Mărginimea Sibiului – The authentic beauty
Mărginimea Sibiului (Edge of Sibiu) is one of the most beautiful areas with picturesque landscapes in Romania. Located in the southwestern part of Sibiu County in Transylvania, Mărginimea Sibiului consists of 18 localities, one more special than the other. The authenticity of the villages, the landscapes, the traditions kept by the locals, the tourist objectives as well as the traditional culinary dishes, are just some of the reasons that can make you fall in love with this region and also some of the strengths that attract foreign tourists from all over the world; they come with pleasure despite the thousands of kilometers traveled.
The gastronomic products specific to this region, often also known as the “Cheese Country”, are famous due to the various assortments of cheeses, curd or cheese, traditional smoked meats or mutton, which are prepared in the households of the villagers and are obtained from recipes dawdle-ancestors. The Cheese Festival takes place in Rășinari where tourists can taste all these traditional delicacies.
From an ethnic point of view, the locals from Mărginimea Sibiului are Romanians from their ancestors and are currently known as „mocani” or „margins”. Tradition-loving villagers, who respect their culture and ancestors, still proudly wear the traditional folk costume, embroidered in black and white, dressed on holidays, at important events or at church. In general, the main historical occupation of the population was and still is shepherding, which is why in the past, the villagers always crossed the Carpathian Mountains, which led to maintaining a link between Romanian communities of south and respectively the north of the mountains. Over time, in addition to shepherding, painting on glass, especially religious painting, has become another popular tradition that embraces the artistic life of the locals.
The villages in Mărginime developed around the historical center of the Saxons – Sibiu, and the Saxon influences can be seen in the architecture of peasant houses, imposing houses, built of wood, around an inner courtyard. Wood was the traditional building material, but in the last hundred years it has been replaced by brick.
Also, in this region there are tourist attractions that you rarely have the opportunity to see and that are valued, to the delight of tourists. The oldest Romanian church in the area is located in Săliște, and the paintings in it date from 1674. Other old churches are the wooden churches from Poiana Sibiului – 1771, Fântânele (Cacova) – built between 1772-1774 – and Tălmăcel – 1776. A popular and famous tourist attraction is the Museum of Icons on Glass at Sibiel, which hosts the largest exhibition of glass icons in Transylvania today, a splendor of religiously inspired artistic creativity born of the richness of the Orthodox Christian tradition and the fantasy of the Romanians. For its historical and cultural value, part of Mărginimea Sibiului was included in the Sibiu Regional Ecomuseum, the first open-air museum in the county that aims to preserve the beauty of architecture and rural life of the locals. Also, many other beauties of the entire region such as the Arpasel Nature Reserve, the bottomless lake in Ocna Sibiului, Păltiniș Hermitage, the Pharmacy Museum, the Bridge of Lies and many others, make Mărginimea Sibiului the perfect authentic Romanian picture.
“Tradition is alive and creative, the new in the old and the old in the new” – Fr. Adrian Agachi
See you next time and don’t forget, enjoy the journey!
Photo sources: ionescuvlad.com
1 comment
thanks, great to find some folks putting efforts in their writing still. agree with everybody else.