“Dreamland, Banat, Crisana, Maramures, Transylvania, 100-WORD STORIES, Folklore and History” by Patricia Furstenberg is the second book in the book series “Romania in 100-WORD STORIES, Folklore and History”.
“Beautifully written and impeccably researched, Dreamland is a captivating read.”
5 STARS Goodreads Review
Dreamland, the western territory of Romania, a paradise dreamed of by empires; a fairyland protected by its hearty folk; and centuries-long safe haven to hopeful emigrants.
Dreamland, these are stories lived, legends of why, myths of who, folk believes rooted in the days when the populace of Banat, Crisana, Maramures, and Transylvania laid the first foundations in places still untamed, places that maybe changed their face as they changed many hands throughout centuries.
Dreamland: like a river flows free, like the bird knows no boundaries, and like clouds spread over the entire horizon, so is the history, and the tales of these Romanian provinces. Dacians and Romans, Vlachs, Moti, Mocans, Huns, Peri, Magyars, Transylvanian Saxons , Swabians, Szeklers, Jewish refugees, Ottoman invaders, hajduks and emperors, priests, these are the folks who shared this Dreamland and together they shaped its history, culture and architecture.
In these troubled times, when one’s identity escapes and is easily strewn along paths travelled far and wide, let’s take another look back. Let’s meet the people who can still remember the tales of their ancestors, entrusted to them with the seed of truth.
Today Romania has ten defined historical provinces: Banat, Crișana, Maramureș, Transylvania (Ardeal or Erdély) presented in this book, Dreamland, but also Bucovina, Moldova, Basarabia, Oltenia, Muntenia, and Dobrogea.
Banat: local population lived mainly in huts scattered over the valleys because the main occupation was pastoralism without transhumance. This historical region often bordered various empires that made the area somewhat insecure, and often depopulated due to war outbursts. Today Banat is a land peacefully shared between Romania, Serbia, and Hungary.
Crisana: is a geographical and historical region in north-west Romania named after the Criş Rivers guarded by the peaks of Apuseni Mountains. The etymology for Crişana goes back to the old name for Criş Rivers, Chrisola, deriving from Ancient Greek golden due to golden specks often spotted in its waters.
Maramures: located in the very north of Romania, the very birth of Maramureş has its legend. Its people love to share it by the fire of the wood-stove, during cold January evenings steeped in snow. The wood-carved Maramureş Gates are one of the most precious symbols of Maramureş Country.
Transylvania is a historical plateau located at the heart of Romania. Dominated by large pastures, Transylvania is sheltered by the Carpathian Mountains which stand guard around it: to the west, Apuseni Mountains; to the east, Harghita Mountains; and to the south by the Fagaras Mountains nicknamed the Alps of Transylvania and traversed by the spectacular Transfagarasan Road. A multicultural region with a noteworthy history and a rich cultural heritage, Transylvania is known as Ardeal to its millennial Romanian inhabitants, Siebenbürgen to the German Saxons who lived on this land for centuries, and Erdély to the Szeklers and the Hungarian people living here today, alongside Turks, Jews, Serbs, and Roma Gypsies.
This isn’t a history book, or a storybook, but rather a collection of fleeting impressions, lived truths, reflections, descriptive essays, and snapshots of a life lived in fabulous ways.
These short texts are meant to evoke passages from history and I tried to write them with passion and lyricism, and, I hope, wit. Telling stories is the best way to keep the past, this untouchable treasure, alive.
These are the stories you will read in Dreamland, Banat, Crisana, Maramures, Transylvania, 100-WORD STORIES, Folklore and History, a book by Patricia Furstenberg:
In chronological order: 117 Stories punctuated by historical details.
Over 80 color photographs.
