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Showing posts with label Oltenia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oltenia. Show all posts
The Trovants of Costeşti
Today, some photos of the tovants of Costeşti, presented in our previous post Stones that grow by themselves.
Lainici Monastery
Lainici Monastery is a Romanian Orthodox monastery located 32 km from Târgu Jiu, Gorj County, Oltenia.
In 14th century St. Pious Nicodemus of Tismana was sent in Northern Oltenia to support Romanian Orthodoxy and he sat in a cave near the today Lainici Monastery. Later, a hermitage was founded here. The importance of the settlement was noted by Empress Maria Theresa, who, by general Bukow, destroyed between 1750-1765 hundreds of Orthodox settlements in Transylvania. The hermitage, although not belonging to the Austria-Hungarian empire but located a few kilometers from the border, fell victim to the great anti-Orthodox persecutions of imperial court in Vienna.
Later, the hermit Athanasie gathered around the ruins a community of 30 monks. The boyars (noblemen) Sărdănescu, Brăiloiu, Fărcăşanu, Poenaru, Măldărescu, Bengescu, and Mageru constructed the monastery during the reign of Ioan Caragea between 1812 and 1817. Tudor Vladimirescu, who wanted to raise the country against the Turks, was hidden in the monastery for a while. In 1817 the Turks had devastated the settlement, and not finding Tudor, they beheaded the monk Maxim, dispelling the congregation. During the World War I, the Germans devastate again the monastery, restored in 1926 by pious Visarion Toia and six monks.
The exterior of the church has been divided into two separate registers by a frieze built of brick having the shape of a semicircle. The paintings, which were done in fresco, have been well preserved in the porch. The tower has the shape of a square and serves as a belfry too. Its frescoes were painted in 1860 by craftsmen of the Painting School of Târgu-Jiu.
The church was renovated in 1984. There have been constructed also modern outbuildings and facilities in the eastern and southern parts of the monastic complex, whereas the old ones have just been restored. An art collection that incorporated icons, liturgical objects and old printed books is also accommodated within the monastery.
In 1990 commenced the construction of a new church. Construction activities have also been initiated on two monastic outbuildings: one of them has been designed for the members of the monastic community, and the other one has been designed for the administrative offices and for the library of the monastery.
Place of pilgrimage of Romanians throughout the country, Lainici Monastery is called "Bride of the gorge" (it is located in Jiu Gorges), due of its strong white facade.
In 14th century St. Pious Nicodemus of Tismana was sent in Northern Oltenia to support Romanian Orthodoxy and he sat in a cave near the today Lainici Monastery. Later, a hermitage was founded here. The importance of the settlement was noted by Empress Maria Theresa, who, by general Bukow, destroyed between 1750-1765 hundreds of Orthodox settlements in Transylvania. The hermitage, although not belonging to the Austria-Hungarian empire but located a few kilometers from the border, fell victim to the great anti-Orthodox persecutions of imperial court in Vienna.
Later, the hermit Athanasie gathered around the ruins a community of 30 monks. The boyars (noblemen) Sărdănescu, Brăiloiu, Fărcăşanu, Poenaru, Măldărescu, Bengescu, and Mageru constructed the monastery during the reign of Ioan Caragea between 1812 and 1817. Tudor Vladimirescu, who wanted to raise the country against the Turks, was hidden in the monastery for a while. In 1817 the Turks had devastated the settlement, and not finding Tudor, they beheaded the monk Maxim, dispelling the congregation. During the World War I, the Germans devastate again the monastery, restored in 1926 by pious Visarion Toia and six monks.
The exterior of the church has been divided into two separate registers by a frieze built of brick having the shape of a semicircle. The paintings, which were done in fresco, have been well preserved in the porch. The tower has the shape of a square and serves as a belfry too. Its frescoes were painted in 1860 by craftsmen of the Painting School of Târgu-Jiu.
