Advent in Brașov

Romanians love Christmas all lit up, and I must say I get the charm of it. I haven’t seen a single sunbeam since I came back to Prague. All I get is thick, low-hanging clouds. Brașov, too, glows on nights that seem to stretch on for days this time of year, and the old town square with ubiquitous Christmassy stalls looks almost fairy-tale-ish. Or it would, if it weren't for that Hollywood-like sign hovering above darkened woods. Still, you can look the other way and feast your eyes on the Advent buzz in a city that could be easily mistaken for a German town. And for good reason.

Brașov was founded by the Teutonic Order and named Kronstadt, or Corona in Latin. I guess the order doesn’t sound particularly German, so here’s the official name for clarification: Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem. I’m not an expert in this nook of the world’s history, yet a quick peek at Wikipedia revealed that for centuries, the population was a mix of Germans, Hungarians, Romanians, and even Jewish townspeople. Quite a melting pot. At least until the 20th century, which, similarly to most places in the former Eastern Bloc, completely reshuffled the deck. Brașov is now almost exclusively Romanian, unless you count crowds of Erasmus students and German-speaking tourists—I guess they still feel a bond to what used to be one of the main cities of the Transylvanian Saxons.

Not that I am an expert on Romanian municipalities either, but I’ve been to a couple of places in Germany. And here, especially on the promenade leading towards the foot of Tâmpa and the adjacent sports center (the wooden building behind the skating rink is a sports museum), it felt more German than anything I’ve experienced in Bucharest so far. And I’ve even been to the Goethe Institut there.

On the other hand, I’m only covering the old town with the famous Black Church, Biserica Neagră. Most of the city consists of the typical prefabricated concrete blocks that surround the main train station, and is not particularly appealing. Unless you’ve never seen blocks like these. Here’s a pro tip: take an airport bus instead of the regular city bus; the ticket costs the same, but the ride only takes a fraction of the time. Speaking of the airport, it’s surprisingly well-connected to major European hubs considering the size of Brașov. No wonder the place is way more touristy than I’d expected. Also, one of the fanciest Romanian ski resorts lies within its city limits.

While the Black Church was built as a Catholic place of worship, as you can tell from its appearance, the Catedrala Ortodoxa Adormirea Maicii Domnului at the main square has been Orthodox since its consecration. I wanted to snap a few pictures, but the liturgy was in progress, so I merely captured a fresco on its wall and Jesus in the archway.

As for other traveler tips, @honeydue published a review of a great café earlier today (I can’t help myself, I simply have to share a shot from there, as I too loved the place), and the local brewery has also been covered.

Here’s a tricky question: Judging solely by the architecture and the decorations, would you guess that it’s in Romania?

Posted Using INLEO