The ruins of the old church in Gîrbova de Jos, Romania By Mălina Stâncel, Volunteer, EVEHD project Introduction These descriptions and pictures concern local heritage and they are put together by local volunteers from a group of young people who became engaged in the Culture 2007-2013 project Engaging Volunteers in European Heritage Discovery (EVEHD). They represent a good example of how local villagers from non-touristic areas can benefit from wider European exposure to cultural heritage. Both Malina and Antonia traveled to EVEHD actions in the United Kingdom and Slovakia, becoming truly engaged in heritage discovery at home and abroad The ruins of the old church in Gîrbova de Jos are found on the E70 road connecting Teiuș to Aiud, at the entrance of the Gîrbova de Jos village. The construction of the church dates back to the beginning of the XIIIth century. At present few ruins bear the memory of the old church.the dry stone walls of the church are still imposing, being considerably thick and high. The author Virgil Vatasianu says: the former Roman- Catholic church from Gîrbova de Jos is only a ruin today but we can say that the nave had a cross-shaped ceiling. The windows bear the changes of the late Gothic period, being attributed to the time of Iancu of Hunedoara. Teleki Jozsef shows in his writing that Iancu of Hunedoara built many churches, including the one in Gîrbova de Jos, as a result of his victory against the Ottoman empire in 1442. The locals say that the church was destroyed by the river that crosses the village. The river swelled as a result of a heavy rain and it flooded the church, destroying a big part of the church interior. EVEHD volunteers beside the ruined church Between 1898-1890 a new church was built in Gîrbova de Jos. The name of the builder is not known but a lot of people from the village together with people from the villages of Gîrbovița and Geomal helped to erect the church. After the construction of the new church it is said that a group of people tried to destroy the remains of the old church, but some died when the walls collapsed. 17-20 years ago 2 men tried to destroy the remaining walls by pulling them with a tractor, but they died as well. After the last accident, nobody else tried to pull down the walls as they fear the history would repeat itself. The historical monument Birth of Mary Church -Gîrboviţa The historical monument Birth of Virgin Mary church lies on a hill in the northern part of the village. This holy place that bears the name of Virgin Mary s birth was built 700 years ago and it boasts to be the oldest church in Ardeal. The church was built of stone, with thick walls resembling an archaic building. The church underwent several changes, the most important one being in 1818, when the windows were enlarged and the tower was renovated. In 1928 the
tower was covered with iron plates and the roof of the church was covered with shingles until its renovation in 1966. The church in the village of Gîrbovița The age of this church is described by the priest Toma Gherasimescu in 1965 when he was in charge of the parish: it was built in the second half of the XIIIth century, after the Tatar invasion from 1241. This information leads us to assume that this church may be the oldest church in Transylvania. It is believed that the church was built by a landlord from Aiud who left his name written on the northern wall of the church: me, Mihai together with my pair built Jesus church. People from the village helped to build the church. Their efforts were huge taking into consideration the fact that the village comprised 30 families at that time. The population in the village was entirely Romanian. The inscription on the northern wall Due to some land slips in 1942, the church walls and ceiling cracked and the tower detached from the main body of the church. Everything inside the church was moved in a room inside the school and people prayed there until 1950 when the prayers were held in the priest s house. After the church was abandoned, time left its mark on it and it started to decay. Sheep and other animals went inside the church through openings in its walls. In the year 1966, the priest Toma Gherasimescu together with the art historian Gheorghe Arion and other people and institutions started to restore the church. The walls, the ceiling, the tower were repaired and 2 buttresses were built in the joining points of the nave with the altar. The shingle roof was replaced with a tile roof and the lime that covered the altar was washed to reveal the frescoes. The repair works ended in 1971 when the locals could pray again in their church, after a break that lasted 30 years. Local volunteers Mălina, Antonia, Petra &Ionel telling EVEHD participants about the church in Gîrbovița.
The residents of the 3 villages in the valley are still quite religious and the church plays an important role in cultural sustainability as well as attending to the spiritual well-being of the people Local people (left) & volunteers attending a ceremony in the village The round stones of Romania by Antonia Popa, Volunteer, EVEHD project In the commune of Costești ( Târgu Jiu), mother nature created some spectacular stone sculptures. Scientists claim that they are 6 million years old and they appeared as a result of local cementation of sand and seismic activities in the area. These are trovants or concretions a volume of sedimentary rock in which a mineral cement fills the porosity (i.e. the spaces between the sediment grains). They are rather rare formations, and you ll only find them in remote locations, like the Bowling Balls Beach (Mendocino County, California) and Jameson Land, East Greenland; in Romania we find these trovants in Costești, Cașolț (Sibiu)and the Buzău Mountains.. Due to the appearance of the strange formations, a new reserve was formed in Romania, the Trovanti Museum Natural Reserve situated in Costeşti, Vâlcea ( not far from Horezu). The spectacular and unique concretions are ranging from few centimeters to two meters. Notably, each concretion has a peculiar shape no two are alike. There are tens of strange and beautiful trovanti scattered over the 11000 sqm geological reserve. Tourists are not afraid of the local legends, that say that the stones bring bad luck, and even those who do believe in evil, witches and curses still come along to experience the scenery first hand. The local peasants call them Stones that grow for a good reason: they were not brought here from a different location. They were formed some million years ago, in the Upper Miocene. And the stones continue to grow due to rainfall. Trovanti Museum Natural Reserve, Costești, Vâlcea
The trovanţi of Gîrboviţa with local heritage volunteers In our walks around the village with EVEHD international volunteers we noticed these bizarre stones on the main road, in front of peoples gates, in the backyards or up in the hills. When we started asking around about their provenience, locals said the stones came rolling down the river when there were floods. The stones were used as mill stones and for crushing grapes in the past and nowadays people use them as seats and boundary markers, although they are not very comfortable to sit on!. It is said that they bring good luck and that s why most people in the village have them, either in front of their gates or in the yard. Monca Oprean of Satul Verde Association (with round stone - pietra rotunda) on the importance for EVHED The round stones of Gîrbovița were discovered as a result of engaging local people & international volunteers in researching local culture & history. Their discovery prompted an ongoing discussion in the village about their provenience and role. Ever since we discovered the round stones, they are shown to all
groups that visit the village. Seeing the interest shown by visitors, the locals plan to include the round stones of Gîrbovița in the Discover our local treasures circuit to promote the area and its culture. When the EVEHD project began in 2013, the village of Girbovita was preparing to host international participants from our project partners. Local volunteers from the village started to look closely at the local history and heritage. This is how they found out many interesting facts about the village and its people, legends, the story of the two churches. They were able to share this information with the international volunteers that visited the place through the EVHED project. Discovering local history & heritage is important because: - it gives young people the opportunity to immerse deeper into the local culture through research; - it encourages locals to tell the story to others: during the EVEHD project local volunteers acted as tourist guides and introduced the village and its history to project participants; - it shows an example of how local history & heritage could attract tourism in the area; - it makes locals proud of what they have and who they are; - it links areas that share similar themes. Malina and Antonia (4th & 5th from right) visiting the church of Crosscanonby in England as part of the EVEHD project. Here thery discovered something about the Vikibng heritage of North West Europe The Romanian girls (in pink & white) Malina and Antonia on the Slovakian EVEHD action, where they restored a holy well and discovered local legends connected to it