Romanian Villages

Possibly, because of its long history of conflicts over the centurys, many city and village streets present a solid wall to the public.  The buildings along these streets are often over 100 years in age. You would never know from just walking or driving down this street, with its occasional large gates but no front doors, that there is a whole different world of patios, gardens, trees, and even chickens and pigs living behind these walls.

 

 

In the smaller villages there is often more space between houses.  But they still have high fences and front doors are rare.  If you are not expected, you need to knock on a window or rattle the door in the gate to try to get someone's attention.   

 

  

 

This is a view from inside one of those large gates along the street.  There are several  apartments here that can only be accessed through that gate facing the street at the end of the archway.  

 

This is the view looking back the other way from the picture above as we walked in to the workshop of a ceramics artisan.  There was no garden but there were the grapevines that grow everywhere here.

 

We took this picture from a medevial fortress high on the hill above Rasnov.  You can see how the buildings in the village below present a solid wall to the streets, but inside the block are trees and gardens.   

 

This house is 200 years old. In the small yard behind it, every available space is used.  The owner has pigs, chickens, cats, a dog, and a garden that had every thing from garlic to tomatoes growing in it.  Some crops she sold and others she preserved for the winter.  

 

Grapevines are very common in most yards.  Almost every home in the villages will have grapevines growing on their fences.

 

Partially finished houses are very common.  They build with large red clay blocks and wood is only used to support the roof.  Because they only work on the house when they have enough money, it may takes years to finish.     

  

We loved seeing all the different ways they grew their grapevines.