Every year for ten days between the end of April and beginning of May, a remote corner in Romania witnesses an amazing show - the blooming en masse of the wild Peonia Tenuifolia. A rare and particularly beautiful type of botanical Peony - also called Steppe Peony, grows wild in an area of 3 hectares. A whole meadow explodes with the blood red simple blooms of this peony. The steppe peony (Paeonia tenuifolia), has a height of 10-30 cm, with bright red flowers

Zau de Câmpie is a commune in the Mure County. Here, on Bota şHil, in the Northwest of the village, is the only place within the Carpathian arch where the steppe peony plant grows and is the northernmost point in Romania where this species is found.The first data about this steppe peonies were published in 1846 in ViennaThe Steppe Peony Reservation from Zau de Câmpie was founded in 1932 by the academician Alexandru Borza, the founder of the Romanian school of botany. The natural reserve area had 2.5 hectares. The area was saved by Marcu Sâncrãian, the "father of the peonies", a passionate villager who protected voluntary the peonies from 1923 (!) to 2006, the year he died. He also fought to include the reservation in Romanian Academy's patrimonium and managed to increase the surface of the reservation at 3.5 hectares. In the blossoming season (May), that last exactly ten days, the beautiful meadow attracts many lovers of nature;

The steppe peony (Paeonia tenuifolia)

SibiuCity with a population

of 137,026, located some 282 km north-west of Bucharest.

Sibiu

Catholic Church (Biserica Catolicã)

Nowadays the capital of Sibiu County,

between 1692 and 1791 and 1849-1865 Sibiu was the capital of the Principality of

Transylvania.

The Holy Trinity Cathedral (Catedrala Sfânta Treime), is the seat of the Romanian

Orthodox Archbishop of Sibiu and Metropolitan of Transylvania. It was built in the style of a Byzantine basilica, inspired by Hagia

Sophia, with the main spires influenced by

Transylvanian church architecture and Baroque elements

His Grace Bishop Irineu

Children come forward to venerate the cross

The Large Square is the historic center of Sibiu, first time mentioned in 1411 as corn market.

. In tandem with the city of Luxembourg,

Sibiu was designated as

European Capital of Culture for the year

2007.

Sibiu Anno

Domini 1650

Podul Minciunilor - the Small Square of Sibiu and Liar's Bridge, an iron bridge (1859)

the Small Square of

Sibiu and The Art House -

Emil Sigerus Museum of

SibiuThe Small Square of Sibiu and the Evangelical Church. This landmark monument of Sibiu was built during the 14th and 15th Centuries in a gothic style and has two pipe organs (organ concerts here almost every week).

Considered to be a forged iron gem, The

Bridge of Lies is one of the most important symbols of the city. Rebuilt in 1859 by

Friedrich Hütte in the former location of a wooden bridge, The

Bridge of Lies is the first forged iron bridge in

Romania (Second cast iron bridge to be built

in Europe)

The Art House - Emil Sigerus

Museum of Sibiu is

known as 'Butchers'

Hall and is one of the

oldest „guild houses”

Documentary certified in 1370, the historical

monument located in the Small Square

of Sibiu, is one of the

most interesting

building that embodies the

type of a medieval

trading hall

The Art House - Emil Sigerus Museum of Sibiu

Catholic Church (Biserica Catolicã) The Jesuit monks built the church between 1726 and 1733 in Baroque style

Direc ia Finan elor Publiceţ ţ

Bulevardul Vasile Milea

Brukenthal National Museum

Opened to the public in 1817, the Brukenthal National Museum was

originally Baron Samuel von

Brukenthal's official residence.

Built between 1778 and 1788, the palace, then comprising an art gallery and a library, was home to the entire collection. During his lifetime, the Baron transformed the palace into a veritable museum, one of the first museums in Romania.

Bringing together world - famous masterpieces of Flemish painting – including the famous betrothal portrait by van Eyck, The Man in the Blue Hat – the  Brukenthal Collection is one of the most illustrious in Eastern Europe. In 2009-2010 for the first time in its history, the Brukenthal National Museum offered on loan an incomparable group of some fifty works of art. On the occasion of this exhibition in Paris, at Jacquemart-André Museum, this group of about fifty major works was presented in France for the first time.

Man in a Blue Turban - Jan van Eyck ( c. 1395 – 1441)

Hans Memling

Pieter Brueghel II, The Younger

Pieter Bruegel I, The Elder

Lorenzo Lotto

Jacob Jordaens

Antonello da Messina

Sibiu Samuel von Brukenthal High School

Office tower and subsidiary of BCR (Banca Comercialã Românã)

The station is located near Sibiu city center. The international trains runs to Budapest (Hungary)

Almost all the roofs have ventilation openings in the funny and unusual shape of “eyes”.

Anca Mãrginean soloist of Sibiu

Sibiel Painted Icons Museum

Poiana Sibiului is a commune in Sibiu County. The name means "the glade of Sibiu".

Poiana Sibiului

Poiana SibiuluiBiserica de lemn (Biserica din Deal)

Poiana SibiuluiBiserica de lemn (Biserica din Deal)

The Lutheran evangelical church

from Cristian Sibiu has been built on the ruins

of an old roman basilica having as

patron St. Servatius. There still exist some

elements of the original church that

dates back to the XIIIth century

The Cãlu ari were the members of a şRomanian fraternal secret society who practiced a ritual acrobatic dance known as the cãlu . According to the şRomanian historian Mircea Eliade, the Cãlu ari were known for "their şability to create the impression of flying in the air” which he believed represented both the galloping of a horse and the dancing of the fairies (zâne).

Cãlu ariş Cristian, Sibiu

Cãluşari dance in the Saxon fortified church of Cristian, Sibiu county, during the state visit of King of the Belgians Albert II and his wife Queen Paola

The cãlu is a male şgroup dance, although there are records of traditions from Oltenia region that included 1-2 young girls, now obsolete.

Sound: Gheorghe Zamfir – Doina de la Domasnea

Text and pictures: InternetCopyright: All the images belong to their authors

Presentation: Sanda Foi oreanuşwww.slideshare.net/michaelasanda