Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe. It is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history, coupled with its multi-cultural character.
The borders are made up by the Siret River from east, river Tisza from west of north and south by the Carpathian Mountains.
About
The region known as Transylvania sweeps southeastward from the present-day Hungarian border to central Romania.
The first record of its name, which means “beyond the forest,” appears in documents from the 12th century. Because it is a fertile area and was crossed by important trade routes, rulers of many lands wanted to control Transylvania.
Transylvania is legendary as the home of the vampire Count Dracula, based on the exploits of a Romanian noble, Vlad the Impaler. But mythical ghouls have been the least of the problems endured by this Eastern European region, which was invaded by barbarian tribes, Hungarians, Mongols, Turks, Hapsburgs, and Soviets.
For over a thousand years, until World War I, Transylvania was part of the Hungarian and Austro-Hungarian empires.
It was a part of Hungary, was an independent principality, belonged to the Ottoman Empire or was a province of Austria-Hungary. It has been part of Romania since 1918.
In spite of its troubled history, Transylvania has become a thriving agricultural and industrial area, rich in minerals and natural gas. It is now a vital contributor to the Romanian economy.
In Our Story..
We hear all about Chester's evidence supporting his theory that Bunnicula is a vampire in chapter starting on p. 42. Here he references Transylvania.
And we read that Harold has "some pretty fancy bloodlines running through (his) veins and that Russian Wolfhound" (p. 8) happened to be one of them. Because his family got around a lot he was able to read the note that mysteriously came with Bunnicula. It was written in "an obscure dialect of the Carpathian Mountain region.." (p. 8)
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains shelter the largest track of unfragmented forests left in Central Europe and 45% of the continent’s big carnivores’ population.
This wilderness makes it one of the best nature destinations in Europe.
The mountains stretch for over 900 km across Romania, divided into three groups: the Eastern, the Southern, and the Western. Each group has distinct landscapes because of their different rock structure, but they’re just as incredible to hike.
You can choose from hundreds of trails, based on your preferences, fitness level, experience. You can also go rafting, caving, horseback riding, mountain biking, or wildlife watching.
Remote Eastern Carpathians
This is the longest group of the three, but also the most remote if you land in Bucharest. Still, don’t let the distance discourage you.You’ll find many easy hiking trails, like those from Ciucas, Rarau, and Creasta Cocosului, and long difficult routes in Rodnei and Calimani.
Don’t miss the spectacular Bicaz Gorges where you’ll find some of the most difficult rock-climbing trails in the country.
This is the longest group of the three, but also the most remote if you land in Bucharest. Still, don’t let the distance discourage you.
Hiking tips
You’ll find many easy hiking trails, like those from Ciucas, Rarau, and Creasta Cocosului, and long difficult routes in Rodnei and Calimani.
Don’t miss the spectacular Bicaz Gorges where you’ll find some of the most difficult rock-climbing trails in the country.
Hiking areas:
Calimani National Park, Rodnei Mountains National Park, Ceahlau National Park, Maramures Mountains Nature Park, Cheile Bicazului-Hasmas National Park, Putna Vrancea Nature Park
The Idyllic Western Carpathians
This group has the lowest altitudes, but they overcompensate with their traditional villages, many caves, and karst formations.
Stop in the small villages of the Trascau Mountains to enjoy the slow rhythm of traditional life.
Visit the largest windmill park in South-East Europe, in the village of Eftimie Murgu. There, locals still use 22 traditional water mills to grind their grains.
If you like caves you’re in the right place because in Apuseni you’ll find more than 400 caves, gorges, and karts formations. Among the most famous are the Wind Cave, the longest in the country, the Bear’s Cave, and Meziad Cave. In Scarisoara Cave, you can see the biggest underground glacier in Romania and the second largest in Europe.
Hiking areas:
Apuseni Mountains Nature Park, Trascau Mountains, Cheile-Nerei Beusnita National Park, Cernei-Domogled National Park, Semenic-Cheile Carasului National Park
The Popular Southern Carpathians
Include on your list Piatra Craiului with their longest and highest limestone ridge in the Carpathians. Hike in the Fagaras if you want to reach the highest altitude in the country (2,544 meters).
Travel to the Retezat Mountains for the most impressive wilderness. The area has over 80 glacial lakes, tens of peaks over 2,000 meters, rare flora, and iconic wildlife species. Plan a multi-day trek to cross the biggest part of the park.
