PLEASE HELP ME...

I see almost everyday what is going on in the world we’re living in and I can’t asking myself how things would turn up.I have been writing/posting here for more than a year. I didn’t plan anything, but I knew it wouldn’t be updated regularly.
I didn’t write for anybody but me and a couple of people. Most of the notes are sarcastic, ironic, dunny, etc. Some would call them conceited. And will consider me that way too, as well.
I wanted to point out people’s worst side. I came up with as many reasons as I could to show why people lie, betray, hate, kill, etc. And this is what I will probably continue to do. But, I also think that everybody has a positive side as well. Whether it can be seen or not we all have a positive side. What matters is to know how to reach that sensitive side and open ourselves. This time I am not going to talk about all the troubles that may occur when you consider yourself vulnerable.
I know there are some people (enough, even more than I have ever imagined) that constantly read my posts. Most of them never commented and I couldn’t interact with them. Some of them wrote to me directly by e-mail, never online, to be seen by the rest of the readers. What is important is that I know that these people do exist.
I don’t care who you are (don’t take this word by word) I don’t care whether you harmed somebody, who you lied to, how many parallel lives you have, who you cheated on and why. I want now to address to the positive side that is you. And, maybe for the first time, I am honest. This shouldn’t be taken word by word either. It doesn’t mean that until now I have been lying. Not at all. I mock at many things.
Maybe it is because this way seems much simpler. But I think that despite this worthless world we’re living in and despite the uncivilized country we’re living in, we can do something good.
I know that I want to make something good about that, I want to make a difference.
It is more difficult to do it on your own, it is even impossible. That’s why I’m writing to you.
So I have a few questions for you, questions to which you don’t have to answer here, not even to me. Answer to yourselves.

1. How many times have you been helped voluntarily by someone who acted selfless
How many times did you voluntarily help someone and how many times were you selfless, unselfish?
2. How many times you needed someone’s help and although it could have been quite easy for them to help you, they didn’t? And still how many people have done it?
3. When you were a child, was there anything that you didn’t have? And if yes, what was it? Was there anyone who could have offered you that particular thing (it doesn’t matter who, it can be anyone, even a stranger)? The answer to this question matters a lot and I’d like to know it. How would you have felt if you had what you lacked?
4. How many persons would you still hug even after 20 years of absence? And how many persons would hug you?
5. If you had the opportunity to help a stranger, without asking for anything in exchange, nothing material, would you do it? And why?

There is something I have been thinking of for a long time. But I probably didn’t have the proper courage to throw myself into such a project. Maybe it was because I didn’t know whether I’d be supported in this undertaking. I put it off on and on, I had other things on my mind, I waited a certain moment. But there is no “right moment” (but there is “the wrong moment”, which is not the case).
Sooner someone asked me if I am a good person or a mean one. I thought it was a joke so I answered consequently. Still, I consider myself a good person. Only the people around me can confirm this or not. Then, this person, who was 17 years old, told me that all he/she wanted was to know that there were good people left, otherwise he/she no longer wanted to live. And then he/she left. He/She was under the impression that I am not a good person and I hope from all my heart that the part about his/her wish to die was a death was just an unpleasant joke. Still, if it isn’t, I hope he/she keeps visiting my website.
I want to save the world. It may sound absurd for some of you, but I still want to do it. If not, at least I want to try. But I can’t do it on my own. I can’t help all the people, that is for sure. But even a smile matters. And that person will remember that someone made him smile and maybe, I hope, one day he’ll do the same thing for someone else.
And you never know how much you cand help somebody. So, I’m writing this for all the people who read my posts. I’m writing for those who post comments often, those who post comments rarely and for those who don’t comment at all. And I’m asking you: Will you help me to save the world?
No, it is not a joke, It’s not even abstract. It is something concrete that I can’t do it on my own. So I need some good people who are willing to bring smiles on strangers’ faces who don’t know yet what life has in store for them. I don’t know how I want to do it, I don’t know the amount of bureaucracy I have to face, but this is less important. All I know is that I have an idea that I want to make it real.
I won’t tell you more now, I won’t tell you why you should do it; I won’t give you any reason. The reasons should be yours.
I’m sitting in front of the computer and there are so many things I am thinking of right now.
For example we’re living in a world where the values have been reversed, where the wheel spins too fast to see what are the needs of the one next to whom we’re passing by in a hurry, a world where we raise our children fearing that the role models shaped and promoted by mass-media are far from the aspirations of any person with common sense, that the school h/she is about to attend might offer to them, before the chance to learn,
the misfortune to discover drugs and prostitution, in a society where the elder die forgotten by the rest of the world, lacking basic health care after a life of work.
There are so many things going through my head right now, that I don’t know what to begin with. For example, I have recently read that the big tobacco companies British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris sell cigarettes to underage children from Nigeria in order to raise the number of the tobacco consumers in developing countries.
The strategy came up in the moment when the sales for cigarettes diminished in Western countries.
I have also read that there are about 300 000 children soldiers worldwide and 130 000 of them are in Africa.
A journalist tells that children are taken away from their families from an early age. They don’t remember much about their relatives, and think that wearing a gun and killing the people you meet in the street is a way of life, is the only way you can live your life.
Talking about this subject, I’m thinking about Africa and everything that is going on there. I don’t know whether this is necessarily an alarm or maybe it is.
A cry for help for the children and the population from Africa, that die every day, in a significant number, because of lack of water, food, proper medication, because of too much indifference and ignorance coming from us, those who are protected by the comfort of a civilized and developed society, that keeps us away from all those needs.
It’s been more than a month since I have received by mail a movie that terrified me and I cried a long time after I had seen it, but the subject tormented me, haunted me continuously, like a ruthless shadow, blazing, destructive. Water is life. Every living organism has a large amount of water which constitutes their physical structure: we, humans, have in our bodies around 60% water, fish have around 80%, plants between 80% and 90%. Water is necessary in all chemical reactions that take place in our cells and is also the environment through which the information is transmitted between the cells, in our bodies.
I have made some research on the internet, in various magazines and journals and I discovered some striking resultas about this subject. Here they are:
* 1,2 billion people worldwide don’t have access to drinking water; this means around 1/6 of the world population;
* every 15 seconds a child dies because of the diseases caused by lack of water. This means approximately 6000 deaths each day, similarly to the crash of 20 passenger planes;
* since 1950 the globe’s population doubled, and water consumption multiplied six times;
* the simple act of hand-washing using water and soap may reduce by 40 % the danger of diarrhoea diseases and implicitly the deaths caused by this disease;
* Asian and African women carry daily approximately 20 liters of water on their heads, almost the same amount that is handled by the airport staff while loading/unloading the luggage from passenger planes.
How much water do you use every day? You probably never wondered. We are not curious because water is at our convenience. I remember that in the spring of 2004, Vancouver City Hall imposed drastic limitations for water consumption, as far as watering the gardens, the lawns, etc.So people from Canada no longer had the privilege to water their gardens, and leave the plants dry out in the sun, become brown, damaging completely the tone, the shades, the beauty of the environment where we live and that we are so proud of, and the African children don’t even have enough water to drink, to wash their hands, to cook. Is is the irony of fate? Is it sheer indifference?
I will now tell you something about water consumption in figures:
* in developed countries, an average person consumes around 10 liters of water per day for drinking, washing and cooking. The same amount of water is used on average in UK when the water is flushed.
* the average amount of water necessary for obtaining a kilo of potatoes is 1.000 litres; a kilo of wheat - 1.450 liters, and a kilo of rice - 3.450 liter.
* Agriculture is the biggest water consumer – approximately 80% of the world’s toatal consumption;
* annually in Africa people work around 40 billions of hours just to carry water.
So things aren’t too bright. The perspective is quite bleak. These sources of drinking water will become scarce, until water will become an acute problem of the mankind. What is impotant is that we are all witnesses to this waste. How many times do we let water pour uselessly in the bathroom or in the kitchen, while we are busy doing something else, things which are more important or less important? Not to mention the use of our own washing-machine, watering the lawn, as I mentioned above.
What will happen when one of the developed countries will start having problems with the water supply? They will do the same thing that is going on now, when they have problems with the oil supply.
They will go and take water voluntarily or by armed force from those who will still have. Of course they will motivate it by saying that there are weapons of mass destruction, or a dictatorial government, or they belong to the wrong religious confession …
In the Middle East, water is a problem and a constant facture of tension which causes pression between states, not to mention other problems which are present in the region. Water constituted a continuous negociation element between Israel and Syria.
In the last years, Iraq, Syria and Turkey used verbal threats concerning the rivers they share. Egypt’s former president – Anwar Sadat – stated that after signing the peace treaty with Israel in 1979, his nation will never start a war against them, unless they will be forced to protect their sources of drinking water. The same comment was made by the former king Hussein of Jordan, who mentiones that water can be the only reason that could cause a war between Jordan and Israel.
On an individual level, we can contribute to this battle for saving the drinking water, taking care of our own water consumption, limiting it to the minimum required and not wasting it.
It is also worth mentioning:
* a tap that drips continuously can causes losses of up to 90 liters per week.
* brushing your teeth while letting the water drip continuously can cause losses of up to 9 liters per minute.
* let the lawn grow. It will stay green for a longer period of time and will need less water.
* a 5-minute shower will require only 1/3 of the water necessary for a usual bath, saving up to 400 litres per week.
* even if it is very warm, the lawn needs to be watered only once a week. Too much water can cause the weakening of the roots of the herbs, which will come up.
* the automatic watering system uses too much water uselessly. You need a proper watering you don’t need to flood the lawn. Such a system can use in one hour the same amount of water consumed in one day by a family of four persons. You’d better use a hose with a manual watering pistol, so that you can control the amount of water used.
* the new washing-machines are made so that they consume less water. Those from class “A” are the most economic.
* Water your garden in the coldest period of the day. That way, you reduce substantially water evaporation.
There are probably more things to be discussed about the consumption of water and how to save it. About what we have to do and what we really do. And about how our planet will look like in 50 or 100 years time. “Why should I care?” will ask some of you, using the saying “After us the flood“?



