Many Transylvanian monuments will be put on the tourist map through the Inviting Romania, The Country Touring project, which is financed in the framework of the national restoration plan. In addition to the restoration and popularization of several castles, castles, mansions, and traditional village houses, the gastronomy and ancient crafts of the small regions would also be presented, kronikaonline.ro reported .


A total of 225 historic buildings are being renovated, and 300 properties are being promoted within the framework of the culture and tourism chapter of the National Restoration Plan (PNRR).
The monument renovations, which are part of the development of the 12 touristic-cultural routes, affect the whole of Transylvania and must be completed by July 2026 at the latest, Hívogató Romania explained to our newspaper family. Csilla Hegedüs, State Secretary of the Ministry of European Funds, gave the details of the plan called the cross-country project. The list of buildings and locations to be renovated on the 12 routes was approved in a joint decree by the ministries of development, tourism and culture in addition to the ministry. "The document is one of the milestones of the PNRR that was completed on time," the politician believes.

According to the executive vice-president of the RMDSZ, the initiators hope that the number of foreign tourists coming to the country will increase by about 50 percent in the future, and domestic tourism will also improve, thanks to the ongoing renovations and effective promotion of the 103 million euros allocated to the project.

According to the politician who gained a lot of experience in the renovation of the Bánffy Castle in Bonchida, the shortcoming of Romanian tourism is that although there are many attractions, they are not sufficiently "served" for visitors, and quality services are not provided in their vicinity. "There is no such tourist route, there is no such tourist offer and the quality service assigned to it, which we can recommend with a calm heart, but there are case-by-case solutions," outlined Csilla Hegedüs in an interview with our newspaper family.

According to the state secretary, the tourism action plan is needed, as well as the 12 tourism-cultural routes to begin with, so that visitors to the country know what to look for and where to spend their money.

With their presence, they can bring significant income to the local community, the specialist pointed out the economic returns of the project. He said that the culture and tourism chapter of the national recovery plan has more than 172 million euros, it also includes the creation and expansion of museums, and at the same time it includes the creation of 12 tourist routes, several of which cover the whole of Transylvania. As the developer of the Transylvanian part, the RMDSZ proposed adding several monuments of Hungarian interest to the list from Bihar to Háromszék.

Significant castles are renovated

A number of valuable Transylvanian monuments will be renovated, for example, as part of the Castles Route, the beneficiary of which is one of the most important sights of Transylvania, the Vojdahunyad Castle, but also the Béldi Castle in Zsibo, the Kálnoky Castle in Sepsikőröspatak, the Teleki Castle in Gernyeszeg and the Urmánczy Castle in Maroshévíz. .

In addition, 30 castles will be promoted, the companies entrusted with this will prepare a digital presentation of the attractions, and the material will be uploaded to the Inviting Romania phone application platform

- an art-historical description of the building, current and archival images, audio-guide will also be available, and as a taster, you can also "walk around" the monuments digitally. 3.75 million euros can be spent on the renovation of individual castles.

The president of the Positive Transylvania Association, which operates the Urmánczy castle in Maroshévíz, Katalin Szabó Tekla, told our newspaper family that she hopes they will receive the maximum amount, which is not enough for the complete restoration, but would represent a big step forward. He said that according to the application, the castle can be used for cultural activities for five years. "We have used it for that, we have opened it to visitors, and these are our plans in the future," outlined Tekla Szabó.

Well-known mansions, discovered gastronomy

The route of Transylvanian mansions specifically focuses on this part of the country: among the noble houses to be renovated are the Kováts mansion in Sándorhomok (Szatmár), the Szentkereszty-Bethlen mansion in Aranyosgyéres (Cluj), the Baranyi-Jakó mansion in Micske (Bihar), the Sepsibodok mansion Mikó manor and the Serester József manor in Kökös (Háromszék).

The Szentkereszty-Bethlen mansion was built by Zsigmond Szentkereszty in the second half of the 19th century, and he created a park and an artificial lake around it. An elementary school operated in the building after nationalization, and it currently houses a school library, according to the Castle in Erdélyben portal. The small, ground-floor building consists of three building parts, within the framework of the project one million euros will be allocated for its renovation. In addition to the mentioned mansions, another 25 noble residences are promoted through the app. The route's companion is the Bojárházak route, which focuses on saving noble houses in southern Romania.

