Fortress Valley Cave

Peştera Valea Cetăţii (the Fortress Valley Cave) is located near Râşnov, Braşov County, Southeastern Transylvania, Romania.

The cave was first opened in 1949, when a hydraulic blowup removed a rock and caused a huge flood in the Fundata valley. In 1954, a group of young from Râşnov managed to enter the cave through the opening. Margareta Dumitrescu and Traian Orghidan conducted the first study of the cave complex in 1958 and published a description and a sketch of the cave, indicating its length of 270 m. In 1981, a team from "Emil Racoviţă" speleological club in Bucharest have mapped 857 m with a 36m level difference. In 1988 and 1989 were mapped another 63 m, respectively 38 m, with a level difference of 38.5 m and a development of 958 m. The cave has undergone a continuous process of destruction due to uncontrolled access to various visitors.

Since February 2010, the protected natural area of ​​the Fortress Valley Cave is in the custody of a firm. From this time, the damage of the karstic formations was fortunately stopped, and the cave was set up using the latest technology. The cave was opened for visiting by the public in December 2010 after a titanic work of restoration. Due to the amazing acoustic of the cave, it used also for classical music concerts.

Photos from here

Hans Eckart Schlandt

Hans Eckart Schlandt has been Cantor and Organist at the “Black Church” in Braşov (Kronstadt), Romania, since 1965. His early organ instruction was with Viktor Bickerich, who served as organist at the Black
Church from 1922 to 1962. Later studies were with Helmuth Plattner at the Musikhochschule in Bucharest.

Since 1965 Hans Eckart Schlandt took over the "Bach" choir of the Black Church. During the period of Communism, adverse to the religious music, he managed to provide continuity and quality with the amazing great oratorios and passions of Bach, Mozart, Brahms, etc., to protect the Black Church by the totalitarian regime of the time, turning it into a musical haven of inner freedom. In addition to his duties as organist and choir director, Hans Eckart Schlandt directs the summer concert series at the Black Church. He is also on the faculty of the Musikhochschule in Braşov, where he teaches organ and chamber music.



For several decades, Hans Eckart Schlandt has pursued an active career as a performer and teacher, including concerts, radio and television broadcasts, CD recordings, and master classes. He has presented numerous recitals throughout Eastern and Western Europe, and an American tour.

Black Church Organ

The Braşov Black Church’s organ, with 4000 pipes and considered one of the biggest in Europe, was built between 1836 and 1839 by the Berlin organ maker Buchholz, is the largest of more than 140 organs built by craftsmen Buchholz family, and it is famous for its sonority. The organ has four manuals with 56 keys, one pedal with 27 keys, and has 63 audio registers. It was inaugurated on 17 April 1839, the organist being Buchholz itself, who played improvisations and cantatas by composers Johann Friedrich Schneider and Lucas Hedwig.

Image fom here

In 1924 the gallery in front of the organ was enlarged in order to organize sacred music concerts with chorus’ participation. The organ was restored between 1997-2001. Then all the 3993 tubes (the largest having a height of about 13 meters) were dismantled and restored. The organ is a baroque organ and survived till now almost unchanged. The second organ was built by Carl Hesse and has a manual and pedal and eight registers. It was restored in 1997.



Since 1953, organ recitals are held, tradition started by the organist Victor Bickerich and continued by Hans Eckart Schlandt. Many vinyl discs, audio tapes and CDs were recorded here during years. Nowadays an organ concert is organized every week.

Saint Nicholas Church, Şcheii Braşovului

Saint Nicholas Church (Romanian: Biserica Sfântul Nicolae) is a Romanian Orthodox church in Braşov, Braşov County, Transylvania, dominating the historic district of Şchei.

In 1291, there was a wooden cross covered with shingle. The wooden church was mentioned in a Papal bull issued in 1399 by Pope Boniface IX. In the 15th century (since 1495), there was a church built of brick with a rectangular nave and apse with four sides, with the particularity of an edge in shaft, built with the support of ruling prince of Wallachia, Vlad the Monk. In 1518, the priest Petru asked the ruling prince of Wallachia, Ioan Neagoe Basarab, to build a stone church in Şchei. This church had a plan similar to the previous, with polygonal apse, with shaft edges and three buttresses, plan praised in the local chronicles. In 1521 were finished the holy altar and the bell tower, and in 1583 the ruling prince of Wallachia, Petru Cercel, raises the entrance hall of the church and features elegant stone work with faces of saints and decorations, works finished by ruling prince Aron of Moldavia.

In 1602, the family of Michael the Brave donate to the wooden church the domain Micşuneşti in Wallachia. In 1651 was finished the oratory in the tower, unique in Romania, and in 1733 was started the building of the impressive northern oratory. It was painted between 1735-1738 by four famous masters from Craiova. The southern oratory was finished in 1750, with the support of some rich merchants. The Clock tower was raised with the support of Elisabeta Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great of Russia.