Yes. We don’t care much. Have you ever wondered how much food you use and how much you throw away, because it is too old or you don’t feel like eating it, or because it is too salty or too sweet, etc.? How much bread, groceries, fruit? Try to monitor this aspect. You will be surprised. We are a nation of wasteful and thoughtless consumers, without a real concern for tomorrow.
And to give you something to think about and meditate intensely, I will show you a scene which is actually real. It is a picture taken by Kevin Carter in Sudan in 1993, a photo that has shocked the mankind and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1994. It captures the image of a Sudanese girl who collapsed to the ground, lacking the energy to continue her way to a camp of the United Nations which was only a kilometre away from her, where she could receive some food. In the background of the photo there is an eagle, which is waiting patiently for the girl to die, so that it could eat her. The photograph doesn’t know what happened to the girl, because he left immediately after taking the picture, shocked by the tragedy of the situation. Three months after the event he committed suicide because of the depression suffered.


It is terrible what is going on. Just when you think that this is the world we are living in and we don’t do anything to save it.
Every minute a woman dies because of the pregnancy or complications at birth. This means over 10 million women in a generation.
Almost all of these women – 99% - live and die in developing countries. A high maternal mortality rate is an indicator of a deficitary health system. It also shows that women’s fundamental rights to life and health are violated.
Most of the deaths at birth can be prevented. In industrialized countries, the deaths caused by pregnancy or birth are rare. The mortality rate in Eastern Asia and Latin America diminished as well – even by 50 % in some countries. But in Africa and south of Asia, complications of the pregnancy and at birth remain the most frequent cause of death for women. In some countries, their number is on the rise. And when women suffer or die, children suffer and die too.
We know what is necessary in order to save lives: universal access to birth control in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies, access to medical care and assistance at birth, fast access to obstetrical care in case of emergency. The statistics terrify you even at a glimpse …it is awful and I can’t help thinking that our planet suffers because of the indifference and negligence of some people who don’t care about a thing. The pollution is another factor that leads to the destruction of planet. People are not always aware of the harm they cause, but with your help we will make them think of the consequences of their activities on planet’s life and of course on everyone’s.
People have caused pollution because they wanted a more comfortable life and damaged the soil, the water and the air, leading to the extinction of many species of plants and animals.
People face various diseases caused by pollution and society’s interventions to the environment provoked serious damages.
Together we will understand that we are living on the same planet that we all need to look after! What nature has created in millions of years can be destroyed in a few days, months or years. You must know the nature’s laws and act accordingly so as to avoid its destruction, you must learn to protect, care for and preserve the elements of the environment. Mankind cannot survive without nature, where as nature can exist without the humans’ presence.
I want to ask you to think once more each time you are about to do something and why you do it. Think of all the people who don’t have as many possibilities as you have, who have a completely different life, not because they don’t want to, but because fate decided that they belong to a less fortunate world. Contribute to charity each time you can. Learn to share with the others what you have, even if it is not much. Don’t do it waiting to receive something in exchange, but do it for yourselves, as if that person that you have helped is someone close to you who needs help or maybe u had the bad luck to be born in one of this countries.

DOFTANA

DOFTANA







Comuna Valea Doftanei este amplasata intr-un cadru natural pitoresc, lipsit de surse de poluare si degradare a mediului. Campina lui Grigorescu si Hasdeu se afla la rascruce de drumuri. Din ea pleaca in directia nord o sosea ce serpuieste pe valea apei Doftana. Dupa ce lasi in urma colinele domoale, muzeul Doftana de la Telega si cheile Brebului, valea se ingusteaza, capatand frumuseti montane desavarsite.Inainte de intrarea in localitatea Valea Doftanei, apele raului au fost zagazuite prin constructia barajului de la Paltinu, formand un lac de acumulare ce poate fi asemuit cu " o mica mare montana" - zona turistica de mare atractie.Comuna Valea Doftanei este situata in nordul judetului Prahova, in zona Carpatilor de Curbura, pe cursul mijlociu al raului cu acelasi nume.Ea se afla situata in partea nordica a judetului Prahova, intre vaile Prahova si Teleajen.Relieful muntos al acestei localitati este mai accentuat catre nord, unde este limitrofa cu judetul Brasov. Acolo, spre obarsia Doftanei se inalta masive muntoase ca: Orjogoaia, Radela, Cucioaia, Zanoaga, Baiu Mare, Baiu Mic, Unghia Mare si Unghia Mica. Privit din departare, muntele Unghia Mare, cu liniile lui geometrice, seamana cu o piramida egipteana, impantata parca dinadins aici in framantatul peisaj carpatin. Tot aici se insiruie muntii Patru, Steiasa, Fundurile si o serie de "clabucete" ramificandu.se spre sud.
Cele peste 2.800 de gospodarii ale localitatii ( cca. 7.000 locuitori) sunt insirate ca o salba pe terasele in trepte de o parte si de alta a raului si afluentilor sai, pe directia de curgere nord-sud.
Lacul de acumulare pentru apa potabila, intins pe o lugime de 3 km, ofera o priveliste incantatoare. Ambele maluri ofera conditii prielnice pentn asezarea unor campinguri pitoresti si case de vacanta. Barajul terminat in a 1971, are o inaltime maxima de 108 m si o lungime a coronamentului de 465.

Cheile Doftanei

Sapate intr-un strat de conglomerate dure, puternic incretite de miscarile tectonice, sunt situate pe drumul dinspre Campina, la cativa kilometri de lacul Paltinoasa.