Take a two days tour in Cozia National Park and discover surprising landscapes. Go on one-day hikes in Bucegi and Iezer Papusa Mountains, and don’t miss the off-the-beaten-track Sureanu Mountains.
Cycle or ride on the longest and highest mountain roads in the country, Transalpina and Transfagarasan.
Hiking in the Carpathians is also one of the best things to do in Romania, a unique experience if you love adventure. Even better, it gives you the chance to visit remote rural communities with lifestyles lost elsewhere. It’s this old sustainable way of life that helped conserve the Carpathians’ wilderness.
However, the mountains face dramatic changes. The main threats are illegal deforestation, poaching, and a lack of sound environmental policies for their protection.
Other Parts
The Transylvanian Plateau, 300 to 500 metres (980–1,640 feet) high, is drained by the Mureș, Someș, Criș, and Olt rivers, as well as other tributaries of the Danube River.
This core of historical Transylvania roughly corresponds with nine counties of modern Romania.
Brasov
Brasov is one of Romania’s greatest medieval cities, if not one of the greatest in Europe. Archeologists have found evidence of humans going back to the Neolithic Era, about 9500 BC. When the Hungarian kings recruited Germans (Saxons) to settle in Transylvania, starting in the early 12th century, the Saxons wisely chose the area that is now Brasov, because of its strategic position near a pass in the Carpathian Mountains. As a result, Brasov became wealthy.
The Saxons built a huge wall to protect themselves, as well as their ornate homes and shops. Churches had tall Gothic spires. Romanians were only allowed within the walls on certain days of the week, after paying a toll.
According to a legend told by the Brothers Grimm, Brasov’s Council Square is where the Pied Piper led the 130 children of Hamlin, when he was cheated by the townsfolk after ridding Hamlin of rats.
Forests
The Carpathian Mountains shelter the largest track of unfragmented forests left in Central Europe.
The Carpathian montane conifer forests, also known as Carpathian montane forests, is a temperate coniferous forests ecoregion in the Carpathian Mountains of the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine.
The Carpathian montane forests are one of the most sizable refuges in Central Europe for large predators and raptors, including brown bear, wolf , Eurasian lynx , European wildcat, and golden eagle . The Tatra chamois is a subspecies of goat-antelope endemic to the Tatra Mountains. Small populations of European bison range free in the Carpathians. Other large herbivores include red deer and roe deer
Bran Castle (Yep.. you guessed it. Dracula was here)
Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes in Romanian), he was a brutal, sadistic leader famous for torturing his foes. By some estimates he is responsible for the deaths of more than 80,000 people in his lifetime—a large percentage of them by impalement.
Vlad III’s cruelty was real, but his reputation as a villain spread through 15th-century Europe thanks to the printing press, whose rise coincided with his reign. Propagandist pamphlets written by his enemies became best sellers. Centuries later, the sinister reputation of Vlad the Impaler took on new life when Stoker came across the name Dracula in an old history book, learned that it could also mean “devil” in Walachia, and gave the name to his fictional vampire. Yet today Vlad III is something of a national hero in Romania, where he is remembered for defending his people from foreign invasion, whether Turkish soldiers or German merchants.
In popular culture, Bram Stoker wrote his gothic horror novel Dracula in 1897, using Transylvania as a setting. With its success, Transylvania became associated in the English- and Spanish-speaking world with vampires. Since then it has been represented in fiction and literature as a land of mystery and magic.
Among the first actors to portray Dracula in film was Bela Lugosi, who was born in Lugos (now Lugoj), in present-day Romania. There is also an American animated movie franchise called Hotel Transylvania.
Turda Salt Mines
Its a magical land in the depths of Transylvania.
Turda Salt Mine is the world’s most spectacular underground formation shaped by people. Turda Salt Mine is one of the most spectacular tourist destinations in the world. It is the underground formation that people created in a special natural environment, in the depths of Transylvania, digging into the salt deposited after the evaporation of the sea that covered the entire region millions of years ago. Now, the salt from Turda Salt Mine could cover the salt requirement for the entire Planet for 60 years, if it were necessary.
More recently
The “heart” of Transylvania has an international airport, as well as an interesting history of its own. Founded by Germans in the 12th century, it was built on top of a Roman settlement called Napoca. The Hungarians made it into an important city until the mid-20th century, calling it Kolozsvár. With six state and several private universities, it became the most literary of all the Balkan cities, and still has the highest percentage of students in Romania.