The church was renovated in 1984. There have been constructed also modern outbuildings and facilities in the eastern and southern parts of the monastic complex, whereas the old ones have just been restored. An art collection that incorporated icons, liturgical objects and old printed books is also accommodated within the monastery.
In 1990 commenced the construction of a new church. Construction activities have also been initiated on two monastic outbuildings: one of them has been designed for the members of the monastic community, and the other one has been designed for the administrative offices and for the library of the monastery.
Place of pilgrimage of Romanians throughout the country, Lainici Monastery is called "Bride of the gorge" (it is located in Jiu Gorges), due of its strong white facade.
Bats' Cave
Bats' Cave or Saint Grigorie Decapolitul's Cave is located in Costeşti commune, Vâlcea County, Oltenia, Romania. One can reach the cave departing from Bistriţa Monastery, at 630 m absolute altitude and 80 m relative altitude, on the right slope of Bistriţa Gorges.
The cave was formed due to erosion caused by Bistriţa River, has three openings, a length of 400 meters, two levels, and a negative oscillation of level of 15 meters. It has a lack of concretionary formations; presenting more openings, the cave is dynamic, ventilated all year, so the thermal amplitude is high, and the climate is humid. In specialty papers, the cave is first mentioned in 1929 by Emil Racoviţă and bio-speleological research were made in 1951 and 1955.
In Romania there are several other caves that bear the name of Bats' Cave, but this one has a religious and zoological importance. In the wall of the lower level is a small church named Ovidenia, partly built, partly carved in the rock, dating from the 17th century. It represents the secret place where were hidden in harsh times the treasures of Bistriţa Monastery and the relics of St. Grigorie Decapolitul. Under the largest opening there is the Holy Archangels church, built by monks Macarie and Daniel in 1635.
The cave is home for several species of bats. Miniopterus schreibersi lives permanently in this cave; Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Vespertilio pipistrellus, Plecotus auritus, Barbastella barbastellus houses here during the winter; Myotis myotis and Myotis oxygnathus comes here in spring for reproduction and leaves in autumn. On the floor, under the colonies of bats, is a guano layer of 1.7 m thick, where the fauna is very rich (as the trogobiont species), the cave having a great bio-speleological importance.
Photos from here.
The cave was formed due to erosion caused by Bistriţa River, has three openings, a length of 400 meters, two levels, and a negative oscillation of level of 15 meters. It has a lack of concretionary formations; presenting more openings, the cave is dynamic, ventilated all year, so the thermal amplitude is high, and the climate is humid. In specialty papers, the cave is first mentioned in 1929 by Emil Racoviţă and bio-speleological research were made in 1951 and 1955.
In Romania there are several other caves that bear the name of Bats' Cave, but this one has a religious and zoological importance. In the wall of the lower level is a small church named Ovidenia, partly built, partly carved in the rock, dating from the 17th century. It represents the secret place where were hidden in harsh times the treasures of Bistriţa Monastery and the relics of St. Grigorie Decapolitul. Under the largest opening there is the Holy Archangels church, built by monks Macarie and Daniel in 1635.
The cave is home for several species of bats. Miniopterus schreibersi lives permanently in this cave; Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Vespertilio pipistrellus, Plecotus auritus, Barbastella barbastellus houses here during the winter; Myotis myotis and Myotis oxygnathus comes here in spring for reproduction and leaves in autumn. On the floor, under the colonies of bats, is a guano layer of 1.7 m thick, where the fauna is very rich (as the trogobiont species), the cave having a great bio-speleological importance.
Photos from here.
God's Bridge
Ponoarele is a commune located in Mehedinţi County, Oltenia, Romania. Here is a natural monument named God's Bridge, a natural bridge formed when the ceiling of a cave had collapsed. The bridge is actually a 4 m thick rock arch, with an opening of 25 m and a length of 50 m. The natural vault has an amazing resemblance with the ancient Roman bridges, and this 13 m wide arch supports a natural road 6 m wide (the road extension Ponoarele-Izverna), which is used by cars and heavy vehicles. Such natural bridges exist in the U.S. (88.4 m high, 10 m wide) and France (l'Ardech), but God's Bridge is the only circulated. The bridge is between two karstic lakes, Zătonul Mare and Zătonul Mic.
