Brasov, Romania from Teutonic Knights to Communism

Brasov, a few kilometers north of Sinaia, is an utter contrast of a town. 

On one hand, you have a magnificent old city, built upon an ancient Dacian site by Teutonic knights in the 13th century. These Saxon knights constructed churches and homes surrounded by a protective wall that still stands. 

The beautiful Piata Sfatului

There was an amazing exhibition in the square celebrating 20 years of freedom from Communism. 

From the Berlin Wall coming down in 89'

To protests and riots.

To liberation

Here is an eyewitness report from the Romanian Revolution on December 21, 1989.

Corneliu, "Ceausescu stepped onto the balcony. He started talking about Timisoara, about stamping down the first wave of protest against him. He told us it would get better; 10,000 lei more for studying; crazy lies. First people were murmuring; the voices from the crowd around me started saying 'Down with Ceausescu!' Then the voices got louder, I heard myself shout. The sounds of bullets shattered the air. We heard shooting and I ran, I didn't know where to. They had killed people. Troops were loading bodies into trucks. I escaped but later heard that they'd barricaded people into University Square. Students sat down in front of the tanks but the tanks just rolled over them. They were hemmed in like animals, with no escape, and gunned down. One thousand people perished in that square that night. It was our darkest hour. "

Ceausescu was taken prisoner on Christmas day, 1989. His trial lasted 90 minutes. He was sentenced to death, taken outside and executed along with his wife. Here is a fascinating five part documentary on Youtube if you are interested in his regime. They played footage of his execution over and over in Romania and throughout the world.

Warning, this video shows the actual execution.

Today, Brasov is busy fixing up gorgeous old buildings. The people are incredibly friendly and helpful to tourists. In the old city, there is a wonderful and delightful energy.

Great hotels, restaurants and bars. The shopping is surprisingly good, the prices excellent. I had one of the best Pina Coladas ever right on the square in an outdoor bar.  

A very cool Belle Époque bar that opened on July 1, 2010. 

Loved the mix of Belle Époque and modern art decor.

Brasov is ALIVE at night! There are sidewalk cafes and bars everywhere you turn. This street ran about a kilometer long full of people out for a good time. It is a very touristy town as there are many activities and many hikes in the surrounding mountains. 

Ohhh, loved this building at night!

Back to that contrast ... the beautiful old Teutonic Knight city is surrounded by hideous Communist buildings and abandoned Communist factories. Ceausescu displaced thousands of people, bringing them in from the countryside, dumping them in his horrendous communist apartment buildings and obliging them to work in unsafe factories that pumped out Communist crap. Very surrealistic. 

There are rows and rows of these apartment buildings. They give off an incredibly depressing aura.

It seems to me that there is a whole lot of environmental pollution to clean up with the abandoned factories. Scary. 

And then, poof!, you are out of the city and into a whole other world. A world where most people still have horses and carts, cut hay by hand, gather wood in the forest when needed and lug it all home. 

Whew! Gros bisous et a demain!

Love, Charley