Varful Secariei

Peisajul isi desfasoara privelistea la aproximativ 6km de Tesila urmand traseul marcat spre vest.
Ruinele Bisericii Vechi

Ruinele Bisericii vechi din satul Traisteni ce se afla pe traseul spre Brasov.

Rezervatia "Glodeasa"

Rezervatia de brad natural " Glodeasa " (peste 200 de ani).

DOFTANA

TRANSFAGARASAN(FAGARAS MOUNTAIN)

Transfăgărăşanul (trans + făgăraş) sau DN7C este unul din cele mai spectaculoase drumuri din România. Drumul leagă regiunea istorică a Transilvaniei de Muntenia. Drumul a fost construit să treacă peste Munţii Făgăraş, cel mai înalt lanţ muntos din munţii României, care face parte din Carpaţii Meridionali.



Drumul urcă până la altitudinea de aproape 2.000 metri; drumul în trepte foloseşte serpentine pentru a urca fiind o provocare pentru orice maşină; datorită serpentinelor şi drumului în rampă viteza de rulare este de 40 km/h. Drumul este închis de la sfărşitul lunii Octombrie până în luna Iunie datorită zăpezii care acoperă drumul.
Acest drum are mai multe tunele şi viaducte decât oricare alt drum din România; în apropiere de cel mai înalt punct al ascensiuni, la Bâlea Lac drumul trece prin cel mai lung tunel din România (aproape 1.000 m).



TRANSFAGARASAN



La route Transfăgăraşan est une route de Roumanie traversant les Carpates entre Curtea de Argeş et près de Făgăraş (environ 100km de long). C'est l'une des plus hautes routes et la plus haute route bitumée de Roumanie (un peu moins de 2000 m d'altitude). Elle traverse les monts Făgăraş, d'où son nom.
Elle a été construite pendant la période où Nicolae Ceausescu était au pouvoir.Elle est bloquée par la neige généralement entre mi-Octobre et mi-Juin.




TRANSFAGARASAN




Built as a strategic military route, The Transfăgărăşan (trans + Făgăraş) or DN7C is the highest and most dramatic paved road in Romania. It runs north to south across the tallest sections of the Carpathians, between the highest peak in the country, Moldoveanu, and the second highest, Negoiu. The road connects the historic regions of Transylvania and Wallachia, and the cities of Sibiu and Piteşti.
The road was constructed between 1970 and 1974, during the reign of Nicolae Ceauşescu. It came as a response to the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union. Ceausescu wanted to insure quick military access across the mountains in the event the Soviets attempted a similar move into Romania. Consequently, the road was built mainly with military forces, at a high cost both financially and from a human standpoint—roughly 6 million kilograms of dynamite were used on the northern face, and about 40 soldiers lost their lives in building accidents.



The road climbs to 2,034 m of altitude. The most spectacular route is from the north. It is a winding road, dotted with steep hairpin turns, long S-curves, and sharp descents. The Transfagarasan is both an attraction and a challenge for hikers, bicyclists, drivers and motorcycle enthusiasts alike. Due to the topography, the average speed is around 40 km/h. The road also provides access to Bâlea Lake and Bâlea Waterfall.



The road is usually closed from late October until late June because of snow. Depending on the weather, it may remain open as late as November. It also may be closed at other times because of weather conditions (occasionally it snows even in August). There is a sign at the town of Curtea de Argeş that provides information on passage. The traveler can find food and lodging at several hotels or chalets (cabane) along the way.




It has more tunnels (a total of 5) and viaducts than any other road in Romania; in the vicinity of the highest point, at Bâlea Lake, the road passes through the longest road tunnel in Romania (884 m).
Among the attractions along the southern section of the road, near the village of Arefu, is the Poienari fortress. The castle served as the residence of Vlad III the Impaler, the king who inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula character. There is a parking area and a path to the ruins.

BRASOV

Municipiul Braşov se află în centrul ţării, în Depresiunea Braşovului, la 161 km de Bucureşti. Este accesibil cu automobilul/autobuzul sau cu trenul. În apropierea sa se găsesc localităţile Sinaia, Predeal, Făgăraş şi Sighişoara. Municipiul are o suprafaţă de 267,32 km². Treptat, dezvoltându-se, Braşovul a înglobat în structura sa satele Noua, Dârste, Honterus (astăzi cartierul Astra) şi Stupini. De asemenea, pe lângă Tâmpa, municipiul a mai înconjurat şi Dealul Cetăţii, Dealul Şprenghi, Dealul Morii, Dealul Melcilor, Dealul Warte şi Dealul Pe Romuri, Stejărişul şi chiar înglobează în structura sa vârful Postăvaru.

Braşov este reşedinţa şi cel mai mare municipiu al judeţului Braşov, România. Deţine titlul de oraş-martir. Staţiunea de iarnă Poiana Braşov se află la 12 km distanţă de centrul municipiului, dispunând de o infrastructură dezvoltată pentru practicarea sporturilor de iarnă. Patronul oraşului este considerată a fi Fecioara Maria. Statuia acesteia se află pe unul dintre contraforţii Bisericii Negre, îndreptat spre Casa Sfatului, având stema Braşovului sculptată dedesubt în relief.
În acest oraş a fost confecţionată şi instalată o copie a “Statuii Lupoaicei” (“Lupa Capitolina”), simbolul latinităţii poporului român.Municipiul Braşov a reprezentat, de secole, unul dintre cele mai importante, puternice şi înfloritoare oraşe din zonă. Datorită poziţiei geografice privilegiate şi a infrastructurii sale de astăzi, el permite dezvoltarea multor activităţi economice şi culturale.

BRASOV est une ville de Roumanie ayant le titre de municipe (capitale administrative locale) de même que Făgăraş et aussi de chef-lieu du judeţ de Braşov.
Elle se situe autour de la colline Tâmpa en région Ţara Bârsei à la courbure des montagnes Carpates, dans la partie d'influence saxonne de la Transylvanie historique, en jumelage avec la ville de Tours.

La ville est un centre touristiques important et la plus grande station de ski de l'Europe de l'Est. Elle est depuis longtemps un important centre économique .

BRASOV is a city in Romania and the capital of Brasov county. The city's population is 284,596, according to the 2002 census.
Braşov is located in the central part of the country, about 166 km from Bucharest. It is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians, and is part of the Transylvania region.

BISERICA NEAGRA

Biserica Neagră este o biserică evanghelică în stil gotic din Braşov. Construită în jurul anului 1380 (probabil începând cu 1377) şi cunoscută iniţial sub numele de Biserica Sfânta Maria, clădirea a fost parţial distrusă dupa marele incendiu din 1689, când a primit numele actual. Biserica Neagră este unul dintre cele mai reprezentative monumente de arhitectură gotică din România datând din secolele XIV-XV.
Construcţia bisericii a început serios în anul 1384 şi a fost finalizată în anul 1477. O inscripţie descoperită în zidul bisericii îl atestă ca prim ctitor pe Thomas despre care aflăm că a murit în anul 1410.
Grav avariată după incendiu, Biserica Neagră a fost refăcută cu ajutorul unor meşteri veniţi din oraşul hanseatic Danzig, pentru că meşterii locali nu mai ştiau să închidă bolţi de dimensiuni atât de mari. Noile bolţi, însă, sunt în stil baroc, nu gotic.
Planul utilizat de către arhitecţi a fost acela de bazilică cu trei nave, egale ca înălţime, înscriindu-se în tipul de biserici–hală preferate în secolele XV-XVI în spaţiul german, de unde proveneau dealtfel unii dintre arhitecţi şi meşteri.
Biserica Neagră este cel mai mare edificiu de cult în stil gotic din sud-estul Europei, măsurând 89 de metri lungime şi 38 de metri lăţime. În această biserică încap circa 5.000 de persoane.
Biserica Neagră este celebră nu doar prin dimensiunile sale ci şi prin alte lucruri: astfel, în cloponiţă se află cel mai mare clopot din spaţiul românesc, un clopot din bronz care cântăreşte 6 tone. Biserica Neagră este cunoscută şi pentru marea sa orgă având peste 4.000 de tuburi, fiind una din cele mai mari din Europa de Sud-Est. Corul susţinut de contraforţi exteriori decoraţi cu edicole care adăpostesc statui de sfinţi constituie unul din puţinele exemple de acest tip din Transilvania. Colecţia de covoare orientale a Bisericii Negre este cea mai bogată de acest tip din România. Săptămânal se organizează un concert de orgă.


