In the Heart of Transylvania Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dacia

The kingdom of Dacia was ruled at the time of the conquest by Decebalus. He offered stern resistance against the Romans until Sarmizegetusa finally fell in 106 A.D. Rather than allow himself to be captured and paraded through the streets of Rome, he chose to commit suicide.

The explanation for this origin of the Romanian people is subject to much debate. When the Romans decided to withdraw their troops from the Dacian boundary, the theory is that members of the local population stayed behind and these people have a direct link to the current Romanian people. The one major drawback to this theory is the lack of written and archaeological evidence supporting it, and without this the debate concerning the Daco-Roman Continuity Theory looks set to continue.

Answer: Siebenbürgen

The German name "Siebenbürgen" is a direct translation of "seven fortresses". The Saxons first came to the region during the 12th and 13th centuries building up towns using their own style of architecture. These towns were contained within a fortified wall to protect the city from attack and helped to limit access to undesirables. They would usually contain a main square along with several smaller squares and meandering streets. The focal point of the whole town would be the main church.

The seven Saxons towns that are most commonly listed are: Kronstadt (now Brasov), Schässburg (now Sighisoara), Mediasch (now Medias), Bistritz (now Bistrita), Clausenburg (now Cluj-Napoca), Mühlbach (now Sebes) and Hermannstadt (now Sibiu). Many of the medieval centres of these fortified towns are still largely intact. Expect to see sights like forts, bastions, guildhouses and towers. Walking through the old town of somewhere like Brasov can really give you a feel for what life was once like there. Brasov even includes what is claimed to be the narrowest street in Europe, though some searching would tell you that it is beaten by streets in Exeter, England and Reutlingen, Germany. Nevertheless, it's a tight fit!

Answer: Carpathians

The Carpathian mountains are one of Romania's big tourist draws. They are a haven for winter sports enthusiasts who make their way to popular resorts such as Poiana Brasov. In the summer, the outdoor enthusiasts turn into hikers who trek the many marked path through the mountains. The gorges and limestone scenery of Piatra Craiului is exceedingly beautiful and also happens to be the place where some scenes from the 2003 film "Cold Mountain" were shot.

Other natural Transylvanian sites that may warrant a special visit include the wonderful Turda Gorge and the Red Lake. The latter is the home to a local legend that tells how a beautiful girl sang to the mountains whilst she waited for her lover to return. Unfortunately, she also charmed a thief, and to protect her from his advances she called to the mountains for help. They responded with a landslide, burying the pair of them, with their blood giving rise to the redness that gives the lake its name.

Answer: Székely

Legend has it that the Székely are directly descended from Attila the Hun's son, Csaba. Following Attila's death, his sons went to war with each other. Csaba was the loser, and his defeated army took root in Transylvania, thus forming a new and distinctive culture in the region.

A site often found in Székely towns and villages is the Székely gate. These gates contain a small entrance for pedestrians and a much larger one to let a horse and cart through. A Székely site also features on the World Heritage Site list. One of the sites that UNESCO selected as an excellent example of the fortified churches in the area, the one at Darjiu, is a Székely church. All of the other churches inscribed on the list are Saxon.

Answer: Sighisoara

In Sighisoara there is a house with a plaque stating that Vlad Dracul lived there between 1431 and 1435. The first thing to point out is that this was not Vlad the Impaler. Vlad Dracul was actually the father of Vlad the Impaler, and it is the son who is thought to be the influence for Count Dracula. The title "Dracul" was given after Vlad was inducted into the Order of the Dragon; a chivalrous order that had been created in Hungary during the Middle Ages.

Vlad the Impaler has attained his nickname from the stories of him impaling the local boyars on stakes. He picked up this gruesome idea during his prison sentence in Istanbul, which is where he was sent by his father in order to secure Ottoman support for his claim to the throne of Wallachia, the region to the south of Transylvania. He was released following his father's murder, and returned to become the leader of Wallachia. It was during his crusade of revenge that he began to use the stake execution method, with tales of his cruelty spreading across Europe.

