Latest News 2013

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Become a FRIEND of the Mihai Eminescu Trust : See

MET NEWSLETTERS  2002 - 2012  (to view or order a subscription) : See
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Later in the year 
5th to 9th September

TRANSYLVANIAN BOOK FESTIVAL

Richis Church

Transylvania has a rich seam of writers, whether German Hungarian or Romanian. It has also inspired great writing in the English speaking world from Bram Stoker to Paddy Leigh Fermor and many others.

Three villages, once home to Saxon communities, but now to the rich mix of peoples mirroring Transylvania today, are to play host to this new festival. In the foothills of the Carpathians, Richis, Biertan and Copsa Mare, maintain their ancient form, surrounded by the countryside and community that have, and continue to inspire, fine literature.

See:
Facebook
Transylvanian Book Festival

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12th March

LAUNCH OF 'FRIENDS' OF THE MIHAI EMINESCU TRUST

The most remarkable conservation challenge in the whole of Europe

Jessica Douglas-Home (12.03.13)
Trust Chairman, Jessica Douglas-Home speaking at the 'Friends' launch

Sir Simon Jenkins (Chairman of the National Trust), in his address at the launch of the Friends of the Mihai Eminescu Trust, spoke of the work of the MET as " ..the best thought out conservation project I've ever come across". In what he described as the most remarkable conservation challenge in the whole of Europe, he said "..I cannot speak too highly of  what's happened in these valleys, in these hills, in these villages and in these towns..." The launch took place at the Romanian Embassy in London. In his introduction the Romanian Ambassador, His Excellency Dr Ion Jinga, said of the Trust, "..its work is used now as a model for new rural regeneration projects, not only in Romania, but in other parts of Europe. MET Chairman Jessica Douglas-Home, in welcoming new friends, said "anybody who supports us in any way will be continuing the work we've done."

To view highlights of the speeches on YouTube, see: MET Friends Launch

To become a Friend of the Mihai Eminescu Trust, see: FRIENDS

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7th March

MET INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN BUCHAREST

Celebrating 12 years of the MET in Romania

International conference in Bucharest
Left to right on the plarform: Ioana Popescu, Caroline Fernolend, Jeremy Amos,
Dorel Paraschiv, Ana Dumitrescu, Leo Orellana

A series of seminars and conferences celebrating 12 years of the MET in Romania was concluded with an international conference in Bucharest. The conference took place on March 7th at the Academy of Economic Studies Bucharest, one of the long-term partners of the Trust. Distinguished speakers included Mr Jeremy Amos (Horizon Foundaton), Mr Leo Orellana (Maison de l'Amérique Latine), Mr Vasile Dan (former Ambassador of Romania), Mr Calin Veghes (Dean of the Faculty of Marketing Bucharest), Mrs Ana Dumitrescu (Cultural Sector Specialist at UNESCO), Mr Sergiu Nistor (President ICOMOS Romania). The conference tackled issues relating to national heritage preservation in the context of local communities and rural development. It also focused on promoting partnerships between the public, private and non-governmental sectors, at national and European level, with a view to achieving long-term cultural, social and economic initiatives in the rural environment.

More details:
See

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Coming - 12th March

AUCTION TO MARK THE LAUNCH OF MET 'FRIENDS'
Vintage signed photograph by Tessa Traeger 

Tessa Traeger (Onion)

Tessa Traeger is one of the outstanding still-life photographers of her generation. As Mark Haworth-Booth has written `Her images have the sobriety and resonance of proverbs’. Over many years, Tessa has been photographing a mountainous area of France, known as `The Vivarais’, whose people continue to farm using ancient techniques and traditions. Her book, Voices of the Vivarais, won the Photographic Book Prize in the British Book Design  Awards 2010. We are grateful to Tessa for her gift of one of her most famous and iconic images, which she has signed for auction at our event.

Advance bids can be made up to 5pm on 8th MARCH 2013.
Email: davidson.bkerry@gmail.com - giving your name, your phone number and the amount of your bid. 

Tessa Treager Photographer

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15th January

VIP SUPERLATIVES GALA AWARD FOR MET

Superlativele VIP 2012
Cristian Radu (top row, centre) received the award on behalf of MET.

