, signifies a German cross. These villages were established by the Saxons, Walloons and Flemish from between Rin and Maas, sent and encouraged by the Hungarian king Geza the IInd at thousands of km away to populate and to control the newly conquered territory (Transylvania), offering them unlimited fertile lands, privileges and protection, to the disadvantage of the local roman population. Over time, the locals endured countless abuses, as they were displaced and forced to live at the outskirts of society, the edge of the community or in forests, and those that refused to obey or to convert to the new religion (Catholic, Protestant, Lutheran church…) were often massacred. History, unfortunately, is filled with such atrocities, when women, children and the elderly, and sometimes whole villages, were killed without mercy. Today, those times have been forgotten, the local communities living in complete harmony. The legacy entrusted by the European Saxons, to all of us is unique, part of the Romanian identity. The fortified church from Crit dates back to 1270, and between 1810-1814 there were made significant changes, the current church acquiring a neoclassical style. Annually, the village alleys are crossed by hundreds of thousands of tourists that come to admire these enchanting places, almost frozen in time.