Several legends tell about the apparition of the bridge. "It is said that the Devil lived in Ponoarele Cave. The locals asked God to chase him, and God hit with His palm the cave ceiling, which collapsed and blocked the cave's entrance. But the Devil escaped by the other mouth of the cave and climbed the Devil's Rock, place from where he guard the people who enter in the cave and sometimes he drowns them in the Zătonul Mare lake".
Another legend: "It is said that Saint Nicodim had a dream about a waterfall near he had to build a monastery. One day, in 1370, he arrived in Ponoarele, searching the place he dreamed about, but two rich families made him leave; they put a chicken and a knife in his bag, then accused him of theft. Ashamed, he departed, but before he cursed the locals. God traced an arch with His finger over a ravine, building a bridge for Saint Nicodim who followed his destiny and built the wonderful Tismana Monastery".
It seems that God protects the ones who pass over His bridge: in the past years, several bikes, cars and trucks fell off the bridge (25 meters!), but the drivers escaped with minor injuries!
Photos from Panoramio, Wikipedia, TrekEarth.
Several legends tell about the apparition of the bridge. "It is said that the Devil lived in Ponoarele Cave. The locals asked God to chase him, and God hit with His palm the cave ceiling, which collapsed and blocked the cave's entrance. But the Devil escaped by the other mouth of the cave and climbed the Devil's Rock, place from where he guard the people who enter in the cave and sometimes he drowns them in the Zătonul Mare lake".
Another legend: "It is said that Saint Nicodim had a dream about a waterfall near he had to build a monastery. One day, in 1370, he arrived in Ponoarele, searching the place he dreamed about, but two rich families made him leave; they put a chicken and a knife in his bag, then accused him of theft. Ashamed, he departed, but before he cursed the locals. God traced an arch with His finger over a ravine, building a bridge for Saint Nicodim who followed his destiny and built the wonderful Tismana Monastery".
It seems that God protects the ones who pass over His bridge: in the past years, several bikes, cars and trucks fell off the bridge (25 meters!), but the drivers escaped with minor injuries!
Photos from Panoramio, Wikipedia, TrekEarth.
Vădastra Project
Vădastra is a small village in Olt County, Oltenia, Romania. During the Late Neolithic the territory of the present-day province Oltenia witnesses a cultural diversity. The area has an abundant hydro-graphic basin which will play an important role in the dynamic of the Neolithic people situated in the southern part of the Carpathians.
Between the Jiu River and the Olt River a complex cultural display can be registered, one can notice settlements belonging to Vădastra culture (6000-3500 BC; first evolution phase surpasses the Olt - including northeastern Bulgaria, in the second phase is restricted only between the two streams). Vădastra culture reached during its evolution a high degree of development, highlighted among other achievements in the field of anthropomorphic art. Representative is the complex pottery excised and heavily encrusted with white substance, of an unprecedented splendor in the Middle Neolithic, highest expression of art of decorative pottery of all European Neo-Eneolithic.
The Vădastra Experimental Archaeology Project, unique to Romania, was initiated in year 2000 by Professor Dr. Dragoş Gheorghiu of the National University of Arts of Bucharest, who is pioneering the research in this field by recreating artifacts and using ancient techniques, but is also re-enacting the use of space, water and fire to reproduce perceptions that are both ancient and inspiring for the new generations. His project is part of a new field in archaeology, often labeled as archaeology / anthropology of perceptions / senses, which merges art, cognitive sciences, archaeology and especially experimental archaeology, anthropology and philosophy, or phenomenology in archaeology. The project was initially supported by the Archaeology Department of the Ministry of Culture.