The annual VIP Superlatives Gala in Bucharest aims to single out the most influential people of the former year, in fields such as art, culture, science or sports. The theme of this year's 12th edition was "People who bring change" (Oamenii schimbarii). MET's Vice-president Caroline Fernolend was chosen as one of the people who brought such positive change in the past year. The prize honours the diversity of the MET's activities in 27 Transylvanian villages, citing the Trust as "setting an example in Romania and demonstrating reasons to believe in a better life".

See: Superlativele VIP 2012

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15th January

The founding of FRIENDS at Romanian Embassy

Amid deep snow Caroline Fernolend flew from Transylvania to speak at the Romanian Embassy in London where, with the Ambassador Dr Ion Jinga, the Trust hosted a private dinner to discuss the founding of FRIENDS of the Mihai Eminescu Trust.

To mark the launch of FRIENDS an evening event will be held on 12th March. Sir Simon Jenkins and the historian Lord Thomas will be speaking.

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Latest News 2012

15th December
HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS Holly 

Sighisoara Product Fair

Traditional Product Fair in Sighisoara

At a traditional product fair held in Sighisoara on 15th December, visitors to the MET stand could buy organic apple and pear juice produced in Mălâncrav by SC Pro Mihai Eminescu Trust SRL. They could also buy hot tea and tea bags made by the “Rural PLAPHAR – Plant Pharmacy”, a project initiated by the MET with the support of Horizon Foundation, which involves collecting, packing and selling local organic herbs for teas and herbal bath mixtures.

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27th November

MET REVIEW

Seminar (Sibiu)
Caroline Fernolend (MET) with delegates at the Sibiu Seminar

In 2011, with the support of the Horizon Foundation, the MET initiated an overall review that celebrates the achievements of the MET and defines the future of the Trust. The first phase in 2011 included a comprehensive inventory of the 1,041 projects undertaken by the MET, including religious and civil heritage restoration, community projects, support of entrepreneurship, cultural tourism development, environment projects and others. Based on these, the Trust developed a solid strategy for the next five years.

The second phase in 2012 - 2013 aims to capitalize on these results and to promote the MET’s know-how. In 2012 a comprehensive publication was created presenting the main projects and achievements of the MET over the last 12 years, and our future plans for heritage conservation and sustainable rural development. This was complemented by a Romanian version of the MET website. Seminars were organized in Sighisoara and Sibiu, with the participation of national and international experts and relevant local organisations. We analysed the achievements and best practices of the MET, and facilitated discussions between participants resulting in the identification of potential partners and joint projects. The seminar program will continue in 2013 in Cluj-Napoca, Brasov and Bucharest.

Presentations
MET: 
Caroline FernolendIzabela Hartel
Sibiu Seminar:  Eugen VaidaIon OlaruJan HuelsemannLiviu GligorMichael Engel

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22nd November

MET SUPPORT FOR LONDON’S ROMANIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Beyond the Hills
Beyond the Hills

The MET was represented at the gala screening of 'Beyond the Hills' which marked the opening of this year’s Romanian Film Festival in London. The trust has supported the festival over a number of years; in its 9th year it has become an increasingly important part of London’s festival calendar. For actresses Cristina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan this film was their debut and brought them the shared award for best actress at the Cannes Film Festival, 2012.

See: The Romanian Film Festival in London 2012

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8th November

HM KING MICHAEL HONOURED BY THE ROYAL VICTORIAN ORDER

HM King Michael I of Romania & Crown Princess Margarita
HM King Michael I of Romania & HRH The Crown Princess Margarita

On the 8th of November 2012, The Royal Victorian Order honoured HM King Michael of Romania, who has the unique distinction of having been a member the Order for 75 years. This celebration was held in the presence of HM King Michael, HRH the Crown Princess Margarita, HRH Prince Radu and TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, at a service at The Savoy Chapel, HM Queen Elizabeth’s personal chapel. This was followed by a reception and dinner at The Stationers’ Hall. Jessica Douglas-Home, chairman of the Mihai Eminescu Trust, attended.

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MET YOUTH THEATRE PROJECT

Youth Theatre in Viscri, Archita, Richis, Malancrav and Sighisoara

MET Youth Theatre Project

In the period March-November 2012 the MET has been running the Edu-Act project, the aim of which is to protect local heritage through innovative cultural education. It is financed by the Romania Cultural Fund in partnership with the Sighisoara J.Haltrich school.

