Time Stands Still in Romania and Taking Kindly to It #Im4Ro

Time Stands Still in Romania, road to Vama Bran Castle

I am telling you, time stands still in Romania – or in any other place in the world, if one was born there. So let’s all take kindly to it.

We have snapshots saved in our mind, of trees in autumn or summer sunsets peeking between traffic, of old buildings and tramway rides, snapshots accompanied by scents and sounds. Lindens in bloom, snow crunching underfoot, hot summer dancing over asphalt, the first tram echoing in rhythm each morning. Easy to remember, yet forgotten until we spot the same place again, hear the same chime, or a scent washes over us, two decades later. Time stands still in the spot where one was born.

A Romanian saying goes like this: eternity was born in a hamlet. And how much truth lies in it…

24/10/202029/04/2022

Corvin Castle, Kinda Historical Doors #Im4Ro

The solitary Corvin Castle hides many secrets and legends, all guarded by historical doors. If this is your first visit, then do open Corvin Castle’s most ancient door too, and read what stories this kinda old fortress inspires.

20/10/202017/10/2021

Incredible, Innovative and Infernal Bookmarks through History

The enchanting history of bookmarks spans more than one millennia, a living proof that readers tried every little trick in the book not to lose their place, in return coming up with some of the most innovative place-marks.

08/09/202017/10/2021

The Spiral Staircase, from Symbol to Mystery

Carved out of stone or wood, to defeat or hide a secret passage, the spiral staircase still stands the test of time like a question mark between symbol and mystery.

In the perfect twilight of the room the girl was waiting, her hand on the banister of a spiral staircase, her mind a tornado of thoughts. Should she go up, towards the unknown? Was the spiral she was confronted with a symbol of a destiny written in her DNA, unavoidable, or a chance encounter mystery?

15/08/202008/10/2023

The Iron Maiden of Fagaras Castle #Im4Ro

Iron Maiden torture decice medieval Fagaras Fortress

Rocking the modern perceptions of the Middle Ages, the Iron Maiden found at Fagaras Castle, Romania, is a medieval torture device that is real, and yet not.

The stone castle of Făgăraş was first mentioned (that we know of) in 1455, but the initial fortification, built with sturdy fir trees from the nearby forests, goes back to 12th – beginning of the 13th century.