Haferland Week: Gathering of Transylvanian Saxons back to their home

This year, the biggest cultural event dedicated to the promotion of the Transylvanian Saxon area took place during 9-14 August and attracted participants of all ages due to the wide range of activities in the villages of Crit, Viscri, Roadeş, Meşendorf, Saschiz, Rupea, Cloasterf, Homorod, Bunesti and Archita. More than 1,500 tourists and Saxons returned home for the Haferland Week, on the day dedicated to Crit village, and a total of about 5,500 people gathered during the whole Festival, organizers stated in a press release.

On the Day of Crit, the 1,500 tourists were joined by high-ranking officials: Klaus Werner Iohannis - President of Romania, Barbara Stamm - Bavarian Parliament President, Sevil Shhaideh – Romanian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Regional Development, Public Administration and European Funds;  Dr. Bernd Fabritius - MdB, President of the World Association of Transylvanian Saxons, Emil Hurezeanu - Ambassador of Romania to Berlin, Cord Meier-Klodt - German Ambassador to Bucharest, Peter Maffay - President of the Tabaluga Foundation, who were invited by Michael Schmidt, one of the Festival's initiators and the President of the Foundation that bears his name.

"Every year, we strive to do more and better. We have expanded the area of the Festival, the activities of its program, as well as the culinary options, especially since this year's edition focused on local gastronomy. We are glad that our efforts have been rewarded by the thousands of tourists who were present, as well as by the personalities who joined us and we hope that Haferland will become an increasingly popular destination for tourists from Romania and abroad", said Michael Schmidt, Chairman of the Michael Schmidt Foundation and of Automobile Bavaria Group.

Under the slogan "Saxon Traditions in Culinary Legends", the 2017 Edition of the Haferland Week aimed to open the appetite of the tourists for Saxon Traditional food, but also for other dishes prepared by locals in the area as well as by experienced chefs.

At its fifth edition, Haferland Week included, besides the Saxon-style brunch, concerts in fortified churches, theater plays, outdoor movie screenings, popular folk demonstrations and a Saxon ball.

The first four editions of Haferland Week Festival brought together thousands of participants and enjoyed the presence of dozens of personalities from the cultural and social life in Romania and Germany.

The organizers of the event - the Michael Schmidt Foundation, together with the Tabaluga Foundation, supported by the Adept Foundation, the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation and Transylvanian Saxon Associations - aim to stimulate tourism in the area, not only during the Festival but throughout the whole year, so promotional initiatives do not stop here, the organizers are constantly preparing concerts, sports and gastronomic events, as well as other activities to provide participants with authentic experiences in the Haferland Saxon villages.

The Saxon region of Transylvania was called the "Land of the Oats" or Haferland, as locals used to cultivate oats mainly because of the harshest climate.This year's edition of the event was supported by the partners of the Festival: Kaufland, Rompetrol, Automobile Bavaria, MHS Truck & BUS - as main ones, Neumarkt, Transferoviar Grup, Star Transmission, Boromir, Cristim, Pepsi, Aqua Carpatica, Banca Transilvania, Schaeffler Romania.

About the Michael Schmidt Foundation

The Michael Schmidt Foundation aims primarily at preserving Saxon cultural heritage and developing educational projects for the promotion of German language in Romania. Among the projects implemented by the foundation are the restoration of the Pipe Organ inside the Crit Church, the financing of the "Transylvanian Pipe Organs, a return in time" film, the rebuilding of the Crit parish house according to the original plans, a building that entered the touristic circuit under the name of Kraus House, the editing of "Story of Transylvanian Saxons, told by themselves" and "Crit, history, stories and the life of a Saxon village", cultural partnerships.

Starting from this year, the Foundation pays a special attention to children in the communities where the Foundation staff works, by setting up an educational support program designed to prevent school dropout and to support long-term performance.

http://www.haferland.ro/en/

Source:RRA.Translated by Miruna Matei