This week’s destination was the Romanian Bukovina with the Moldavian monasteries and Transylvania – a special journey through time in our high-speed world to the edges of Europe, to regions of noticeable remoteness and isolation and into disappearing village communities. Hope is a foreign word here; every year this part of northeastern Romania near the border with Ukraine and Moldova loses more than one percent of the population due to resettlement. Fortified churches, 20 years ago still centers of lively communities, are falling into disrepair, villages lie fallow, the mixture of German Saxons, Jews and Romanians has disappeared. Today this part of Romania sits as a servant at the European table.
At the same time, the “trace travel company” felt the deep appeal of these melancholic landscapes: there is hardly any urban sprawl, but at the same time there is a wealth of species, rainforests, hedges, fallow land, black earth fields that have not been tilled. Small-scale farming was marginalized by agricultural corporations and speculators, and EU regulations contributed to the disappearance of rural culture.
Outpost of Europe
At the same time, these original areas of the Carpathians have a special charm: flocks of sheep graze on the slopes, flower meadows and lush greenery alternate, and when driving across the Carpathians you can always see several church towers. This country was Europe’s outpost once morest the Turks for centuries, but today it is largely forgotten, out of the way for tourism and economically a poorhouse.
Tradition and hope
Severin Lederhilger, vicar general and with “Sei So Frei” boss Franz Hehenberger, head of the Upper Austrian. Delegation, in his Ascension sermon in the Moldavian town of Gura Humorului, recalled what it means when the loss of traditions is accompanied by a loss of hope. “If people migrate to earn money and at the same time believe that everything at home can stay the same, that is a fallacy.”
In Transylvania alone it is clear that it took less than 30 years for churches to fall apart and for the region, which was once inhabited by a mixture of peoples, to change its character. Lederhilger reminded us that two things are needed: to look hopefully skywards, but also to look at the ground so that you don’t stumble in everyday life. He was impressed by the rich religious tradition of the Moldavian monasteries and the treasure trove of images they housed. For Franz Hehenberger, this journey was a metaphor for how important togetherness is. The diverse tour group also stands for such cooperation, he said. Trip number four is in preparation. It is scheduled to follow in the footsteps of Saint Nicholas in the Bari region of Italy in 2024.
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Image: man