BLACK CHURCH



Biserica Neagră is a cathedral in Braşov, a city in south-eastern Transylvania, Romania. It was built by the German community of the city and stands as the main Gothic style monument in the country, as well as being the largest and one of the most important Lutheran (Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania) places of worship in the region.

The originally-Roman Catholic structure was know as the Church of Saint Mary, replacing an older building used for the same purpose. Construction on it began during the late 14th century, at an unknown date — analysis of related evidence has led several researchers to conclude that work began between 1383 and 1385. It is known that, in its first stages, the building was serviced by a priest named Thomas (died 1410), whose grave is located in the choir area. Work on the fortifications in the surrounding area probably began at the same time as work on the church, leading in time to the completion of Braşov's third citadel.
Its altar originally featured a single column, but its role in supporting the entire central structure — on the model of German cathedrals built by Hans Stettheimer —, a view expressed by researchers such as Ernst Kühlbrandt and Antal Hekler, is under dispute. The naves took longer to complete, and construction was interrupted for various intervals: in 1423, Pope Martin V issued an indulgence for people involved in construction, as a means to reactivate the site; in 1474, a document issued by Sixtus IV acknowledged that work was still lagging.
Several octogonal pillars, redesigned at least once during the building process, were probably completed around 1444. One of them features the inlaid crest of military leader John Hunyadi, who is mentioned among the church benefactors.The most intense work took place before and after 1450, and involved completing the exceptionally large number of portals, including the northern "Golden Gate" and its adjacent altar of the Holy Sacrifice.The eastern portal, commissioned by the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus, was completed in 1476.The vestry was enlarged at some point between 1500 and 1515.



Completed during the 15th century (soon after 1476), the church belongs to the final stages of Gothic architecture.The result was a three-nave basilica, all the same height, as was preferred during the 15th and 16th centuries in the German lands, where most of the architects and masons originated. Many parts of the building show similarities with the church in Sebeş and St. Michael Church of Cluj-Napoca, as well as with the Dominikánsky kostol in Košice. The design was itself an inspiration for other religious buildings in the region, and it is possible that a stonemason originally employed on the site later worked on the church in Ghimbav.
The Catholic services were replaced with Lutheran ones during the Protestant Reformation, coinciding with the influence exercised by Johannes Honter. A statue in memory of Honter was later erected on one side of the buidling. The structure was partially destroyed during a great fire set by invading Habsburg forces on the April 21, 1689 (during the Great Turkish War). Afterward, it became known as the Black Church. A large part of the inner structure was modified during the 18th century, breaking with the original design.
Following the fire of 1689, Biserica Neagră was repaired with the help of masons coming from Danzig, as local craftsmen did not master the craft of completing the enormous vaults; these were to be completed in Baroque style.
Biserica Neagră is 89 meters in length and 38 meters wide. It measures 65 meters from the floor level to the highest point of its only bell tower. The Black Church has a six ton bell, the biggest in Romania, an impressive 4,000 pipe organ built in 1839 by Carl August Buchholz (1796-1884) which is played during weekly concerts, as well as a rich collection of Anatolian carpets (donated in the Middle Ages by Transylvanian Saxon merchants).
Much of the outside structure was built in friable grit, which caused outer sculptures and masonry elements to deteriorate with time. The oldest features surviving include several sculptures, arches, simpler masonry patterns such as trilobes, as well as numerous portals, while the crowning is imitation Gothic dating from the 18th century.
The oldest sculpture appears to be the almost completely deteriorated bust of John the Baptist, located in the choir section, reflects the Bohemian Gothic art as seen in the works of Johann and Peter Parler. A more flamboyant Gothic style was used in the outside sculptures — those probably depicting Biserica Neagră's supposed founder, Thomas, and the Catholic patron saint of Transylvania, Nicholas. Other pieces in that style include the Nativity, Salvator Mundi, an archangel, as well as depictions of saints believed to be the Four Evangelists (probably completed in various stages between 1430 and 1450). Newer medieval sculptures, created after 1450 and showing some Renaissance influences, feature the northward bas-relief depicting Jesus Christ in the Second Temple of Jerusalem, as well as various figures on the same facade.
A partly destroyed mural, which appears to have been completed around 1477, is situated near the southeastern portal, and features the crests of Matthias Corvinus and his wife Beatrice. It shows the Nativity, together with depictions of Saint Catherine and Saint Barbara.Unlike the inner Annunciation mural, which is late Gothic, the outside painting is heavily influenced by the Renaissance. Biserica Neagră also features a cast iron tabernacle in Gothic style, a baptismal font (completed in 1472 and donated by a merchant named Johannes Rewdel), two large chalices (both dated around 1504) and several brocade chasubles (created between in the late 15th and mid-16th centuries).



The cathedral is a major symbol of Braşov, and a museum open to visitors of the city center. A Lutheran service is held each Sunday for the small German community in the city.



CASTELUL BRAN



Situat la 30 km de Brasov, intre Muntii Bucegi si Piatra Craiului, Castelul Bran este un important monument national si punct de reper al turismului din Romania, datorita atat frumusetii lui, a peisajului, cat si a legendei contelui Dracula, al carui spirit bantuie inca aceste locuri stravechi.
Prima atestare documentara a Castelului Bran o reprezinta actul emis la 19 noiembrie 1377 de Ludovic I d'Anjou prin care brasovenii primeau privilegiul de a construi Cetatea "cu munca si cheltuiala lor proprie" ... In schimb, regele confirma subordonarea a 13 localitati fata de Cetate. Conducerea Cetatii Bran era incredintata unui castelan, care avea si atributii jurisdictionale, iar garnizoana permanenta era compusa din arcasi si balistari. Intre anii 1419-1424, Cetatea revine in posesia lui Sigismund.
La sfarsitul secolului al XV-lea Cetatea Bran este subordonata autoritatii comitetului secuilor, raspunzator de apararea sud-estului Transilvaniei, iar din timpul lui Iancu de Hunedoara trece sub conducerea voievodatului Transilvaniei. De-a lungul vremii Cetatea Bran si-a indeplinit cu prisosinta rolul de aparator impotriva invaziei turcesti.



La 1 Decembrie 1920 Consiliul orasenesc al orasului Brasov doneaza Castelul Bran Reginei Maria a Romaniei Mari, ca semn de recunostinta fata de contributia sa la infaptuirea Marii Uniri de la 1 Decembrie 1918.
Intre anii 1920-1927 Castelul Bran a fost restaurat sub conducerea arhitectului Curtii Regale, Carol Liman, care il transforma intr-o frumoasa resedinta de vara, inconjurata de parc, cu alei de promenada, lac, fantani, terase de popas, construind si Casa de ceai. In anul 1938 Regina Maria lasa prin testament Castelul Bran, cu intreg domeniul, fiicei sale Principesa Ileana, care-l stapaneste pana in 1948.



Dupa expulzarea din tara a familiei regale, in anul 1948, Castelul Bran a intrat in proprietatea statului roman, ramanand o perioada abandonat si devastat. Din 1956, partial amenajat, Castelul a fost deschis ca muzeu de istorie si arta feudala. Fiind intr-o stare avansata de degradare, in anul 1987 Castelul intra in restaurare, lucrare terminata in linii mari in 1993.