In Romania the traditional ceramic wasn't studied from the point of experimenting clays and ways of burning like does in European Countries for some years. It is still an unknown domain not only for the Romanian archaeologist but for the foreign ones. The research project initiated by the University of Arts Bucharest is trying to make known the values of prehistoric ceramic art from Romania to Europe, as well as the information about the color, the shape and technology employed. The Vădastra 2000 Project is the first international project in which UAB led the initiative and which involved several important European and American Universities.
The principal method involved was the reconstruction of the technological chains of making and burning the ceramic items, by this meaning the materials analysis and several tests of clay and finally making objects as close to the prehistoric ones as possible. This experimental method is essential for the revival of the traditional ceramic art and also for the experimental archaeology. In Vădastra are developed also a series of pyrotechnic applications and vernacular architecture designed to bring to light and highlight the technologies of the past.
In the archaeological park annually develop new projects and continue the ones initiated in 2000, within an international approach - Dr. Alex Gibson (University of Bradford, United Kingdom), Dr. Richard Carlton (University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK), Dr. George Nash (University of Bristol, UK), Dr. Kevin Andrews, Dr Roger Doonan and Dr. Bruce Induni (Bournemouth University, UK), Dr. Armand Desbat (Center National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon), Dr. Ralph Rowlett (University of Missouri - Columbia, USA), Marc van der Linden (Université Libre de Bruxelles). The project is in the database of Prehistoric Ceramic Research Group of United Kingdom, and students from USA, UK, Belgium, France, Finland, Poland, Romania.
Initially, a "World Team" of scientists tried to rediscover the techniques of pottery and ceramics burning practiced about 7,000 years ago - without potter's wheel, in kilns built with technologies and materials available in the Neolithic, using a natural fuel specific to the period. Gradually, were developed experiments of archaeo-metallurgy, eco-design, large ceramic objects, prehistoric architecture, practical lessons for the children from Vişina and Vădastra villages and for students with the purpose of revival the traditional ceramic art.
Photos from here.
Between the Jiu River and the Olt River a complex cultural display can be registered, one can notice settlements belonging to Vădastra culture (6000-3500 BC; first evolution phase surpasses the Olt - including northeastern Bulgaria, in the second phase is restricted only between the two streams). Vădastra culture reached during its evolution a high degree of development, highlighted among other achievements in the field of anthropomorphic art. Representative is the complex pottery excised and heavily encrusted with white substance, of an unprecedented splendor in the Middle Neolithic, highest expression of art of decorative pottery of all European Neo-Eneolithic.
The Vădastra Experimental Archaeology Project, unique to Romania, was initiated in year 2000 by Professor Dr. Dragoş Gheorghiu of the National University of Arts of Bucharest, who is pioneering the research in this field by recreating artifacts and using ancient techniques, but is also re-enacting the use of space, water and fire to reproduce perceptions that are both ancient and inspiring for the new generations. His project is part of a new field in archaeology, often labeled as archaeology / anthropology of perceptions / senses, which merges art, cognitive sciences, archaeology and especially experimental archaeology, anthropology and philosophy, or phenomenology in archaeology. The project was initially supported by the Archaeology Department of the Ministry of Culture.
In Romania the traditional ceramic wasn't studied from the point of experimenting clays and ways of burning like does in European Countries for some years. It is still an unknown domain not only for the Romanian archaeologist but for the foreign ones. The research project initiated by the University of Arts Bucharest is trying to make known the values of prehistoric ceramic art from Romania to Europe, as well as the information about the color, the shape and technology employed. The Vădastra 2000 Project is the first international project in which UAB led the initiative and which involved several important European and American Universities.
The principal method involved was the reconstruction of the technological chains of making and burning the ceramic items, by this meaning the materials analysis and several tests of clay and finally making objects as close to the prehistoric ones as possible. This experimental method is essential for the revival of the traditional ceramic art and also for the experimental archaeology. In Vădastra are developed also a series of pyrotechnic applications and vernacular architecture designed to bring to light and highlight the technologies of the past.
