Street Restitution Project in Viscri (Romania)
Viscri is one of the
seven Transylvanian villages with fortified churches included in the
UNESCO World Heritage List. The villages are situated in the south of
Transylvania, a hilly region bordered by the arc of the Carpathians.
They provide a vivid picture of the vernacular traditions based on the
characteristic land-use system, settlement pattern, and organization of
the farmstead units as well as the medieval architecture of the German
colonists, which exerted a strong influence on the other ethnic groups
in the area. The variety of building types and defensive solutions,
dominated by the church fortifications and preserved over the centuries
is the expression of the cultural traditions of those communities.
The Street Restitution Project in
Viscri, supported by the German World Heritage Foundation, is part of
the Programme for the integrated development of Sighisoara
and the Saxon Villages of Transylvania (Romania) launched by
the Mihai Eminescu Trust in co-operation with GAIA Heritage. It serves
as a pilot project for neighbouring villages and helped to improve the
quality of life of the village population by facilitating
transportation, improving water management and waste water treatment.
The fine cobbled paths and the stone drainage channels were repaired,
young pear and apple trees along the main street were planted and new
resting benches and waste baskets, produced by the local population,
were installed. The restitution of the street also reinforced the
participation of the inhabitants of the bordering houses in the overall
maintenance of their village and enhanced the visual quality of the
village, creating thus a stronger cultural link between the fortified
church and its direct environment and preserving an important part of a
unique landscape. It is hoped that the Restitution Project will also
contribute to the economic recovery of the village(s) and to the
development of sensitive tourism in the area.