BRAN CASTLE



Bran castle,situated at 30 Km from Brasov, between the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului Mountains, Bran Castle is an important national monument and landmark of the Romanian tourism, due not only to the beauty of the Castle and the landscape but also to the legend of Count Dracula.
The first documentary attestation of the Bran Castle is the act issued on November 19, 1377, by Ludovic I D'Anjou giving the inhabitants of Brasov the privilege to build the Citadel "on their own work and expense"... In exchange for this, the king confirmed the subordination of 13 localities to Brasov town and conferred the leadership of Bran Fortress to a lord of a castel who had also jurisdictional attributions. The permanent garrison was numerically restrained to 12-24 soldiers: archers and ballisters. Between the years 1419-1424 the Fortress returned in Sigismund's possession.
At the end of the XV-th century, the Bran Fortress was subordinated to the authority of the Szeklers Committee, responsile for the defene of the Sout-East of Transylvania, and since the reign of Iancu of Hunedoara, the Fortress passed under the rule of the Voivode of Transylvania.
On December lst, 1920, the Brasov Town council donated the Bran Castle to Queen Marie of Great Romania, as a symbol of gratitude for her contribution to the achievement of the "Great Union" of 1 December 1918.



Between 1920-1927, the Bran Castle was restored under the guidance of the Royal Court architect, Carol liman. He transformed it into a beautiful summer residence, surrounded with a park, fountains, a lake, walking alleys and halt terraces and built the "Tea House" Of Queen Marie. In 1938 Queen Marie left with will the Bran Castle to her daughter, Princess Ileana.
After the expulsion of the royal family from the country in 1948, the Bran Castle became the property of the Romanian State, being abandoned and ravaged for a period. Since 1956 the Castle was opened as a museum of history and feudal art. Being in a serious degradtion, a new restoration process of the Castle starded in 1987. The repair, by and large was finished in 1993.

BIERTAN

La commune de Biertan est située au nord du judeţ de Sibiu. Elle se trouve à 80 km au nord-est de Sibiu, à 15 km à l'est de Mediaş, en ligne droite (à 34 kilomètres, par la chaussée) et à 18 kilomètres de la Route Nationale (roumaine) DN14, vers le sud-est. Sur le territoire de la commune se trouve une église gothique fortifiée.



Biertan fait partie des premièrs sites allemands en Transilvanie, incluse dans les deux "Sièges" (Medias et Seica), dans le diplôme Andréenne de 1224.
A première attestation documentaire date de 1283, dans un acte concernant les impôts requierts par le Capitale Catholique d’Alba Iulia aux prêtres catholiques des communautés de Saxon en Transilvanie.
Comme toute localité typique aux Saxons de Transilvanie, son organization était urbaine.On remarque le style franconique des ranges de maisons autour d’une place centrale, au-dessus de laquelle se dresse une imposante église-forteresse.




BIERTAN



Biertan is a commune in central Romania, in the north of the Sibiu county, 80 km north of Sibiu and 15 km east of Mediaş.
The first documentary testimony about the village is from 1283 in a document about the taxes paid by the inhabitants of 7 villages. It is one of the most important Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, having been on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1993. It was the see of the Lutheran Evangelical Bishop in Transylvania between 1572 and 1867.
It is one of the most visited villages in Transylvania, being the place of the annual reunion of the Transylvanian Saxons, many of whom now live in Germany.

TIMISOARA

HISTORICAL TIMISOARA AND HIS MONUMENTS

The oldest buildings of the present historical center of Timisoara were built at the beginning of the 18th Century, which is why it is often known only as a Baroque city. The town it self is much older but,except for parts of the Huniade castle, neither the medieval urban structure nor any building dated before 1716 can be seen today.
Timisoara is located in a swampy plain where two rivers, Timis and Bega, periodically flooded the territory. The confused network of subsidiary streams and swamps led to the fact the city, built on bothsides of the river Bega, took its name from the river Timis.



Today It Is hard to imagine that Timisoara, this beautiful and orderly town rose from the marshes. The way it looks
nowadays is, all in all, the result of its people's courage,ingenuity and diligence. Like very many other medieval towns
of Europe, Timisoara was born under the protection of a fortress and around it. That is why, the center and the oldest
part of the town bears the suggestive name of "Cetate"(Citadel). This was the nucleus from which it developed into an
urban settlement, in the course of centuries, the evolution of its town planning being a real book of history.
At the beginning, the citadel, rectangular in shape, was made of palisaded fortifications, surrounded by moats. It
included a church, several modest buildings, lodging people who had administrative and military prerogatives. In the 15th
century the fortress was enlarged and consolidated as it was temporarily chosen for a royal residence.In the written documents of the time mention is made of two churches and two monasteries as well as of the area of buildings erected beyond the outer walls of the fortress. On the hearth of the former rural settlements around the citadel,the future districts were to be founded. After Timisoara's having fallen under the Ottoman rule, major changes were effected in the town-planning of the area within its bounds and outside the citadel. New fortifications were also created, new streets and buildings, private houses, public edifices and religious establishments.
What was Timisoara like in the middle of the 15th century ?We learn something about it from a valuble description made in
1860 by the Turkish traveller Eviia Celebi. The citadel had, by then, a pentagonal shape, and was divided into four districts
with narrow, crooked, plankfloored streets. It took an hour's walk to cover the town's perimeter. Five vaulted massive, iron- made, double gates opened into the solid walls, defended by stone towers, on sides. Within the citadel's boundaries there were about 1200 public and private buildings, the latter made of wood or adobe, with shingle roof. Four bathing houses,several coffee houses and inns, depots and warehouses, nearly four hundred shops made the town comely and fervently active.




The castle with its brick vaults and turrets, the Grand Mosque,the janissary Barracks, the eight monasteries and ritual
proceeding places, all stood out proudly above the citadel's architectonics. Beyond the outer walls there were ten outlying
quarters, with approximately 1500 houses, disorderly scattered around the churches and other holy enclosures.
The Habsburg rule would entirely change Timisoara's aspects,equally trying to change its ethnic composition. The whole town would be rebuilt. In 1727, at the War Council in Vienna, Count Mercy, the first governor of the Banat presented the
"Regulations for Erecting Buildings in the Town and Citadel of Timisoara." They stipulated that a larger and stronger fortress should be built in the future, that the old wood or adobe houses would be demolished and replaced by brick houses; that a new network of streets be rigorously drawn, so that those buildings might make up uninterrupted frontages and rectangular quarters. Naturally, a special attention was given to building the new fortress, concluded by 1765; it was considered among the main four important citadels of the Habsburg monarchy.




The result was a strongly fortified fortress, star-shaped, lying on an almost circular plane, defended by strong corner bastions.As late as 1733, most of the old buildings were pulled down. A new town was set up in their place: barracks, military high commands, dwellings for officers and clerks, churches belonging to various religious faiths, the Governor's Palace, hospitals, public edifices, monuments, etc. The architectonic pride of the central part, the, Cetatea" consisted in the squares, the orderly aligned streets bordered by churches, monuments and administrative palaces. Near the outer walls of the citadel, except for a band of 949 m of land, there began the erection of the new districts of Timisoara, in keeping with a minutely detailed plan. Old houses were pulled down, modest new ones erected, aligned in straight streets, in rectangular residential districts. The oldest of the districts, inhabited by Romanians, was immediately rebuilt after Timisoara's having been taken by the Habsburg troops. The design was specific of the Banat planned villages. "Maierele" which was built in the south of the citadel, would develop into an area called Elisabetin, after 1836. On the east and south- east of the Citadel, Count Mercy, in 1720 innaugarated the first buildings in the Fabric district. That was the place where the first industrial units were born. In 1744, the Iosefin quarter was set up. Concomitantly, towards the end of the 18th the Mehala district was built. Thus Timisoara came to be a complex urban system, consisting of several distinct areas. The town proper roughly covered the central area, and the adjoining districts with streets oriented towards the heart of the urban ensemble. Although there were many vacant patches of land among the sites occupied by buildings, the then urban system made up a modern, balanced, organic whole. Timisoara, "Small Vienna", as it was called, at the time, was one of the most beautiful towns of south-eastern Europe.