In the archaeological park annually develop new projects and continue the ones initiated in 2000, within an international approach - Dr. Alex Gibson (University of Bradford, United Kingdom), Dr. Richard Carlton (University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK), Dr. George Nash (University of Bristol, UK), Dr. Kevin Andrews, Dr Roger Doonan and Dr. Bruce Induni (Bournemouth University, UK), Dr. Armand Desbat (Center National de la Recherche Scientifique, Lyon), Dr. Ralph Rowlett (University of Missouri - Columbia, USA), Marc van der Linden (Université Libre de Bruxelles). The project is in the database of Prehistoric Ceramic Research Group of United Kingdom, and students from USA, UK, Belgium, France, Finland, Poland, Romania.
Initially, a "World Team" of scientists tried to rediscover the techniques of pottery and ceramics burning practiced about 7,000 years ago - without potter's wheel, in kilns built with technologies and materials available in the Neolithic, using a natural fuel specific to the period. Gradually, were developed experiments of archaeo-metallurgy, eco-design, large ceramic objects, prehistoric architecture, practical lessons for the children from Vişina and Vădastra villages and for students with the purpose of revival the traditional ceramic art.
Photos from here.
Oltenia Carpets
The Romanian peasant has always tried to create an as harmonious as possible environment, in which even the objects for daily use could render his life more enjoyable. Women used to weave cloth of hemp, flax, wool or cotton threads of which they made pieces of clothing for their family members or tissues for household use, such as towels, carpets and wall-carpets. The wall and bed-carpets are traditional for the peasant household where they are used to cover the walls and beds (but never the floor).
Oltenian carpets are actually genuine documents showing the ancient traditional local elements as far as the ornaments and weaving technique are concerned. The ornamental repertory includes such birds that are specific to the local fauna (the hoopoo, the cuckoo, the goose, the turkey) as well as animals belonging to the Oriental world (saddled horses, camels, lions). Feminine representations are exquisite, the characters being rendered in the most various situations in their lives; they are always clad in bell-shaped dresses, according to the fashion of those times. A particular care is also obvious for the rendering of the most particular accessories of their clothing, such as hats, umbrellas, etc. From among exotic birds, parrots are most frequently represented: they are big, placed in a central field, while the lateral ones are ornamented with flowers (tulips, lilies-of the valley, hollyhocks). Their disposal into the surface of the carpet offers the viewer a genuine chromatic picture in which the blending of the colors is made in perfect good taste. By processing special plants, the women in the Oltenia county used to obtain dyes: red, cherry-red, dark blue, yellow, etc. The dark-shaded spaces alternated with the light ones, like in a play of lights and shadows.
The Oltenian carpets are woven on a tambour like loom, with two threads; their warp is made of hemp or cotton and the filling is always made of wool. The weaving technique - known as the Oltenian weaving - determinates the orientation manner, hence the curved outlines of the plants and animals. Although they are rendered in a stylized manner, the technical performance make the branches with flowers and leaves look like a blooming garden.
The carpets, which were usually woven in the specialized workshops in the city of Craiova or in the monastic centres all over the Oltenia county and last, but not the least, in the peasant households, had not only merely utilitarian or decorative functions, but they also had a particular role at weddings and funerals ceremonies.
Oltenian carpets are actually genuine documents showing the ancient traditional local elements as far as the ornaments and weaving technique are concerned. The ornamental repertory includes such birds that are specific to the local fauna (the hoopoo, the cuckoo, the goose, the turkey) as well as animals belonging to the Oriental world (saddled horses, camels, lions). Feminine representations are exquisite, the characters being rendered in the most various situations in their lives; they are always clad in bell-shaped dresses, according to the fashion of those times. A particular care is also obvious for the rendering of the most particular accessories of their clothing, such as hats, umbrellas, etc. From among exotic birds, parrots are most frequently represented: they are big, placed in a central field, while the lateral ones are ornamented with flowers (tulips, lilies-of the valley, hollyhocks). Their disposal into the surface of the carpet offers the viewer a genuine chromatic picture in which the blending of the colors is made in perfect good taste. By processing special plants, the women in the Oltenia county used to obtain dyes: red, cherry-red, dark blue, yellow, etc. The dark-shaded spaces alternated with the light ones, like in a play of lights and shadows.