The Traditional Gastronomy Route also includes Transylvanian locations. Csilla Hegedüs told us that this is also a novelty at the European level, with the aim of allowing tourists to discover the traditional dishes of the given micro-regions, to visit and get to know the local masters practicing traditional crafts.

Among the 30 destinations, there are also locations in Kalotaszeg, Szilágyság, Trószék and Hargita counties. 20 churches are being promoted through Fortress Churches, which includes several UNESCO-listed monuments, and new entries are expected, said Hegedüs. 30 are being "advertised" on the Wooden Churches route and 10 are being renovated, it mostly includes Moldovan locations, like the Moldavian monasteries route - 30 attractions are being promoted here, 5 are being renovated.

Szent László-út runs separately

The Szent László-út is also related to Hungary, which is a separate route: it covers 20 monuments and natural destinations. As part of this, the reformed churches in Sacsva and Agyagfalv, as well as the Unitarian church in Kökös in Háromszék, the Szentjobb abbey and the Bihar castle in Bihar county, will be renovated.

Roman fortifications are given a separate route, five are planned to be renovated, and 20 are promoted. The Danube Delta will also receive a special route, 30 traditional village houses are planned to be renovated and presented.

The Route of Castles also promotes several Transylvanian monuments, and the castles of Segesvár, Brasó, Torockószentgyörgy and Nagyvárad are also on the list of monuments to be renovated, and the bastion of the King's Son is being restored in the latter. The castle of Torockószentgyörgy in Fehér county is located east of the settlement, on the border of the village. Although its structure is constantly deteriorating, it still rises majestically above the village with its high walls in some places, and it is easiest to approach from the west. The earliest part is the residential tower built in the middle of the 14th century, which was built of stone, rectangular, approximately 20 meters high, and the thickness of the wall in some places 3 meters.

The ancient nest of the Thoroczkay family experienced three major destructions. It is located in a fabulous natural environment, 24 kilometers from Nagyenyed, next to Torockó. It is therefore easily accessible and visited by many tourists, which is why its renovation is considered important.

Torocko mayor Szilárd Levente Deák-Székely previously stated that the most difficult task in preparing the application was to register the castle as a plot of land for the village, as the ruins cover an area of ​​1,265 square meters. A total of 10.75 million euros will be allocated for the renovation of the five castles, so one facility would receive 2.155 million euros.

There are also several Transylvanian locations on the Villages with Traditional Architecture route. Within this framework, 20 villages are promoted and 150 houses are renovated. From Transylvania, Torockó, Berethalom, Verespatak, Etéd, Szászkézd, Körösfő and Csíkszentgyörgy are on the list of beneficiary settlements.

Deadlines must be met

About the renovation process, Csilla Hegedüs said that the list of monuments to be restored included buildings where the owners ordered the feasibility study. This must be completed within two months, and the contracts will be concluded by the end of the year, as the work must be completed by June 30, 2026.

According to Csilla Hegedüs, the money intended for each building will be sufficient, but if a larger amount is needed, the owners will cover the difference. However, the deadline must be met, if it is not done on time, "there is a big problem", stated the state secretary, because the owner must repay the support received.

"Thus, it is also in his interest to supervise the progress of the work," he pointed out. Csilla Hegedüs emphasized that the list - the part of which related to Transylvania was developed by the RMDSZ - was sent to the EC, signed by four ministers, so "it cannot be undone". The Inviting Romania phone application offers about 300 primary locations to tourists, but it also includes another 450, places of interest on the route between the main destinations, where you can also stop and look around.

According to the state secretary, in addition to the routes, the tourism action plan, which shows how the built heritage can be used to bring money to the local community, is a new feature of the PNRR's culture and tourism chapter. This also covers the role of the local community in the exploitation of each attraction, but also the management of tourist destinations, which includes local governments, owners, parties interested in tourism and civilians, so that adequate care for tourists and the cultural offer can be ensured in a coordinated manner at each location.

The state secretary said: they hope that the Inviting Romania. In the future, the implementation of the cross-country project will increase the number of foreign tourists visiting the country by about 50 percent, but by making many, currently lesser-known locations "visible", it will also stimulate domestic tourism.

Source: kronikaonline.ro

Front page image: The Béldi castle in Zsibo will also be renovated in the framework of the project • Photo: Facebook/Csilla Hegedüs