It should be pointed out that many Romanians see him as a national hero, partly because they see him as standing up against his enemies. He was voted number 12 in the 2006 TV vote for the "100 Greatest Romanians", though this was one place behind the controversial dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

Answer: Prejmer

The site at Prejmer consists of a circular fortified wall containing hundreds of rooms for people to live in and store goods during times of siege. This wall then surrounds an open yard with the church as the focal point at its centre. The rooms are on a number of levels, the highers ones only reachable via wooden staircases. A significant amount of restoration work has been put into the site, which has helped to keep it remarkably well preserved and gives it a really authentic feel. You can even walk a circuit around the upper levels of the walls and see how they would have defended the site against invading armies.

Whilst only seven fortified churches have made it on to UNESCO's World Heritage list, there are hundreds across Transylvania that help to give the region a distinctive character.

Answer: Dracula's Castle

When I went to visit Romania, I was expecting everywhere to be playing heavily on the Dracula theme. Fortunately, this turned out to be much less than I had anticipated, though I did find a "Dracula's Games" in Sibiu. Nevertheless, Dracula is one of the biggest tourist draws in Romania with Bran Castle a prime example. Now, as beautiful a place as Bran Castle is, there is a problem.

It is not Dracula's castle. Well, at least not Vlad the Impaler's castle. At most, he probably stayed there only a few nights, but certainly not as the owner. If you're after the authentic thing, you need to look elsewhere, with Poenari Castle perhaps the best bet. Poenari is a ruined fortress on a hill that has much stronger links to Vlad the Impaler, and is even alleged to be haunted!

Answer: Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales

Visiting Viscri, you feel like the clock has been turned back for centuries. Well, apart from the odd car! The emphasis placed on tourism at Viscri is that it is sustainable. The Mihai Eminescu Trust has put in huge amounts of work to transform the life of these villagers by helping to develop local traditions, such as constructing a wood-fired kiln to enable them to make tiles and bricks.

Prince Charles has been a regular visitor to the Transylvanian region over the years. He has helped to raise the profile of the villagers' rural way of life, and has conducted lots of charity work on behalf of the Mihai Eminescu Trust. The Trust is active throughout the Transylvanian region, with particular emphasis on maintaining the Saxon way of life. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, many of the Saxon families decided to emigrate to the west, thus the Trust is focused on trying to ensure that these traditions do not die out in Transylvania.

Answer: Sibiu

Sibiu was the first city in Romania to be awarded the title of European Capital of Culture. It is a lovely place to meander through with a classy pedestrianised upper town full of cafés that line the streets and squares during the sunny months. The lower town is full of cobbled streets lined with traditional housing that wind around inside the old fortified walls. There is a tower in the centre that you can climb to give you wonderful views of the surrounding roofs, cathedral and series of inter-connecting squares.

Sibiu is also the birthplace of Hermann Oberth, one of the pioneers of rocketry, and he is honoured by a statue in front of Sibiu city hall.

Answer: Horse & Cart

The rural way of life is a significant feature of Transylvania. Horse and cart has been the only way for many people to get around for a long time, and unfortunately many can't afford to splash out for a modern substitute. Without this mode of transport their livelihoods woulds be severely affected, especially during the long winter months. One of the main reasons for the ban coming into force was that the horse & cart had been blamed for a significant proportion of road traffic accidents. Whether this was the case, or whether it was other people just driving too fast is open to much debate!

The horse & cart is just one feature indicative of a traditional way of life that you would encounter on travels through Transylvania. There are lots of villages where you might see water-tight hayricks in the middle of a field and farmers herding their sheep along. In a Romanian restaurant you might find the lovely, sour, peasant soup. One particular local favourite is ciorba de burta, otherwise known as tripe soup. Maybe it's an acquired taste, as I was wholeheartedly not a fan, but I must say that I was very impressed with the beef version.