Germans in Romania

The baroque poet Martin Opitz came to Romania while fleeing the Thirty Years War. He was not a little surprised when he met “very real Germans” there – the Transylvanian Saxons. Anyone traveling through Romania today will be similarly surprised. Transylvanian Saxons, Banat and Sathmar Swabians, Landler, Zipser, Buchenland, Bergland and Dobrudscha Germans live here.

The Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania and the German Embassy in Bucharest dedicated a comprehensive exhibition to them. Rich in images and informative, it spanned a period from the Middle Ages to the present day. The diversity of life, the community and the rich cultural heritage of the minority were just as much a topic as their role as mediators in politics, business and civil society.

Part of German-Romanian history is reflected in the collection of the Danube Swabian Central Museum. Taken and left behind, kept as memories and given as a goodbye, passionately collected and accidentally received came to the museum via sometimes winding paths. A selection of these was exhibited for the first time.