1. The Origin of Mihaileni Village, Harghita 2. Call of the Heart in Maramures, at Its Birth 3. A Wave Frozen in Stone 4. Not Blending into the Crowd 5. The Bear’s Cave, Crisana 6. Ogling a Hen with Gold Eggs, How Crisana Got its Name 7. For Country and for Family, over Danube in Banat 8. Idyllic Edelweiss, a Legend from Barsa Country 9. Fighting Giants in Almaj Country, Banat 10. Raging Danube Boilers and Almajana Fairy, Banat 11. To Slimnic Fortress, Where a Wizard Had Three Daughters 12. Fishing with a Rake in Crisana 13. How Retezat Mountain Was Named, Epic Hateg 14. Mierla, the Common Blackbird of Banat 15. Dandelion Hopes 16. Blossoms in Spring 17. Somes and Cris, Two Brothers from Bihor 18. Caring for a Friend, Mures 19. Elusive Decebalus and the Strei Treasure, Hateg 20. King Decebalus, born in Fagaras 21. Girl Warrior 22. War Science, Know your Opponent 23. From Priceless Resin to Rasinari Village at Marginimea Sibiului 24. Dacian Stronghold Underneath Rupea Fortress, Brasov 25. Glaring and Grabbing, the Draco Flag 26. A Dacian Temple in Fagaras Mountains 27. Knowledge, I Am Leaf 28. Victory’s Other Face, in Stone Country 29. Escape from Hateg Country 30. The Giants from Cristian, Sibiu, Barsa Country 31. Dacians Then, Today Foresters, Hunedoara 32. Envious Dochia, a Spring Legend from Padureni, Hateg 33. Through the Szeklers' Gate 34. Water Mills from Rudaria, Mountainous Banat 35. Joyful Summer 36. Sacrificing the Ignat Pig 37. Fairy’s Pantry or the Magical Realm of Oas Country, Satmar 38. Tough Luck at Lower Viseul, Maramures 39. How Romanians, Hungarians and Saxons Settled in Barsa Country 40. Full Moon, Magic and Wolves 41. Play Not with the Cursed Forest Ma 42. Seeking the Solomonar, the Cloud-Chaser Magician 43. Crossing the Sea-Like Forest 44. The Rotonda Church of Geoagiu, a Hungarian Legend 45. Legendary First Saxons of Transylvania 46. Unforgettable Legend of Rasnov’s Coat of Arms 47. The Screaming Waterfall, Buzaielor Country 48. Kronstadt, the Crown Burg, Brasov, a Hungarian Legend 49. Victorious Escape, Saint Ladislau at Calata Country 50. Ursula and the Gothic Knight from Bistrita Fortress 51. Towering at Carta Monastery, a Saxon Legend 52. Up at Bran, Building a Stronghold 53. Soimos Fortress, a Hawk’s Nest in Lipova, Crisana 54. Right on Time, the Sighisoara Clock 55. The Legend in the Tower, Densus Church 56. The Maramures Gates 57. A White Lie on the Lie Bridge in Sibiu 58. The Girls’ Fair in Zarand Country 59. Dipsa’s Sow Church, Where Pigs Fly 60. Vein Victims of Transylvania’s Tallest Tower, Bistrita or Sibiu? 61. The Value of Hunyadi’s Ring 62. Witchcraft or Death Organ at Prejmer 63. He Was Vlad the Impaler 64. The Arrival of Autumn 65. The Woodland 66. Victims on Foot, Jewish Emigrants to Transylvania 67. In Love all Things Seem Possible 68. Keep Nature as a Heritage 69. Head to Poiana Brasov, to the Church of Pagans 70. Grind and Grime of a Janissary 71. Now, the Boy from the Big House and the Boy from the Barn 72. A Prisoner of Her Time 73. The Leaning Tower of Medias 74. Sentenced to the Lovers’ Jail in Biertan 75. Haunted Legend at Banffy Castle 76. Shepherding, a Life Enough 77. Shepherding, from Dobruja to Transylvania 78. Under the Spell of a Healer in Miklósvar, Covasna 79. Warrior Sava Brancovici, a Baptism of Faith 80. Zeitgeist of Monastic Life 81. Withstand in Faith, Sebes Tower and the Monk’s Hill 82. Whipping Matthias the King 83. The Prinslop Monastery as a Bequest from Lady Zamfira 84. Was it Worth It - a Salt Mine Story from Turda 85. On the Trail of the White Gold, at Turda Salt Mines 86. Oldest and Tiniest, a Story for the Wooden Church of Doba 87. Gazing at the Stars 88. Remote in Winter 89. Jewels, Wooden Churches from Chiesd, Salaj County 90. The Hajduk 91. The Ballad of Pintea, Hajduk of Maramures 92. Joseph and the Weapons on Tarnava 93. Into the Water, the Red Lake Legend up in Harghita 94. Young and Old - When Avram Iancu Met the Emperor 95. Time-lapse, Halmagiu Church, Arad 96. Some 19th century Travels to Deva Fortress 97. Life and Loss at the Castle 98. Monastery Rohia Lapus Came Through a