With help of a local teacher, a group of 17 youngsters from Archita, Malancrav and Sighisoara collected local history facts in combination with scientific data and local knowledge, gathered together from interviews conducted throughout the summer.

During the course of 2 workshops in Biertan the youngsters, under the guidance of teachers Ulrike Lück, a specialist in applied theatre and Andrea Rost from MET, worked on the collected information from each village and created a multi-media play, which traced the historical development of each place.

Through the use of mime and gesture they described events such as the time under Prince Michael Apafy in Malancrav, the deportation of Saxons to Russia, the collectivisation of agricultural land and communism up to the present time. The play was successfully performed in Archita, Malancrav, Richis, Sighisoara and Viscri. 

In another workshop in Viscri, youngsters learned about how to use a computer to store pictures and interviews and together they created a blog of their project: http://edu-act.blogspot.com. They have learned about citadels, the Saxon villages, a different way of life in the past with Mr. Schaas from Richis, they have seen traditional crafts and produced their own bricks at the kiln in Viscri.

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20th October

FIRE ENGINES HAND-OVER CEREMONY IN SIGHIŞOARA

Fourteen men and women of the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service stood shoulder to shoulder with their Romanian colleagues.

 Hand-Over Ceremony (2)

In glorious autumn sunshine, three fire engines and one support truck were formally presented to the Mureş and Brașov County fire services by the English volunteers. This was the culmination of months of fund raising and planning by the Shropshire team who gave up spare time and holidays to deliver the equipment to Sighişoara and to work with their Romanian counterparts. Present at the ceremony were Ciprian Dobre (President Târgu Mureş County Council), Martin Harris (British Ambassador to Romania), Ioan Dorin Dăneşan (Mayor of Sighişoara), Raed Arafat (Romanian Under-Secretary of State for Health) and Caroline Fernolend (Vice President Mihai Eminescu Trust). Also present were representatives from Shropshire Council who had travelled out in their own time and at their own expense in order to be there, underlining the depth of Shropshire’s cooperation with the Trust in sharing its conservation expertise in this unique part of Transylvania.

The project is aimed at providing extra fire protection for the wide area covered by the Trust in the counties of Mureş and Braşov. Its success owes much to Colin Richards (Shropshire Historic Environment Manager), this was his 60th visit to Romania and demonstrates yet again his tireless commitment to the work of the Trust. But above all our thanks are due to Shropshire’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer Dr Steve Worrall, without his vision and leadership this exceptionally generous donation could never have happened.

See - Ambassador Martin Harris Blog:  The Fraternity of Firefighters

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21st September

SOMETHING ORIGINAL AND REMARKABLE FOR OUR TIME

Hugh Thomas
Lord Thomas of Swynnerton

The author Hugh Thomas has recently returned from a visit to the Apafi Manor where he was staying under the guidance of the Trust in order to understand the valleys, forests and castles depicted in Miklós Bánffy’s trilogy ‘A Transylvanian Tale’ in preparation for writing about the  books. In a letter to Jessica Douglas-Home he expressed his appreciation of the work of the Trust.

'I congratulate you very warmly – ‘hertzlich’. The achievement of the Mihai Eminescu Trust is really remarkable. You have not just financed a philanthropic enterprise, you have founded a new/old society of beauty and antiquity.

To think of the Trust’s achievements is humbling. I loved it all – the long, beautiful and usually empty valleys, the curved villages, the old doors opening into stables, the standpipes and their see-sawing accesses, the horses, the buffalo, the friezes in the marvellous churches, well you know it all so well.

It is so marvellous that Prince Charles has been inspired to be interested. Of course my initial justification was to do with the Banffy Trilogy, but the Trust has done something original and remarkable for our time.'

For information about the Apafi Manor see: More
 
All Apafi Manor and guesthouse enquiries:
Tel +40 723 150819 /
guesthouses@mihaieminescutrust.org

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September

RADU GABREA AT THE APAFI MANOR

Radu Gabrea
Radu Gabrea and friends at the Apafi Manor

The brilliant Romanian film-maker Radu Gabrea held the new Medias Central European Film Festival (MECEFF) in one of Transylvania's key cities, Medias. For six days in early September, the Bucharest-based director, writer and producer lured a small caravan of award-winning films, filmmakers and critics  down the town’s cobbled streets and into Medias’ central square. The concept was simple: to celebrate award-winning movies from the seven countries of central Europe in a bid to spotlight the region’s cultural identity and its filmmakers.
 
