RĂȘINARI
ROMANIA
2022
Contact
18 villages unite in their traditions, architecture and history
Rasinari is part of Marginimea Sibiului, a specific area of Sibiu County and a unique ethnographic region of Romania. It is a mountain area, composed of 18 villages with 40,000 inhabitants that share the same traditions, architecture, and history.
The area is situated south-west of the city of Sibiu, in Southern Transylvania, at the foot of the Cindrel and Lotru Mountains. The village has a rich history in sheep breeding and produces a large variety of local products.
Local cheese is a flagship product celebrated through the Cheese Route of Sibiu County and during the Romanian Cheesecake Day festivity and the Cheese and Brandy Festival.
Other cultural highlights of the village include its Traditional Folk-Dance Group, the Ethnographic Village Museum, the Religious Museum, St. Paraschiva Church and the poet Octavian Goga’s family house.
HIGHLIGHTS
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Questo application, where technology meets legends
The village has unveiled an app called Questo which uses technology to revive local stories and legends to attract tourists. For instance, one can discover the village of Rasinari by playing an interactive game on Questo where you can experience the fairy tales, people and gastronomy of the village.
The development of the app brought together the local authority, the village Youth Club and the extended community. This is a prime example of the partnership between local authority, NGOs and the involvement of young people in the community.
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The Shepherd’s wedding
The village is promoting its rich pastoral heritage. Shepherd’s Wedding is a theatrical play performed by the villagers from Rasinari and it embeds the traditions and customs related to pastoral living in Transylvanian Mountain villages. The play is a concrete example of a community that unites people of different ages for the revival of an old pastoral wedding tradition.
Throughout the play, the audience discovers old pastoral customs, beliefs, and superstitions of the community, as well as elements of traditional clothing, traditional songs and stories The play is only performed, upon request for large groups, in Rașinari or at the Museum of Folk Traditional Civilisation Astra from Sibiu.
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Governance of protected areas
In 2022, the village organised an international event with the theme “Governance and Finance in protected areas”. The event was facilitated by the Interreg Europe Learning Platform and was an opportunity for the participants to share their knowledge and experience on the governance of protected areas, in particular the Natura 2000 site.