Dream 99. Yearning, Mocani Migrating from Transylvania to Dobruja 100. In Memory and Heart, Life of a Shepherd 101. Bran, a Queen’s Desire 102. Zenith of Hope, A Saxon Memory 103. Riding the Mocanita Train 104. Quintessential, a Saxon Garden in May 105. Year-round, Richis Fortified Church 106. Lindenfeld a Deserted Village in Severin, Banat 107. Beyond the Surface, the Statue 108. An Emigrant’s Dreams, Timisoara 109. Zero or Infinity, Life Choices 110. The Szekely Potatoe Bread from Covasna 111. The Axis of Brasov, Rope Street 112. Tihuta Pass or Borgo Pass, the Contemporary Myth of Bistrita 113. When Life Had Other Plans 114. Legend of Cehei Pond, Salaj 115. Old Beliefs on an Old Land, Transylvania 116. The Hearth, the Heart at Corvin Castle 117. A Forest, Alive: Hoia, Cluj
What Readers SAY about Dreamland:
A Novel Idea and a Captivating Read (Amazon UK):
“Dreamland is an inspiring and inspired little book. In a way, it’s a guide to Romania which gives background to the various regions therein, but it’s so much more than that. With the author’s flair for beautiful prose, we are given snippets of legends, of how things ‘came to be’, along with a wealth of information. If you wanted to visit, you might be better off buying this book than a traditional travel guide.
This is a book full of dragons, fairies, wolves and giants – one giant’s fingers fell to the ground and created a series of lakes.
Here we learn that the reason the people of the Maramureș region are tall is because a giant’s daughter fell in love with a human, and so her father lessened the disparity between the two. Other young girls are frozen to stone. Another young daughter dreamed of building on a mountain and her realised dream is still visible there.
We are told how Dacian treasure came to be hidden in the Strei river, and we learn about the trade in resin.
We also read of rebellious slaves and the legends that grew up around them, and of the history of the tribes and how the area was settled with various peoples over the centuries, right up to the arrival of persecuted Jews in the 14th century and to 1944 when Saxons living in Transylvania fled the encroaching Nazis. We are given a brief history of the rise of the Ottoman Empire and the history lesson includes details of how religion has played a huge part in shaping the area’s story.
We learn of a king who regularly went into town to see how the peasants under his rule were treated and, of course, Vlad the Impaler and Dracula make an appearance, as does a Hajduk – a Robin Hood figure.
We are invited to watch as the earliest cave paintings are created, we are walked through the history of old crafts and we are told of Christmas rituals and how twin animals are deemed auspicious.
Interspersed with beautiful photos and detailed maps. Caves, fortresses, churches and temples all feature, given a real visual impression of the region.
We hear of warriors who sleep in the grave, ready to rise again, and we learn of the Crusaders, specifically the Teutonic Knights. Also in here is the origin of the name Kronstadt, and we are told about the tulnic (an instrument), potato bread, and the traditional lives of shepherds, along with the ‘most haunted’ Banffy Castle.
When you get to the end of this short read, you’ll have a real sense of the area, what makes it and what shaped it, as well as the folklore traditions. The blurb says that it is not a storybook or a history book, and yet it provides both stories and history. The bite-size sections are by nature short, yet filled with imagery and information. I thoroughly enjoyed it and I learned a lot.”
BUY DREAMLAND by Patricia Furstenberg from your AMAZON website – available in Kindle and paperback.
Read about Transylvania’s History A to Z here.
Read 100-word stories on my blog here.
Learn How Astonishing Women from Romania’s Past Inspired Me as a Woman Writer on the prestigious Books By Women website.
“Dreamland, Banat, Crisana, Maramures, Transylvania, 100-WORD STORIES, Folklore and History” by Patricia Furstenberg is the second book in the book series “Romania in 100-WORD STORIES, Folklore and History”.