The oldest architectonic monuments date back to the 18th century, apart from the Castle. The Castle (today turned into
the Banat Museum) was built between 1307 and 1315. Later on, between 1443 and 1447, Iancu de Hunedoara (John Hunyadi) built another castle on the foundations of the former one. It encircled a rectangular square, having a high ground floor and two storeys. The voyevod brought his family here and, in the short intervals between battles, the Transylvanian nobles used to join him at the castle, a witness of many an eventful century of history in Timisoara. In the 18th century, it was turned into an arsenal and barrackss. Heavily strafed in 1552,1716, 1849, the castle was rebuilt in 1856 and most of it has survived to this day. During the epoch of Romanticism the castle underwent shapely constructive modifications, following
an older architectonic style, with Romanic and Gothic elements.An old part still preserves the original pre-Romantic stone
vaults.
The 18th century has left us with a number of monuments lending a special mark to Piata Unirii (The Union Square), and
to Piata Libertatii (Liberty Square). The Roman Catholic Cathedral (the Dome) was built in 1736 by the Viennese architect Fischer von Erlach junior. It has a cross-shaped design blending classic patterns and baroque decoration. The two altars harmoniously bring together baroque and rococo elements; due to the design of the vaults the acoustics are excellent for the organ concerts. On the opposite side of the square stands the Serbian Orthodox Church, erected between 1744and 1748, restored and completed with two towers, in 1791. Its sculptures are baroque and the beautiful religious painting was
made by Constantin Daniel in the 19th century. The great lofty architecture of the Baroque Palace (the President's House)
rises proudly above the Union Square. It was built in 1733, extended in 1754, restored and then completed in the following
century. The edifice was to be used for administrative purposes (the prefect's office, the County Residence). In the future, it
will house the Art Museum. At the heart of this square, formerly used for military parades and religious ceremonies, one can see the Holy Trinity carved in stone, (Vienna, 1735-1740) and initially erected (1740) in Piata Transilvania. (Transilvania Square). It is a remarkable 18th century baroque work. The monument consists of several suffering plague- stricken human beings grouped around a baroque column. The Black death haunted the Timisoreans between 1738 and 1739. Piata Libertitii (Liberty Square) was opened in 1720, and it became the military center of the town. The roughly square-
shaped place is dominated by the Commander in Chiefs Residence,built between 1744 and 1752, with its rococo-decorated facade.Between 1731 and 1734 Primaria Veche (The Old City hall) was erected on the foundations of a former Turkish Bath. The construction has been altered several times in the course of time. Its facade is symmetric with arches decorating it. Near
it, about 1730, a massive building sprang up - the War Chancellery. In the middle of the square stands St. Mary Monument (1756), sculptured by Blim and Wasserburger in Vienna.In the architecture of "Cetate" district also stand the Borough Civilian Hospital (1744-1745) the Oncological Hospital, today,rebuilt after the 1849 siege; the Military Hospital (1744-1766)
completed with storeys at the beginning of the 19th century;the Misericordian Church and Residence edified by the monks of
that order, for health purposes (1735-1737). After the fire caused by the siege of 1849, these would be restored in 1851.
They have a simple architecture with little decoration, typical of the European Baroque. The Episcopal Palace (4 Augustin Pacha Street) a mid-eighteenth century construction was used for administrative purposes; although entirely renovated (1889), it still preserves old forms of baroque architecture. The Deschan Palace (1735) is, today, in 5 Proclamatia de la Timisoara Street; partially renewed in 1802, it has remained an outstanding neoclassic feat of engineering combined with
elements of the Corinthian order. Behind the main building there is a wing of the initial architecture with a richly-arched facade. The Mercy Palace (the County Commercial Bank,today) was designed for the first Governor's residence,immediately after the Habsburg rule set In. Both the inside part and the exterior are architectonically simple, having but
little decoration on; with all its massive appearance, this edifice shows elegance and balance. Not far from it rise the
Food Waiehouse Barracks (now the Museum of Ethnography) and Theresia Bastion (dating from 1730-1733). The latter one and some fragments in Brediceanu Street ("700" Square) are, in fact, the only remnants of the former star-shaped fortress.
Today the onlooker is impressed by this solid and strong architecture. Fragments of two other constructions have also
survived to this day: 1788, (the former monastery in 1st Ungureanu Street) and "Prince Eugene" Gate embedded in the
thickness of the wall in another building erected in 1817 (24 Eugeniu de Savoya Street). 18th century architecture is also to
be found in the "Fabric" District: St. George Orthodox Church (1745-1753) in Traian Square; the Romanian Greco-Catolic Church(1765) in Alexandru Sterca Sulutiu Square; the Old Brewery(1764). Bisericii Square ("Old Maierele") also includes the
Romanian Orthodox Church (1784) renovated in 1894 and 1927.The ample economic development during the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th determined important changes in the structure and the urbanization of Timisoara. The old walls with their narrow gates stood a barrier for the expansion of constructions in the central part of the town, for the transportation and for the digging of water supply canals and of the sewerage system. Moreover, the new art of war was in
discrepancy with the anachronic system of fortifications and the great destructions of the 1849 siege evinced it quite
clearly. In 1892 the Administration decided that the fortifications should be pulled down and sanitation Measures be
adopted. Their decision was put into practice only after 1900 but it meant a real turning point and a feat of engineering for
Timisoara's future development. In the place of the dilapidated ditches, bastions ind ,ewers, there sprang up modern buildings and streets, wide boulevards, and new roads opened towards the older districts. The street network and the areas with constructions having grownn, the vacant spaces among the districts became fewer and fewer. The town planning also
extended over the outskirts which equally grew in the number of buildings erected on larger and larger sites. The architects
designed straight and wider streets grouped in quarters,covering vast areas. The private houses, generally ground-floored, were surrounded by gardens, and the apartment-houses made small square enclosures (Barnutiu Street, Asachi Street, Cermena Street). The population of these districts grew considerably. In the middle of the 19th century, more than 53% of the civilian population lived in the "Fabric" district, due to the rapid industrial development at the time. The "Josefin"district extended on both sides of the Bega river. Its new streets (Vacarescu Street, Tineretii Street, General Ion Dragalina Street a.s.o.) show a markedly 19th century architectural style. The importance of this district in the town's life also stepped up with the building of the North Railway Station (1857), of the Tobacco Mill and Lamp-oil Plant.Towards the end of the last century, the building sites having been filled, practically, the "Elisabetin" and the "Iosefin" districts were united, while the "Mehala" still maintained its rural character. Still more numerous monumental buildings sprang up, during the 19th century, lending the town a special architectural aspect. The Dicasterial Palace (1855-1860) was meant to be the Banat governor's residence; it is Timisoara's largest construction, with three inner yards, 273 rooms, halls,cellars, etc. Its facade has an interesting decoration of the Florentin Renascence style. Today it houses several admi-nistrative, financial and law offices. In front of this lofty edifice in Ionel C. Bratianu Street, one ran see the Evangelic Church (1837-1839) and its rectory, the former Evangelic School, erected before the 1848/1849 Revolution. In the place of the Rascian City hall (1755), between 1877 and 1879, the Higher Science School was built; today it houses the "Nikolaus Lenau" German High School. The New Synagogue (1863-1865) (6Marasesti Street) with its Moorish style and brick-faced facade brings a special color" into the baroque architecture of the place. The House of the Orthodox Community (5 Unirii Square) dating from 1828, the Old Museum (1886-1891), nowadays the Library of the Romanian Academy Timisoara Branch, 7 Augustin Pacha Street, the Electromotor High School (1899-1900), all these are harmoniously integrated in the architecture of the central area. Several other monumental buildings date from the same period: The New Synagogue of "Fabric" district (1899), also in "Moorish style"; the Institute for the Deaf-Mutes(1894-1897), the former "Notre-Dame" High School (1881) in General Ion Dragalina Street, the Stefan cel Mare (Stephen the Great) Bridge, the Roman Catholic Church of "Fabric", built in"Roman style". Among the relatively few historical monuments dating from the last century, mention should be made of the Victory Memorial (today in the Lipovei Street cemetery) set up (1850) in the Old City hall Square, to celebrate the victory of the Austrian troops over the 1848/49 revolutionists. The pedestal is evocative of Timisoara's fortifications, defended by towers; above them a canopy shelters the statue of a woman holding the keys of the town in her hand. The four statuettes, flanking her on sides, embody Honesty, Obeyance, Vigilance and Sacrifice. In "St. Mary Square" there is St. Mary's Monument, erected in the place where, according to tradition, Gheorghe Doja was executed. Legends hold that, while Gheorghe Doja was tortured, the Jesuit monks (singing religious hymns) saw St.Mary's gentle face. That is why they brought an icon of Mary in a glass box and put it up in the placeof the ordeal. In 1865 a stone statue was placed there. The monument we can see today dates from 1906. It is made of Carrara marble, nesting inside a Roman granite chapel. After 1900, on the "decertified" sites, new squares, boulevards and streets were cut within a large perimeter (Victory Square, Horatius Square, Revolutiei 1989 Square). The use of new building materials (metal frames, reinforced concrete) made it possible for the architects to give up observing the norms of classic architecture and to create massive, widely-spanned constructions. In Timisoara, like in the rest of Europe, the "1900 style" gained ground. It was characterized by the blending of various architectonic elements and by a large variety of suggestive architectonic expression given life on the facades of the buildings. We find, for example, edifices in which classic architectural elements combine with vegetal, geometric ornaments, typical of the "1900 style". In other constructions attempts were made at lending them Romanian specificity by employing Byzantine architectural formulas. In the period prior to World War 1, architecture manifested predilection for monumentality and the creation of large spans of street fronts (with buildings having shops at the ground floor), very much like those in the great European urban centers.