For rest and recreation Gabrea went to the Mihai Eminescu Trust's  glorious Apafi Manor in nearby Malanacrav village. Over lunch he and a group of actresses, actors, writers were addressed by the MET  director, Caroline Fernolend.

See: Mediaş Central European Film Festival

For information about the Apafi Manor see: More
 
All Apafi Manor and guesthouse enquiries:
Tel +40 723 150819 /
guesthouses@mihaieminescutrust.org

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September

ROMANIAN CRAFTSMEN INVITED TO SHROPSHIRE

Neilu     Marius
Neilu Molnar and Marius Panait

The long standing conservation partnership between Shropshire and the MET in which UK craftsmen have shared their skills and provided training to villagers in support of the unique Saxon heritage of central Romania, is soon to be reciprocated. Marius Panait and Neilu Molnar who attended the first stone masonry workshops held in Viscri some 12 years ago, have been invited by Ludlow Civic Society to bring their expertise to help their British colleagues with the restoration of an ancient wall in Ludlow. The wall which bounds the Grade 1 listed St Laurence Church and the medieval Readers House will now form a boundary to the new Jubilee Garden created for the benefit of residents and visitors in Ludlow.

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4th Aug

PRINCE SENDS MESSAGE OF SUPPORT TO BRAŞOV FESTIVAL

Vive Arte (3)
The audience in the city centre for Saturday's Vive Arte concert

The Prince of Wales sent a message of support to the organisers of this year's music festival in Braşov, Forum Arte, Braşov City Hall and Parohia Evanghelica Braşov. The Mihai Eminescu Trust  participated with an exhibition tracing its work over the last twelve years. The culmination of the five day festival was the Vive Arte concert held in the the Black Church on 4th August and relayed to a large audience in the city’s central square. Proceeds of the concert will go towards the restoration of the 18th century organ in the Saxon church of Rupea.

In his message, the Prince expressed the following wish: "I understand this evening is in support of completing the restoration work on the historical organ from Rupea and I can only pray with all my heart that you are successful.”

Letter from HRH The Prince of Wales, see: PDF

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28th July

DOMINIC WEST IN HEAVEN

Dominic West
Dominic West  (Photo: Columbia Pictures, Inc.)

The well known British actor Dominic West, famous for his role as Officer Jimmy McNulty in the acclaimed US television series The Wire, has just returned from an extended stay in one of the Trust’s guesthouses in Malancrav. The following is the text from a note he sent to Andrea Rost during the course of his stay:

Andrea - what a wonderful place! The House and my guest house lady, Nicoletta are lovely and dinner utterly delicious. I'm trying to extend my stay perhaps by many days  - maybe till next Thursday. Is there a house available till then? I'd love to see the other houses too. I'm in such heaven - thank you!  I have recommended the MET website to several friends; I think the Trust's work is so important.

Dominic

All guesthouse enquiries: Tel +40 723 150819 / guesthouses@mihaieminescutrust.org

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16th July

REPAIRS COMPLETED ON HISTORIC CITADEL GATEWAY

Torle Gate Sighisoara
The Torle gateway and the repaired section of wall

Work has completed on repairs and the re-rendering of both sides of a section of the citadel wall, including the Torle gateway, adjacent to the MET office in Sighisoara. The work which was principally financed by the Trust was mainly carried out by volunteers from Malancrav, Richis and Porumbacu de Sus as well as by the English team from Shropshire in May. During the course of the repairs, care was taken wherever possible to retain the existing render, which accounts for the darker areas (visible in the photograph) to the left of the arch.

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30th June

ALMA VII BRUNCH

Alma Vii (Brunch)

On 30th June, in glorious summer sunshine, it was Alma Vii’s turn for a Transilvanian Brunch following a similar highly successful event in Floresti in May. About 200 people attended. Caroline Fernolend spoke of the Trust's business training programme for the villagers, and the economic benefits which have ensued. She laid special emphasis on the value arising for each individual once the courses are over. Present were a number of architects and a restoration expert who afterwards asked to collaborate when they realised the extent of the Trust’s work in preserving the heritage of the villages.

The Transilvanian Brunches are the initiative of the Gall-Microregiune Hartibaciu.

