Whole Village Project
MET Guided Tours to the villages see: About the Area
In 2006, the EU acknowleded the value of the MET's conservation work by granting financial support, through the Culture 2000 programme, to our Whole Village Project. This has enabled the MET and its partners Corona Association, Horizon Foundation and Fundatia MET - to expand their heritage restoration and traing work. In 2007 the Trust won the prestigious Europa Nostra Award for Dedicated Service to conservation.
The Trust’s pioneering ‘Whole Village Project’ aims to:
Preserve the villages’ fabric, remedy their loss of income and revive their sense of community.
In selected neighbourhoods the Trust helps the inhabitants to develop new sources of revenue and to restore their houses with sympathetic use of traditional materials.
Confidence is growing that the villages can be brought back to life. Already over 1,000 Saxons have returned, and the incoming Romanian and gypsy population is being integrated into the communities.
These successes are influencing regional conservation policy and serving as a model for threatened communities elsewhere. The village of Viscri, under the leadership of councillor Caroline Fernolend, has attracted international attention as an example of historic preservation combined with economic regeneration.
The Trust started work in 1999 in five villages 50 miles north of Brasov. In 2000 it selected a second cluster 50 miles further north.
Our initial priority is the rescue of the ancient facades and roofs, which give harmony to medieval streets and alleys and are a source of pride to the residents. Employing local labour, the Trust teaches forgotten building methods, including the use of lime mortar, which gives the houses their distinctive character.
To date, we have enabled several hundred houses and several churches to be restored. The Trust buys at least one house in each commune in which to carry out a model guesthouse conversion along the lines of the prestigious Landmark Trust. We also give advice, grants and loans to enable farmers, craftsmen and others to start or expand small ventures – for example, helping owners to make their own conversions or to produce and market local products. The full support of the community is a prerequisite before the Trust ‘adopts’ a village.
Our working procedure is:
To meet with village representatives and discuss their ideas for development.
To appoint a Romanian conservation architect to create an inventory of historic buildings, assess structures at risk and identify houses suitable for restoration.
To locate accessible sources of building materials and prepare lime pits.
To arrange for outside experts to share their skills and working practices with local craftsmen.
As we become familiar with the area, to look for ways to help promising enterprises.
To establish a nucleus village as a marketing and skills centre for the commune.
Our aim is self-sufficiency.
It has been estimated that more than half the population in Viscri and a similar proportion in other villages are currently benefiting from the fruits of the Trust’s work.
At Malancrav, the Trust has bought and restored a romantic abandoned Hungarian manor house that was the centre of the village from the 16th century. It has been converted into a library and a lodge for scholars and visitors. We have also acquired its ancient 250-acre apple orchard, putting in the investment necessary to generate income and employment from organic apple juice.
Other examples of Trust activities include:
Gifts of equipment to local mayors.
Grants for village roads.
The provision of funds to the Evangelical Church of Transylvania to improve the security of five Saxon Churches and their treasures.
A survey and conservation programme for the 14th Century frescoes at Malancrav (among the finest in Europe).
Publication of a guide to walking and equestrian routes and guesthouses; and the introduction of travel agents to the region.
Publication of studies of flora and fauna, showing that the pastures meet international criteria for protected status and noting many species near to extinction that are uniquely surviving in Transylvania.
Lobbying successfully for the relocation of a Dracula Theme Park, which had threatened to spoil the region’s character.
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