April 29, 2011: Transylvania, Romania Day 1: Nagyvarad, Banffyhunyad, Kalotaszentkiraly

April 29, 2011: First a bit of information about Transylvania (This section has been updated from my initial posting based on comments I've received from blog readers): Transylvania means "other side of the forest". Originally Transylvania was a part of the Roman Empire which collapsed in the 5th century. Then it was part of the Dacia Province. Later and until 1920, Transylvania was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was ceded to Romania in the Trianon Treaty which was drawn up after the Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed. In fact to this day there are still 42 Hungarian cities in Transylvania and our tour was to visit several of these. 

The population of Romania is 22 million people of which 18 million are Romanian, two million are Hungarian, one million are gypsy (This fact provided by my blog reader differs from what we learned from our tour guide who said the number was two million), and others who number half a million. The size of Transylvania is roughly the same size as the country of Hungary, so you can see that when Transylvania was ceded to Romania during the Trianon Treaty of 1920, Transylvania represents a significant part of the land that was ceded. The population of Transylvania is eight million people or which one and a half million living in Transylvania are Hungarian. Another minority living in Transylvania is the gypsies who number several hundred thousand people. Although three million Hungarians live outside Hungary, there are four (our tour guide said 8) million Romanians who live outside Romania, most of these people in Moldova which was a former province of Romania that was annexed by Stalin. The highest peak in Romania is 2500 meters. Note: I did a search on population of Roma in Romania and the data suggest that the population ranges anywhere from 3 to 11 % of the population of Romania since it is very difficult to pin down the exact number in census taking.


The night of April 28th, Ruth and I spent the night at the Corvinus University hostel since the bus we were to take for our trip to Transylvania, Romania left from there at 6:00 a.m. the next morning. On the 29th, we left Corvinus and headed to Debrecen, Hungary to pick up the remaining participants on the tour. Altogether there were 13 teachers from CETP plus Hajni and Marika, our guides and Peter, the bus driver. We arrived in Debrecen a little after 9:00 and were on our way to a wonderful trip through Transylvania.

Church in Debrecen

A short distance from Debrecen was the border of Romania. Close to the border in Romania is the city Nagyvarad (Oradea in Romanian). We stopped there to see a church that was built between 1752 abd 1780. It was at this church that St. Istven gave the crown to Mary and it is St. Istven who founded the Hungarian state. The outside of the church is rather bland but the inside is spectacular.

Church in Nagyvarad built 1752 - 1780

Church in Nagyvarad built 1752 - 1780

Church in Nagyvarad built 1752 - 1780

Church in Nagyvarad built 1752 - 1780

Church in Nagyvarad built 1752 - 1780

Church in Nagyvarad built 1752 - 1780

Church in Nagyvarad built 1752 - 1780

Church in Nagyvarad built 1752 - 1780

The church also honors St. Laszlo who fought in battle with a battleaxe.

St. Laszlo

We left the church and entered a large garden with another large building that was part of the compound.

From the church, we drove down town to see the Art Nouveau buildings of the city. As you can see, the buildings in Nagyvarad are being repaired after years of significant wear and tear.

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town - building under reconstruction

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town - building under reconstruction

Nagyvarad down town

Nagyvarad down town

After leaving Nagyvarad, we went to Banffyhunyad (Huedin in Romanian) where there is a 12th century Protestant church. The minister of the church gave us a tour.

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church - note hand painted ceiling

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church - note hand painted ceiling

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church - note hand painted ceiling

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church - note hand painted ceiling

Banffyhunyad Protestant Church embroidery

The neighborhood of the church was quite peaceful. Here's a picture of a nearby house.

After we left the church, we drove to Kalotaszentkiraly (Sincraiu in Romanian) where we spent our first night in Romania. We stayed in a Hungarian home and the room was very quaint. Note the hand painted furniture which almost looked Pennsylvania Dutch. In fact, at dinner that night in the restaurant, there was another group of tourists from the Netherlands which visits this village every year, so there must be a tie between Romania and the Dutch.

Kalotaszentkiraly

Kalotaszentkiraly

Kalotaszentkiraly

In the evening, we had a great Hungarian dinner and there were performers who gave us a show of typical Hungarian clothing and then they danced. Below are pictures of the restaurant, the gypsy duo that played for us, and the dancers.

videos of dancing to be inserted here later.