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25th June

PRIME MINISTER CONGRATULATES MET ON REMARKABLE PROJECT
A valuable contribution to our democratic society

Prim-Ministru (Logo)

To Mihai Eminescu Trust Representatives

I would like to congratulate MET for the grand prize won at the tenth edition of the Civil Society Gala. This award represents the highlight of all your efforts from the last year and also represents a valuable contribution in promoting the values that Romanian society needs in order to develop and mature.

Building our democratic society crucially depends on its citizens and the civic involvement of NGO projects and campaigns. Your remarkable project is a valuable contribution in this respect holding up innovative ideas and positive values so necessary for the community we live in.

The Romanian Government and I truly admire all your efforts. As Prime Minster I wish for a constant dialogue and a constructive partnership with the civil society so that issues can be more easily accessible on the government’s agenda.

Once again I wish to express my sincere congratulations for the awards and good luck in all your future projects

Best regards

Victor Ponta

Prime Minister of Romania

Prime Minister's Letter: PDF
See:
 RECOGNITION FOR MET AT CIVIL SOCIETY AWARDS

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11th June

MET DIRECTOR MEETS PRINCE AT ROYAL GARDEN PARTY

HRH at Garden Party (2)
HRH the Prince of Wales with Caroline Fernolend at the Ambassador's reception

Along with HRH the Prince of Wales, MET Director Caroline Fernolend was a guest at the British Ambassador's private reception in honour of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in Bucharest. The Romanian prime minister Victor Ponta was also present.

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THE KAISER'S GREAT GRANDSON VISITS RICHIS

 Prince Nicholas von Preussen (Richis)
Prince Nicholas von Preussen (left) and Herr Schaas on the steps of Richis church

Prince Nicholas von Preussen, the Kaiser's great grand son, was shown the historic details of the 14th Century Richis Church by Herr Schaas. The Mihai Eminescu Trust has started a new Whole Village Project in Richis, after the restoration of the church roof and completion of two vast facades of the adjacent Town Hall, more work continues in the Town Hall interior  for use by the village community.

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31st May

A PERFECT STAY IN CRIT

Crit Guesthouse
Interior of the guesthouse in Crit (Photo: MET)

'We loved the house with its covered entrance stairway where one can sit on the wall, read a book and enjoy the peace of the orchard. We had managed to arrive early after visiting the beautiful church in Homorod. Elena cooked very well for us and Adrian her husband entertained us with his fair English and Tsuica. The lovely period furniture and embroidery are all very appropriate. It would be a perfect place to stay for a week. The 9 km walk back to Crit from Mesendorf through the meadow of wild flowers and the tranquil wood to the sound of a cuckoo is a dream.'
Hugh Beevor

The MET is especially keen to offer our guesthouse in Crit this year, less well known than our wonderful Viscri and Malancrav guesthouses, Crit is something of a secret waiting to be unfolded.

All guesthouse enquiries: Tel +40 723 150819 / guesthouses@mihaieminescutrust.org

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28th May

RECOGNITION FOR MET AT CIVIL SOCIETY AWARDS

Civil Society Awards 2012
The MET team at the Civil Society Gala

Prestigious Civil Society Awards Gala,  Bucharest, 28th May

The Mihai Eminescu Trust is honoured to have received FIRST PRIZE for “Social and Economic Development” and FIRST PRIZE for “Sustainability” for its ECO H2O – Ecological water purification system in Viscri.

This pioneering installation, predominantly financed by the Trust's Patron, HRH the Prince of Wales with additional funding from Rompetrol, forms part of the MET’s rural development programme (see Newsletter 2010).

The MET also received 3rd prize in the category “Culture and Art” for the EEA Heritage Project – “Conservation of the Historic Landscape in the Saxon villages of Transylvania”.

MET NEWSLETTERS  2002 - 2011:  See

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26th May

TRANSYLVANIAN BRUNCH AT MET GUESTHOUSE IN FLORESTI

Floresti Brunch (1)

The Transilvanian Brunch took place this month at the MET's beautiful guesthouse in Floresti. A brunch is held in a different village each month during the summer, the aim is to bring people to the countryside and especially to the less well known villages.  The food in Floresti was provided by the local ladies under the coordination of Lucica Harbada, the theme was all their delicious foods made from pork.

Next Brunch will be in Alma Vii on the 30th of June.

