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Again we set off early in the morning, because we have a long ride to Odorheiu Secuiesc, our next port of call. Originally Csaba has stipulated to go over Brasov to Sfnatu Georghe, but the cook there is inconvenienced with a bout of illness, therefore Csaba proposes to take the direct route to Odorheiu across Medias and Sighisoara.
The E68 is one of the main routes of transport to the south, with an accordingly high volume of traffic. In the main, the road is in good constructed condition, nevertheless, because of the heavy traffic, one has to drive with maximum concentration all the time. As we turn into the B14 at Sibiu, the traffic volume decreases abruptly, therefore we have a lot more time to look at the beautiful landscape.
To me, this trip is a journey into unknown territory, whose history is based on 800 years of a common background. Transsylvania looks back to a time of colonisation, which is unique in history.
The general version of this history says: in the 12. century, the Hungarian King Geisa II. sent for settlers from the west of the Holy Roman Empire, to reclaim land in the southeast and to protect the borders of his kingdom.
De facto, historians disagree about the colonisation history of Transylvania, due to the absence of clearly probative documents.
It is supposed, that it is probably the result of a complex migratory movement over a period of several centuries, caused by various factors.
At the turn of the millenium Bavarian missionaries already came to Hungary, in all probability settlers went with them. At the 11th and 12th century crusaders also played an instrumental role in the colonisation and settlement of Transylvania.
The armies were accompanied by an omnium-gatherum of adventurous, emigrant, western-Europeans, who jumped at the chance to settle down in this fertile area, instead of joining the Holy War.
In the 12th century King Geisa II sent for German settlers to stay in Transylvania, but it's more likely, that they were war-skilled, Franconian knights able to build a military, strategic infrastructure, rather than a crowd of homeless farmers. No doubt, there were further population movements, when farmers, manufacturers etc. arrived.
During the 12th and 13th century, Transylvania was temporarily colonised by the Teutonic knights. The order was endowed with enormous privileges by the Hungarian king but did not comply with contractual agreements and strived for the goal to establish an administration district apart from the Hungarian Kingdome, solely subordinated to the pope. The result was the breach of agreement and the order's expulsion by the king.
So the historical roots of German settlement in Transylvania are highly complex.
The description of German-speaking residents as "Siebenbuerger Sachsen" is just a little explicit like the history of colonisation.
The most plausibel hypothesis says, that the word is about a general change of meaning. The original meaning of the expression "Saxones", as written down in old documents of the 11th and 12th century, refers to social affiliation, so was not ethical connoted.
It named the status of a knight man, mostly German knights who came from Rhein and Mosel area and had been named "Saxons" by the Hungarian administrators. Later in the course of history, the word "Saxons" became more an expression for all German Transylvanians, who came to the country in all the different ways of colonisation. (Recommended literature: W. A. Baumgärtner, Der vergessene Weg, wie die Sachsen nach Siebenbürgen kamen; Hora Verlag)
We arrive Odorheiu towards evening. Eva, our endearing host, perfect interpreter and eloquent dialogue partner during our 5 days in this town, is waiting for us. Her mother Etelka will cook the soup for today, but first we go on a walk with Eva, who's showing us the centre of the city, a big rectangular place with a well-groomed park in the middle and a new built memorial, which will be officially dedicated tomorrow. We notice a lot of memorials, that have been built in the last few years. Most of them are showing historical personalities, who were - as Eva tells us - proclaimed as public enemies during the Ceausescu dictatorship.
The attempt to cancel history shure comes back to haunt you.
Very late in the evening, we drink some glasses of red wine, learn to say Prost (cheers)in Hungarian and Romanian, namely "egészsévedre" and "noroc" and eat the delicious meatballs soup.
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