It was then that many constructions were set up to cover the social-cultural needs: the Children Asylum (1904), the Pediatric Clinic and Hospital (1904), the School of Commerce (1914), today the Municipal City hall; the Piarist High School(1908-1909), nowadays part of the Technical University; the Girls' High School (I 903-1904), today the "Eftimie Murgu"
Pedagogical High School, the Boys' High School (I 902-1903), today the "Constantin Diaconovici Loga" High School, the
General Post Office (1910-1943), the Neptune Palace ("Neptune"Bath) 1913-1,914, a massive construction built in the
"Secession style", the Casino in "Iosefin" (1902-1903); the"Apollo" cinema (1909). Other edifices were erected for special
purposes: financial institutions (Timisana Bank - 1913);religious, (The Romanian Orthodox Church - 191 1; in Andrei Saguna Street) painted by Ion Zaicu; administrative (the Timis-Bega Society 1900/1902 - today the Romanian Railway Regional Administration; economic (The Slaughter House - 1904/1905), etc. The "Iosefin" became the most important economic district due to the position of the Railway Station and of the port. However most of the constructions were erected in "Elisabetin". There our eye is caught by the Catholic Church (1913-1919) a piece of architectonic curiosity, neo-Gothic in
style, looking on the Balcescu Square; the quarter built between Plevna Square and Splaiul Vladimirescu closely keeping
with the "1900 style". An important role in creating the urban unity of Timisoara was played by the chain of parks organized on both sides of the river as well as all over the town: the People's Park (1868); Central Park (the second half of the 19th century), dominated by the "Memorial dedicated to the Romanian soldier"; the Doina Park, the Plevna Park (after 1900), later completed by other green areas of great beauty: the Rosarium, the Alpinet Park.The town is thus given a special charm thanks to the presence of the parks and numberless areas covered with verdure and flowers, wonderful places of rest and entertainment, oasis of peace and freshness. Timisoara has consequently won recognition as "the town of parks and of roses".
After the Great Union of 1918, the town was naturally integrated in the new historical reality; it went through a spectacular development in the period between the two world wars. The planning worked on, no more determined by the existence of the castle but in keeping with a long-term perspective, covering several decades. The old districts are now connected by bituminized or macadamized streets, by wide and bright boulevards; many new elegant quarters were built in the vacant areas between Iosefin and Elisabetin, or between Fabric and Elisabetin. The dynamics of civil engineering was significant for Timisoara development after the 1918 Union. In 1914 there had been 5590 buildings, 596 storied ones whereas in 1941 there were 11 812, 1531 with one or more storeys. These constructions are massive and strong, some of them real palaces, stylistically varied, arrayed in continuous spans alongside the streets. In almost all the districts they make up a real architectonic symphony: edifices with simplified elements of the Byzantine architecture others bearing specifically neoclassical, modern, neo-Romanian or even Cubist decoration.
The National Theater and the Orthodox, Cathedral stand proudly in the stately esplanade of the Victory Square, one of the most beautiful inter-war architectural achievements. The National Theater (1872-1875) went through fire twice, in 1880 and in 1920, being then renovated (1920-1928) by Duillu Marcu, an architect who superimposed elements of neo-Byzantine
architecture. The monumental arch spanning over its facade lends it distinction. The Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedra(1936-1940) was designed by a renowned architect - Traianescu in keeping with the traditional Romanian architecture of the
Moldavian style. It Impresses us through its size, the high quality of painting and of sculpture, through the harmonious blending of architectonic patterns. The sides of the square are occupied by monumental buildings (the Lloyd Palace, the Lofler Palace, the Dauerbach Palace, the Marbi Palace). In the middle of the square we can see the Mother-wolf statue, donated by Rome in 1926, as a symbol of the Romanian people's Latin origin. Mention should be also made of other massive constructions, built within the same stretch of time: the Timis Prefecture Palace (1938-1943), the "Capitol" Cinema (1929-1930), the "Timisoara" Hotel (1930); the "Banatia" High School (1924-1926; today the University of Medicine and
Pharmaceutic, the "Ciobanu Palace", the "Classical" Lyceum (1930 - the Students' House of Culture, nowadays), the Old
Building of the Faculty of Mechanics (1923), the Hygiene Institute (1929), the Orthodox Church of Mehala (1925-1937),
etc.
After the Second World War a relative stagnation set in, as far as the urbanities development was concerned. Then an intense
building activity started, many constructions springing up in the town's panorama: industrial, social and cultural establishments, blocks of flats, making up the large quarters of Circumvalatiunii, Torontalului Avenue, Aradului Road,
Tipografilor, Buziasului Road, Sagulul Avenue, etc. In the last three decades many constructions have been erected, but at the
expense of so many people's privations and sacrifices.Generally, their architecture has completely broken away from
the traditional background and physiognomy of the town, as was pointed out by M. Opris, the author of Timisoara's, A Short
Urbanities Monograph, Editura Tehnica, Bucharest, 1987, a piece of literature with ample references in the domain of
architecture.

SIBIU

SIBIU


Alaturi de Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara si Arad,municipiul Sibiu este unul din cele mai frumoase orase transilvanene.Are un farmec aparte,deorece este un "oras muzeu" ce evoca prin zidurile turnului de aparare,bastioanele fostei catati a Sibiu-lui,vremurile unei frumoase istorii.Orasul pastreaza peste timp amintirea unor oameni de seama ai istoriei,artei si culturii nationale,figuri ilustre din randul celorlalte nationalitati - sasi,maghiari - care au trait si creat pe aceste meleaguri pe care le-au considerat dintodea-una patria lor."Orasul vechi",asezat chiar in centru,este inconjurat de zidurile vechii cetati.Prin traditie,Sibiul este impartit in orasul de sus si cel de jos.Sibiul este cunoscut ca un puternic centru turistic cu numeroase si diverse obiective turistice.De asemenea,imprejurimile sale sunt pitoresti si cu locuri atragatoare.



