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Castles and Churches in Wallachia and Transylvania |
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THE ITINERARY |
Discover and stay in, the beautiful orthodox churches of Oltenia in the Carpathians foothills; hike up 1480 steps to the 'real' Dracula's castle; celebrate the Gypsy festival at Costeşti, where in-between dancing and drinking you may even bump into their emperor; and see the famous modernist sculptures of Brāncuşi at Tārgu Jiu. Before setting up monasteries, ancient founders- rulers, boyars and monks- looked for special places that had to meet two essential conditions: to be isolated and beautiful. One of the most impressive chains of such religious settlements is to be found in the North of Oltenia, considered to be " the second Bucovina" of Romania. Oltenia is part of Wallachia- one of the three provinces forming Romania, in the south of the Carpathian Mountains. Wallachia - the land of the Vlachs, served as a distant outpost of Christendom before being conquered by the Turks and largely forgotten until the union with Moldavia in the 19th century - the first step in the creation of modern Romania. You will visit the most rewarding parts of Wallachia, from the ruins of Tārgovişte - the Princely Court - and Poienari - (considered to be the authentic Dracula's Castle) , to the beautiful Orthodox monasteries built in a Byzantine style with wonderful ornamental stone facades, tucked into the foothills of the Carpathian Alps.
One of the highlights of the tour will be the Gypsy Festival at Costeşti. Romania's minority Roma (Gypsy) community flocks to Costeşti by horse and cart - or even by expensive Mercedes! - to celebrate Romania's largest Roma festival. The village buzzes with flamboyant dancing and music-making, copper-pot selling and horse-trading. During the fair marriages are arranged and business deals are made. Their traditional, unique costumes are stunning, including their huge Hapsburg gold coins worn as a necklace. You will meet various gypsy tribes like the Căldărari (tinsmiths), Argintari (jewelers), etc. The festival is frequently attended by the worldwide Emperor of Gypsies. The tour will include a visit to Tārgu Jiu- home to the internationally famed modernist sculptures of Constantin Brāncuşi, (one of the 20th century's greatest sculptors). We will see the Endless Column- a memorial to World War I, the Gate of the Kiss, the Table of Silence and the Avenue of Chairs. We also visit Horezu , a village famous for its ceramics. There will be an optional hill-walk whilst staying in the foothills of Parāng Mountains; and a little bit of Transylvania- a visit to the famous Bran castle, wrongly linked with Count Dracula.
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Here in Wallachia the "Brāncoveanu" style flourished , with its porticoes and stone carving derived from native woodwork motifs.
Romania's most remarkable examples of this unique synthesis of western and oriental architectural styles is Hurez Monastery built during the reign of Constantin Brāncoveanu in the 17th century in Wallachia. The Turks called Brāncoveanu "Altān -bei" (Golden Prince) and his reign went down in history as the golden age of Romanian art and literature.
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