Final Report cu negru - Intbau

FINAL RESULTS/
DATA PRESENTATION
COLLECTION
Floresti windows type
Laslea windows type
street facade in Noul Sasesc and Viscri
Social and Cultural Events group
People involved:
Irina Neacsu (architect student),
Anca Danilescu (art historian student).
in search of old traditions
The Social and Cultural Events Group had the task of making a
research regarding the folkloric and architectural traditions that
still exist and discover the events (holidays, festivals, fairs...) and customs
of the place, which define a very typical way of life.
The idea was, on one hand, to propose an archive of the built environment
which can lead further to a code of regulations in the construction field,
and, on the other hand, to discover the possibilities of maintaining the
communities which gave the place life.
The rapid exodus of the Saxons from the 1990s, after the Romanian revolution, has precipitated
sudden great change in the communities. The villages have emptied; the remaining communities
are elderly and impoverished. In 1990, the ethnic mix in the Saxon villages was 70% Saxons,
25% Romanian and 5% Rroma, with a Saxon population of 90.000. Today, the population stands
at less than 20.000, from which, 5% are Saxons, 35% Romanian and 60% Rroma. The
Romanian and Rroma population brought their specific customs and traditions and only in few
places there are Saxon traditions which are still kept. (in Richis- the custom of hanging mistletoe
branches at the windows in may saying that there are girls at that house, is an old Saxon
tradition). The exodus of the Saxons had a big impact on the built environment. Since todays
population is mostly orthodox and catholic, the fortified evangelical churches are not anymore
used for service, and that’s why they are kept in a very bad condition. The houses are mostly
owned by Romanians and Rroma who have a very different tradition in construction and do not
necessarily appreciate so much the appearance and identity of their villages. Those who can
afford to invest are looking more for modern comfort and effects like pebble-dash, crazy paving,
tarmac and Alpine picture windows, statements of the modern world. To educate the locals and
to help them to appreciate the long-term economic benefit of conservation in terms of property
values and tourism could be more effective than State regulation and conservation.
In the next pages is presented a calendar with the major events and holidays
that exist in the Saxon villages of Transylvania nowadays:
the Saxon tradition of cutting the roof to the street facade 15