The Transilvanian Brunches are the initiative of the Gall-Microregiune Hartibaciu.

See: Reky Travel Club

All MET guesthouse enquiries:
Tel +40 723 150819 /
guesthouses@mihaieminescutrust.org

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A FOREST FOR EACH SCHOOL

A forest for each school (05.12)
School children planting trees under the 'Forest for each school' scheme

Over 270,000 tree seedlings of native species planted in November 2011 and April 2012

Since 2009 the Mihai Eminescu Trust supported by ACOOR started the project “A forest for each school." So far 500,000 seedlings of native species have been planted in wide areas affected by pollution, deforestation and landslides from three counties, Brasov Sibiu and Mures.

For more information about this campaign, see: PDF

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15th May

HRH THE DUKE OF KENT SEES THE MET AT WORK

HRH Duke of Kent & JD-H (Viscri)
HRH The Duke of Kent and Jessica Douglas-Home in Viscri (Photo: L D-H)

HRH Duke of Kent (Ora de Sibiu) 1   HRH Duke of Kent (Ora de Sibiu) 2
Arriving in Sibiel (Photos: Ora de Sibiu)

HRH The Duke of Kent has just returned from a private visit to Transylvania, accompanied by his son The Earl of St Andrews. He was the guest of Jessica Douglas-Home and the Mihai Eminescu Trust. He stayed at the Apafi Manor in Malancrav, from where he walked in the hills and took the opportunity to see much of the trust’s work in the surrounding villages and in Sighisoara.

See:
Ora de Sibiu
Romanian Business News - ACTMedia

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14th May

2% PENTRU PATRIMONIU

Prin intermediul prevederii 2% din Codul Fiscal, persoanele fizice au
posibilitatea să redirecţioneze 2% din impozitul pe veniturile obţinute în
anul anterior către o entitate nonprofit.

Dacă doriţi să sprijiniţi activitatea Fundaţiei Mihai Eminescu Trust aveţi
posibilitatea de a redirecţiona 2% din valoarea impozitului dumneavoastră
către Fundaţie. Formularul ataşat conţine datele fiscale ale fundaţiei.
Acest formular poate fi trimis la administraţiile financiare până în data de
25 mai 2012.

Vă mulţumim anticipat pentru sprijin.

Download PDF

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5th May

TOWER NEARLY READY FOR OPENING

Deputy Mayor & Caroline Fernolend    Colin Richards
Deputy Mayor and Caroline Fernolend / Colin Richards rendering the citadel wall 

Saturday (5th May) the team completed its work. The Cojocarilor tower is watertight, the basement exhibits of traditional building materials are in place. On Friday the work was inspected by the Deputy Mayor of Sighisoara. It remains only for the permanent MET team in Sighisoara to complete the setting out of exhibits on the top two floors. The render on the Citadel wall and gateway adjacent to the MET office is nearing completion, the Romanian team from Richis will continue after the English contingent have started their long journey back to UK.

Eduard Gacziela    Darren Griffiths
Eduard Gacziela / Darren Griffiths
Richard Mather    Dan Richards
Richard Mather / Dan Richards

The project has again demonstrated the lasting value of bringing together British and Romanian expertise; it underlines the trust's commitment to spreading the message of conservation in the Saxon built heritage as well as the wider aims of the Whole Village Project. These important objectives will always benefit from the stimulus of shared understanding and the opportunity to renew friendships each time the English contingent visits Romania.

Meet the team, see: Photo Diary  

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3rd May

COJOCARILOR TOWER PREPARATIONS

Gheorghe Solomon
Gheorghe Solomon applying render to the citadel gateway

Shropshire team at work with their Romanian colleagues

In glorious summer sunshine, Colin Richard's team have been hard at work with their Romanian colleagues preparing the Cojocarilor Tower for its new role as a resource centre and showcase for traditional Saxon building techniques. The opportunity to use the tower in this way has been made possible by the generous support of the Sighisoara Council. As always, by bringing together the nine members of the Shropshire team with their seven Romanian counterparts (from Richis and Porambacu), it has provided an opportunity for both groups to exchange their knowledge and skills.