Saint Nicholas Church
Initially built in the Gothic style, it was later redone in the Baroque style. It has frescoes painted by the renowned muralist Mişu Popp. Between 1939-1946 the church was restored, a new footbridge was made, were added carved oak doors at the entrance by the craftsman Moses Şchiopul from Rupea, a new wooden iconostasis enriched with gold was made thanks to hieromonk Ieronim Belintoiu from convent Hodoş-Bodrog and the interior of the church was painted by the painter Costin Petrescu's in neo-byzantine style.



The first Romanian school
Near the church, there is the first Romanian school and a statue of Dean Coresi. It is not known exactly how the school was founded, but it was recognized by the Pope in 1395. It is also home to the first Romanian Bible, and what can be loosely described as the first school magazine. The next door museum houses a variety of first Romanian books and the first printing press.

Panoramas from www.360trip.ro. Thanks, Michael Pop!

Crina Popescu, the climber

At an age when most teenagers are preoccupied with shopping, boys and walking through clubs, Crina "Coco" Popescu from Râşnov, Braşov wants to climb the highest mountain peaks in the world.


At 6 years old climbed the Omu Peak (2507 m), at 10 was already in the Alps, climbing the Dente del Gigante (4014). Now she is 14 and she wants to become the youngest climber to complete the "Seven Summits" circuit, the name under which, since the 80s, is known the attempt to climb all the highest peaks on every continent, including the Everest. These days Coco is in the Himalayas, climbing the Cho Oyu Peak (8200 m), together with his father and a director who films her for National Geographic Channel.



She climbed Mont Blanc (4810 m) in the Alps, Kalapatar, Nepal (5545 m), and Alam Kooh, Iran (4850 m) and shot down several world records, including:

• 2007 – Ararat, Turkey (5165m) – age world record
• 2008 – Kazbek, Caucasus (5047m) – age world record
• 2008 – Damavand Peak (5671 m), Iran – age world record
• 2008 – Ojos del Salado, Chile (6893 m), highest active volcano – age world record
• 2009 – Aconcagua, Argentina (6963 m) - part of Seven Summits, age world record
• 2009 – Kilimanjaro, Tanzania (5891 m) – part of Seven Summits
• 2009 – Elbrus (5921 m) – part of Seven Summits


The Romanian Ministry of Youth and Sports awarded Crina with the title "Master of Sports".

Deacon Coresi

Coresi (also known as deacon Coresi) (d. 1583, Braşov) was a Romanian deacon, translator and master printer of the 16th century, born in Târgovişte. He was the editor of the first printed books in the Romanian language. He published a total of about 35 titles, printed in hundreds of copies and spread in all Romanian territories, facilitating linguistic unity of the Romanian people and the emergence of literary language.


Coresi started his printing work in Târgovişte. In 1559 or 1560 he moved to Braşov, where he was offered the possibility to print not only in Slavonic, but also in Romanian, which was impossible at the time in Wallachia, because of opposition of the Wallachian Metropolitan. His prints, occurring mostly in Braşov between 1556 and 1583 under the influence of the Calvinist and Lutheran religious reform which spread in Transylvania at the time, are true monuments of old Romanian language, important also by the predosloviile he written, which ask for first time, with determination and clarity, the use of the Romanian language in the religious worship. Coresi's prints used the language from Wallachia and South-East of Transylvania and had a great importance for the development and unification of the Romanian language. They formed the basis of the modern Romanian literary language.


Coresi learned the technique of printing from Dimitrij Ljubav, who was himself working for the Metropolitanate of Wallachia. The first book printed in Romanian was Tetraevanghelul (1561 - a translation of the four Gospels from the New Testament), Întrebare creştinească (Christian Questions, work known as Catechism, published in 1560 - oldest studies dates it 1559), Liturghierul (1570), Psaltirea (1570). The books were used in both church and school. Coresi was followed by his son Şerban, it was in his printing shop where in 1588 the last book printed in Transylvania with Cyrillic script in the XVIth century was issued.


The printing work required special efforts and consisted in lithography. Each page had to be carved in wood. Coresi used 10-20 apprentices, who were reminded in the preface to books edited by him. The printing press of Coresi is exposed today at the Museum "The first Romanian school" located in the historic district of Şchei, now part of the city of Braşov.


Only 39 books were made by this press, which is hardly surprising given the labour required, however the work it did produce included plenty more firsts. The first Romanian letter in Latin was produced by the press, the first Romanian schoolbook and the first Bible, which was printed on goatskin and had a cover weighing a hefty seven kilograms. The building comprises "The Coresi room" where are held printings telling the story of the beginning of the typography in Brasov and " The Anton Pann classroom". The museum hosts a compelling legacy: more than four thousands of rare books (many of them printed or copied by handwriting right here), 100 thousands rare documents, the oldest bible, the oldest letter written in Romanian language using the Latin alphabet (previously, Romanian was written with Cyrillic letters) and much more.