SIBIU

La ville de Sibiu est le chef-lieu du Judet de Sibiu.Elle est centre culturel traditionnel des saxons de Transylvanie et partage un lien avec la ville de Brasov.
Sibiu a ete designe "capitale europeenne de la culture"pour l'an 2007,titre qu'il partage avec Luxembourg.
Sibiu est situé près du centre géographique de la Roumanie, dans le sud de la Transylvanie.Placé dans la dépression du Cibin qui est traversée par la rivière homonyme, la ville se trouve à 20 km des Montagnes de Făgăraş , 12 km des Montagnes de Cibin et à approximativement 15 km des montagnes Lotrului, qui confinent la dépression au sud-ouest. Au nord et à l'est, Sibiu confine le Plateau des Târnave, qui descende vers la vallée du Cibin par la colline Guşteriţei.


SIBIU

Sibiu it straddles the Cibin river,a tributary of the river Olt.
Sibiu was designated European Capital of Culture for the year 2007 together with Luxembourg.
Sibiu is situated near the geographical center of Romania. Set in the Cibin Depression, the city is about 20 km from the Fagaras mountains,12km from the Cibin mountains,and about 15km from the Lotrului mountains,which border the depression in it's southwestern section.The northern and eastern limits of Sibiu are formed by the Târnavelor Plateau, which descends to the Cibin Valley through Guşteriţei Hill.
The Cibin river and some roads of national and international interest run through Sibiu, which is also an important city for the railway transportation, as the meeting point of east-west and north-south routes.
The city of Sibiu and its surroundings are one of the most visited areas in Romania. It holds one of the best preserved historical sites in the country, many of its medieval fortifications having been kept in excellent state.Sibiu and its surrounding area have many significant museums, with 12 institutions housing art collections, paintings, and exhibits in decorative arts, archaeology, anthropology, history, industrial archeology and history of technology and natural sciences.
Much of the city's aspect is due to its position, easily defensible, but allowing horizontal development. The old city of Sibiu lies on the right bank of the Cibin River, on a hill situated at about 200 m from the river. It consists of two distinct entities: the Upper City and the Lower City. Traditionally, the Upper City was the wealthier part and commercial outlet, while the Lower City served as the manufacturing area.


THE LOWER CITY

The Lower City (Romanian: Oraşul de jos) comprises the area between the river and the hill, and it developed around the earliest fortifications. The streets are long and quite wide for medieval city standards, with small city squares at places. The architecture is rather rustic: typically two-storey houses with tall roofs and gates opening passages to inner courts.
Most of the exterior fortifications were lost to industrial development and modern urban planning in the late 19th century; only one or two towers still exist. A building associated with newer urbanism of the period is the Independenţa Highschool.
This area has the oldest church in the city, dating back to 1386.


THE UPPER CITY

The Upper City (Romanian: Oraşul de sus) is organised around three city squares and a set of streets along the line of the hill. As the main area for burgher activities, the area contains most points of interest in Sibiu.

THE LARGE SQUARE

The Large Square (Romanian: Piaţa Mare) is, as its name suggests, the largest square of the city, and has been the center of the city since the 16th century. 142 m long and 93 m wide, it is one of the largest ones in Transylvania.
Brukenthal Palace, one of the most important Baroque monuments in Romania, lies on the north-western corner of the square. It was erected between 1777 and 1787 as the main residence for the Governor of Trasylvania Samuel von Brukenthal. It houses the main part of the National Brukenthal Museum, opened in 1817. Next to the palace is the Blue House, an 18th century Baroque house bearing the old coat of arms of Sibiu on its façade.
On the north side is the Jesuit Church, along with its dependencies, the former residence of the Jesuits in Sibiu. Also on the north side, at the beginning of the 20th century an Art Nouveau building was constructed on the west part, now it houses the mayor's office.
Next to the Jesuit Church on the north side is the Council Tower, one of the city's symbols. This former fortification tower from the 14th century has been successively rebuilt over the years. The building nearby used to be the City Council's meetingplace; beneath it lies an access way between the Large Square and the Small Square.
On the south and east sides are two- or three-storey houses, having tall attics with small windows known as the city's eyes. Most of these houses are dated 17th to 19th centuries, and most of them are Baroque in style.

PIATA MARE - " Ringul cel mare" cum i se spunea odata,era locul de intalnire,de serbari.Festivitati pitoresti s-au desfasurat aici cu prilejul instalarii conducatorilor cetati.Aici se dadeau mese mari,Boi,berbeci si miei intregi se frigeau in piata si vinul se bea din uriase boloboace.Breslasii si ucenicii lor infatisau atunci jocuri populare cu talcuri simbolice.Memorabila a ramas serbarea de la 14 februarie 1582.Aici oamenii se intalneau si se sfatuiau cum sa apere cetatea in vremuri de rastriste.Tot aici multimea privea inmarmurita decapitari,spanzurari si chiar arderi pe rug,pana la sfarsitul secolului XVIII.

THE SMALL SQUARE

As its name says, the Piaţă Mică is smaller in size, being rather longer than wide. Its north-west side has a curved shape, unlike the Large Square, which has an approximately rectangular shape. Accordingly, Piaţă Mică plays a smaller part in the city's present-day life.
The square is connected to the other two squares and to other streets by small, narrow passages. The main access from the Lower City is through Ocnei Street, which divides the square in two. The street passes under the Liar's Bridge - the first bridge in Romania to have been cast in iron (1859).
To the right of the bridge is another symbol of the city, The House of the Arts, an arched building formerly belonging to the Butchers' Guild. On the left side of the bridge is the Luxemburg House, a Baroque four-storey building, former seat of the Goldsmiths' Guild.

THE HUET SQUARE

Huet Square is the third of the three main squares of Sibiu. Its most notable feature is the Evangelical (Lutheran) Cathedral in its center. It is the place where the earliest fortifications have been built. The buildings around this square are mainly Gothic. On the west side lies the Brukenthal Highschool, in place of a former 15th century school.

THE FORTIFICATIONS

The city of Sibiu was one of the most important fortified cities in Southeastern Europe. Multiple rings were built around the city, most of them out of clay bricks. The south-eastern fortifications are the best kept, and all three parallel lines are still visible. The first is an exterior earth mound, the second is a 10-meter-tall red brick wall, and the third line comprises towers linked by another 10-meter-tall wall. All structures are connected via a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways, designed to ensure transport between the city and lines of defense.
In the 16th century more modern elements were added to the fortifications, mainly leaf-shaped bastions. One of these survived to this day, as the Haller Bastion .

Zidul cetatii si turnurile de aparare ( str.Cetatii) - zidul a fost construit in sec al XIV -lea,ca a treia centura de fortificatii.Intarit,pentru cetate,in sec.XVII si restaurat in 1963.Turnul archebuzierilor,devenit mai tarziu "Turnul panzarilor",construit in sec XV,pe o fundatie octogenala.In interior turnul dispune de doua drumuri de rond,ca loc de manevra si de amplasare a aparatorilor in timpul luptelor.

PASSAGE OF THE STAIRS The steep Passage of the Stairs leads down to the lower section of Sibiu. It descends along some fortifications under the support arches. It is the most picturesque of the several passages linking the two sides of the city.

PASAJUL SCARILOR - amenajat in ultimul timp.Zidul celui de-al treilea cordon de aparare,se prelungeste spre nord,sprijinit de puternice arcuri butane.Construit in sec.XIII . I se mai spune si "Zidul cu ace".Locul cel mai pitoresc si caracteristic Sibiului vechi.