Meet the team, see: Photo Diary

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26th April

SHROPSHIRE CRAFTSMEN ON EPIC JOURNEY ACROSS EUROPE

Road Trip - Day 1
Jessica Douglas-Home with Colin Richard's team as they set out on their journey

A five man team of craftsmen, led by Colin Richards (Historic Environment Director for Shropshire Council) today began a journey from Ludlow to  the heart of Transylvania, some 1750 miles, carrying tools and fire fighting equipment for the Sighisoara Town Hall in a 20 year old Landrover. The team will cross 10 countries travelling to the ancient citadel of Sighisoara to help restore the defensive towers which stand proud astride the northern entrance to the centre.  In the Cojocarilor Tower a small museum will also be created as a reference museum of architectural objects and archive material of historic restoration work. The building will also comprise a major education resource for the Transylvanian region.

During the visit Colin will lead a workshop on kiln firing at Malancrav and also undertake render training in the village of Stejareni where The MET are helping local villagers to gain new skills.

Watch this space for regular reports, both on the team's journey and their work in Transylvania.

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TWO DAYS OF PUBLIC WASTE COLLECTION IN VISCRI

Community activities - Viscri

On the 2nd of April, 36 schoolchildren of the primary school, collected 100 plastic sacks of waste left in the public spaces of the village. On the 3rd April the village invited one person from each household to participate. Seven horse and cart owners, one truck and 41 people from the local community started at 9 o’clock in the morning to collect plastic bottles and other rubbish along the roads, the stream banks and on the pasture close to the forest. By 2 o’clock 250 plastic sacks had been filled.

After the clean up, there was a celebration “reunion”. The guesthouse owners baked traditional cakes, prepared coffee and served wine to everyone who had taken part.

For a full report see:
Community activities - Environmental protection

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NOILE PLACUTE STRADALE DIN CETATEA MEDIEVALA

Comunicat placute

Proiectul de înlocuire a plăcuțelor stradale din Cetatea Medievală a fost realizat de Fundația Mihai Eminescu Trust în parteneriat cu Grupul locuitorilor din Cetate și Grupul de iniţiativă „Cetatea”, format din Primăria municipiului Sighișoara, Muzeul de Istorie, Forumul Democrat al Germanilor și Fundaţia Veritas.

As part of the Sighisoara Medieval fortress project, the MET has organized the installation of new street plates. This has been done in partnership with residents of the Citadel and the Initiative Group "Cetatea", (Sighisoara City Hall, Museum of History, German Democratic Forum and Veritas Foundation).

Mai multe informatii legate de acest eveniment gasiti aici -
Comunicat de presa placute cetatea Sighisoara

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MET  FIJET PARTNERSHIP

Parteneriat PressTour
Representatives of FIJET with Jeremy Staniforth (centre) and Caroline Fernolend

On 22nd December 2011, Caroline Fernolend signed on behalf of the MET a partnership with PressTour FIJET Romania. PressTour FIJET will promote the MET’s activities for the revitalization of local communities and the conservation of Romanian cultural and natural heritage.

See: 
Mihai Eminescu Trust, partener oficial al FIJET Romania 
FIJET Newsletter January 2012

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7th March

Restoration of the Malancrav Orchard tractor

JD-H with Tractor
Jessica Douglas-Home with orchard manager Daniel Marton and the tractor 

The tractor model Universal 445 DT (45 horse power and double traction 4x4) was built in Romania in 1981 and was used by the Malancrav orchard administration for a variety of agricultural works.  Urgently needed for the 2012 season but with many of its working parts  worn out, it was useless. Instead of spending money on acquiring a new tractor the orchard team decided on a complete restoration. The engine was overhauled, power steering fitted and all the components painted in the original factory colours. The work took approximately one month and was carried out at a third of the cost of a new tractor. This sturdy old new tractor can now be used for the spring works in the orchard.

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MET BONE-CHINA DINNER PLATE  

MET Plate    MET Plate Crest

Manufactured in England by Edwards & Lockett of Stoke-on-Trent.
(10.5 inches / 268mm.)

On the reverse is the following inscription:

Both the past and the future
Are two sides of the same page;
He who learns them will discover
A beginning's found at the end of an age...

(Mihai Eminescu)

The plate can be ordered from our UK office at:
63 Hillgate Place, London W8 7SS.
Tel. +44 (0)20 72297618.
admin@mihaieminescutrust.org
Price Ł18 incl. P&P

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MET Newsletters - PDF

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© Mihai Eminescu Trust 2002