Showing posts with label transylvania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transylvania. Show all posts
Sibiu in 1984.
Communist times.
Happy times ahead but how were we to know ?
Sibiu is one of the largest cities in Transylvania, Romania with a population of about 175,000. It straddles the Cibin River, a tributary of the river Olt. It is the capital of Sibiu County and is located some 282 km NW of Bucharest.
It is one of the most important cultural and religious centres in Romania as well a major transportation hub in central Romania. The city used to be the centre of the Transylvanian Saxons in Romania until World War II.
Sibiu was designated European Capital of Culture for the year 2007 together with Luxembourg.
And I love it in Sibiu.........
Labels:
sibiu,
transylvania
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula.
Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature. Structurally it is an epistolary novel, that is, told as a series of diary entries and letters. Literary critics have examined many themes in the novel, such as the role of women in Victorian culture, conventional and conservative sexuality, immigration, colonialism, post colonialism and folklore. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for many theatrical and film interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.
The novel is mainly composed of journal entries and letters written by several narrators who also serve as the novel's main protagonists; Stoker supplemented the story with occasional newspaper clippings to relate events not directly witnessed by the story's characters.
The tale begins with Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, journeying by train and carriage from England to Count Dracula's crumbling, remote castle (situated in the Carpathian Mountains on the border of Transylvania and Moldavia).
The purpose of his mission is to provide legal support to Dracula for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer, Peter Hawkins, of Exeter in England.
At first seduced by Dracula's gracious manner, Harker soon discovers that he has become a prisoner in the castle. He also begins to see disquieting facets of Dracula's nocturnal life.
One night while searching for a way out of the castle, and against Dracula's strict admonition not to venture outside his room at night, Harker falls under the spell of three wanton female vampires, the Brides of Dracula. He is saved at the last second by the Count, however, who ostensibly wants to keep Harker alive just long enough to obtain needed legal advice and teachings about England and London (Dracula's planned travel destination was to be among the "teeming millions").
Harker barely escapes from the castle with his life.
Not long afterward, a Russian ship, the Demeter, having weighed anchor at Varna, runs aground on the shores of Whitby, England, during a fierce tempest. All of the crew are missing and presumed dead, and only one body is found, that of the captain tied to the ship's helm.
The captain's log is recovered and tells of strange events that had taken place during the ship's journey. These events led to the gradual disappearance of the entire crew apparently owing to a malevolent presence on board the ill-fated ship. An animal described as a large wolf is seen on the ship leaping ashore. The ship's cargo is described as silver sand and boxes of "mould" or earth from Transylvania.
Soon Dracula is menacing Harker's devoted fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her vivacious friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy receives three marriage proposals in one day, from an asylum psychiatrist, Dr. John Seward; an American, Quincey Morris; and the Hon. Arthur Holmwood (later Lord Godalming).
Lucy accepts Holmwood's proposal while turning down Seward and Morris, but all remain friends. There is a notable encounter between Dracula and Seward's patient Renfield, an insane man who means to consume insects, spiders, birds, and other creatures — in ascending order of size — in order to absorb their "life force". Renfield acts as a kind of motion sensor, detecting Dracula's proximity and supplying clues accordingly.
Lucy begins to waste away suspiciously. All her suitors fret, and Seward calls in his old teacher, Professor Abraham Van Helsing from Amsterdam. Van Helsing immediately determines the cause of Lucy's condition but refuses to disclose it, knowing that Seward's faith in him will be shaken if he starts to speak of vampires. Van Helsing tries multiple blood transfusions, but they are clearly losing ground. On a night when Van Helsing must return to Amsterdam (and his message to Seward asking him to watch the Westenra household is accidentally sent to the wrong address), Lucy and her mother are attacked by a wolf. Mrs Westenra, who has a heart condition, dies of fright, and Lucy apparently dies soon after.
Lucy is buried, but soon afterward the newspapers report children being stalked in the night by a "bloofer lady" (as they describe it), i.e. "beautiful lady"[1]. Van Helsing, knowing that this means Lucy has become a vampire, confides in Seward, Lord Godalming and Morris. The suitors and Van Helsing track her down, and after a disturbing confrontation between her vampiric self and Arthur, they stake her heart, behead her, and fill the mouth with garlic.
Around the same time, Jonathan Harker arrives home from recuperation in Budapest (where Mina joined and married him after his escape from the castle); he and Mina also join the coalition, who turn their attentions to dealing with Dracula.
After Dracula learns of Van Helsing and the others' plot against him, he takes revenge by visiting — and biting — Mina at least three times. Dracula also feeds Mina his blood, creating a spiritual bond between them to control her. The only way to forestall this is to kill Dracula first. Mina slowly succumbs to the blood of the vampire that flows through her veins, switching back and forth from a state of consciousness to a state of semi-trance during which she is telepathically connected with Dracula. It is this connection that they start to use to deduce Dracula's movements. It is only possible to detect Dracula's surroundings when Mina is put under hypnosis by Van Helsing. This ability gradually gets weaker as the group makes their way to Dracula's castle.