The Oltenian carpets are woven on a tambour like loom, with two threads; their warp is made of hemp or cotton and the filling is always made of wool. The weaving technique - known as the Oltenian weaving - determinates the orientation manner, hence the curved outlines of the plants and animals. Although they are rendered in a stylized manner, the technical performance make the branches with flowers and leaves look like a blooming garden.
The carpets, which were usually woven in the specialized workshops in the city of Craiova or in the monastic centres all over the Oltenia county and last, but not the least, in the peasant households, had not only merely utilitarian or decorative functions, but they also had a particular role at weddings and funerals ceremonies.
The fortified houses of Oltenia
The word 'Cula' designates a typical construction of rural Oltenia.
Cula is a fortified house built by the great boyars (noblemen) to protect themselves from the Turkish armed gangs who, in the XVIIIth century, crossed the Danube from the Ottoman Empire army barracks established in Bulgaria. Over the time, the 'cula' lost its defensive vocation to become rather a social sign of belonging to the class of land owners.
Traditionally, the building has the shape of a square tower with one or two floors, with thick walls and a staircase, and the last floor, with a spacious loggia. This loggia opens outside with basket handle shaped or trilobate arcades, resting on short columns that give a sweet charm of 'cula', inviting to lounge, concession made to the demands of comfort and beauty rather to the needs of defense. The windows are small to protect the defenders against attackers' gunshots, the 'cula' has a single thick oak door and each floor can be separated from the lower one with strong doors. Some interior walls were decorated with fresco paintings, the furniture was quite simple and were widely used the traditional Oltenia carpets or the Oriental ones.
Most of the 'cule' were converted in local museums and are part of national heritage. The main 'cule' of Oltenia are:
Cula is a fortified house built by the great boyars (noblemen) to protect themselves from the Turkish armed gangs who, in the XVIIIth century, crossed the Danube from the Ottoman Empire army barracks established in Bulgaria. Over the time, the 'cula' lost its defensive vocation to become rather a social sign of belonging to the class of land owners.
Traditionally, the building has the shape of a square tower with one or two floors, with thick walls and a staircase, and the last floor, with a spacious loggia. This loggia opens outside with basket handle shaped or trilobate arcades, resting on short columns that give a sweet charm of 'cula', inviting to lounge, concession made to the demands of comfort and beauty rather to the needs of defense. The windows are small to protect the defenders against attackers' gunshots, the 'cula' has a single thick oak door and each floor can be separated from the lower one with strong doors. Some interior walls were decorated with fresco paintings, the furniture was quite simple and were widely used the traditional Oltenia carpets or the Oriental ones.
Most of the 'cule' were converted in local museums and are part of national heritage. The main 'cule' of Oltenia are:
- Mehedinţi County - Cula Tudor Vladimirescu (1800) and cula Nistor (1812) (Şimian commune); Cula Cuţui (1815) (Broşteni commune)
- Dolj County - Cula Poenaru (1750) (Almaj commune), Cula Izvoranu (Brabova commune), Cula Cernătescu (Cernăteşti commune)
- Gorj County - Cula Cornoiu (Curtişoara commune), Cula Crăsnaru (1808) (Aninoasa commune), Cula Grecescu (1818) (Slivileşti commune)
- Olt County - Cula Galiţa (1790) (Dobroteasa commune)
- Vîlcea County - Cula Zătreni (1754) (Zătreni commune), Cula Bujoreni (Bujoreni commune), Cula Duca and cula Greceanu (Măldăreşti commune)
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