Dracula flees back to his castle in Transylvania, followed by Van Helsing's group, who manage to track him down just before sundown and destroy[2] him by shearing "through the throat" with a Kukri and stabbing him in the heart with a Bowie knife. Dracula crumbles to dust, his spell is lifted and Mina is freed from the marks. Quincey Morris is killed in the final battle, stabbed by Gypsies who had been charged with returning Dracula to his castle; the survivors return to England.
The book closes with a note about Mina's and Jonathan's married life and the birth of their first-born son, whom they name after all four members of the party, but refer to only as Quincey in remembrance of their American friend.
Labels:
bram stoker,
count dracula,
transylvania,
vampires
Braşov (pronounced [braˈʃov]; Hungarian: Brassó; German: Kronstadt; Medieval Latin: Brassovia or Corona) is a city in Romania and the capital of Braşov County, with a population of 284,596, according to the 2007 census.
It is the 7th largest Romanian city, after Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara, Iaşi, Craiova and Galaţi. People from Braşov are known, in English, as Braşovean.
Braşov is located in the central part of the country, about 166 km from Bucharest. It is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians, and is part of the Transylvania region.
The city is notable for hosting the Golden Stag (Cerbul de Aur) international music festival.
The city was first atested in the 13th century under the name Corona. The current Romanian and Hungarian names are derived from the Pecheneg word, barasu, meaning "fortress". On Tâmpa Mountain, located on the southern side of the city, there was a citadel called Brassovia, which gave both the Romanian and the Hungarian name of the city.
The first attested mention of Braşov is Terra Saxonum de Barasu ("Saxon Land of Baras"), in a 1252 document. The German name Kronstadt means "Crown City", and is reflected in the city's coat of arms, as well as in its Medieval Latin name, Corona. The three names of the city (Braşov/Brassó, Kronstadt, and Corona) were used simultaneously in the Middle Ages.
From 1950 to 1960, during part of the Communist period in Romania, the city was called Oraşul Stalin (Stalin City), after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
It is the 7th largest Romanian city, after Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara, Iaşi, Craiova and Galaţi. People from Braşov are known, in English, as Braşovean.
Braşov is located in the central part of the country, about 166 km from Bucharest. It is surrounded by the Southern Carpathians, and is part of the Transylvania region.
The city is notable for hosting the Golden Stag (Cerbul de Aur) international music festival.
The city was first atested in the 13th century under the name Corona. The current Romanian and Hungarian names are derived from the Pecheneg word, barasu, meaning "fortress". On Tâmpa Mountain, located on the southern side of the city, there was a citadel called Brassovia, which gave both the Romanian and the Hungarian name of the city.
The first attested mention of Braşov is Terra Saxonum de Barasu ("Saxon Land of Baras"), in a 1252 document. The German name Kronstadt means "Crown City", and is reflected in the city's coat of arms, as well as in its Medieval Latin name, Corona. The three names of the city (Braşov/Brassó, Kronstadt, and Corona) were used simultaneously in the Middle Ages.
From 1950 to 1960, during part of the Communist period in Romania, the city was called Oraşul Stalin (Stalin City), after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
Labels:
brasov,
hollywood of romania,
transylvania
St. Michael's Cathedral and the old city center on a hazy moonlit night.
.....Yes, this is Cluj, the capital of Transylvania.
Cluj-Napoca, located in the central part of Transylvania, has a surface area of 179.5 square kilometres (69.3 sq mi). The city lies at the confluence of the Apuseni Mountains, the Someş plateau and the Transylvanian plain. It sprawls over the valleys of Somesul Mic and Nadas and, to some extent over the secondary valleys of the Popeşti, Chintău, Borhanci and Popii rivers. The southern part of the city occupies the upper terrace of the northern slope of Feleac Hill, and is surrounded on three sides by hills or mountains with heights between 500 metres (1,600 ft) and 700 metres (2,300 ft). The Someş plateau is situated to the east, while the northern part of town includes Dealurile Clujului ("the Hills of Cluj"), with the peaks, Lombului (684 m), Dealul Melcului (617 m), Techintău (633 m), Hoia (506 m) and Gârbău (570 m). Other hills are located in the western districts, and the hills of Calvaria and Cetatuia (Belvedere) are located near the centre of city.
.....Yes, this is Cluj, the capital of Transylvania.
Cluj-Napoca, located in the central part of Transylvania, has a surface area of 179.5 square kilometres (69.3 sq mi). The city lies at the confluence of the Apuseni Mountains, the Someş plateau and the Transylvanian plain. It sprawls over the valleys of Somesul Mic and Nadas and, to some extent over the secondary valleys of the Popeşti, Chintău, Borhanci and Popii rivers. The southern part of the city occupies the upper terrace of the northern slope of Feleac Hill, and is surrounded on three sides by hills or mountains with heights between 500 metres (1,600 ft) and 700 metres (2,300 ft). The Someş plateau is situated to the east, while the northern part of town includes Dealurile Clujului ("the Hills of Cluj"), with the peaks, Lombului (684 m), Dealul Melcului (617 m), Techintău (633 m), Hoia (506 m) and Gârbău (570 m). Other hills are located in the western districts, and the hills of Calvaria and Cetatuia (Belvedere) are located near the centre of city.
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