Tag Archives: Transylvanian Saxons

The Medieval Archive of Romania – historical collections of the German and Hungarian minorities

The National Archives of Romania conducted with support from the National Archives of Norway and the EEA Grants the successful initiation of the “Medieval Archive of Romania“. This digital archive aims at digitizing in the next years all collections of medieval materials on the territory of Romania. Included are also several collections belonging to the national minorities like the Transylvanian Saxons and the Hungarians respectively Szekely people. Currently a few thousand images are accessible. The scans are overall performed in good, but not excellent quality; substantial metadata is provided. The user interface is also available in English, Hungarian and German. However the registers are currently only in Romanian, thus making research for foreigners more difficult. The project in total is surely a huge step forward for the digitization of the cultural heritage on the territory of Romania but will need continous funding in order to attain its objectives.

“Saxonica” – digitization project on the history of daily life of the Transylvanian Saxons

With support of the Institute for German Culture and History in Southeastern Europe (Munich/Germany, www.ikgs.de) a group of young historians from Germany and Romania is seeking to document the daily life of the German minority in Transylvania in the 20th century. The team will interview members of the minority in an oral history approach and search for personal materials like diaries and private letters which are suitable for digitization. Continue reading “Saxonica” – digitization project on the history of daily life of the Transylvanian Saxons

Endangered heritage – the case of the Transylvanian Saxon fortress churches

With regard to the previous article about 3D reconstruction of destroyed or decayed historical buildings, there is unfortunately a recent case where such an application is necessary after all what is left of a historical fortress church tower is only debris:

rothbach_chelu_2016

Photo: Christian Chelu (http://www.siebenbuerger.de/zeitung/artikel/rumaenien/16428-kampf-gegen-die-zeit-erste.html)

Continue reading Endangered heritage – the case of the Transylvanian Saxon fortress churches

How to turn visual materials, objects and buildings into “iconics”

The presentation of cultural materials in the internet is exposed to a tight competition: the critical reception by the internet community/public will decide about the success of their cultural impact in the digital world. This competitive situation demands that the presentation of photographed or digitized cultural heritage is done in an efficient, visually attractive, qualitative and yet universally acclaimed way. For minority heritage the situation seems clear: either iconic materials are presented in a way which makes a high reception possible and tags the minority in the perspective of the internet community with certain narratives linked to these materials, or the heritage will never push through and remain due to its lack of attractivity unobserved and unappreciated – maybe even by its members and descendants.

Bran Castle

A 3D model converted by aerial drone photography of the famous “Dracula Castle” Bran, built by Transylvanian Saxons in the Late Middle Ages. Screenshot taken from https://sketchfab.com/models/623f31b3d3314f8d8095eafc94fafaba  Continue reading How to turn visual materials, objects and buildings into “iconics”

Online Document Book on the History of the Germans in Transylvania (1185 – 1531)

Funded by the German Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (Bundesbeauftragte für Kultur und Medien)  the “Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte der Deutschen in Siebenbürgen”, originally published in a print edition in 7 volumes from 1892-1991, was digitized and converted into a freely accessible database: Continue reading Online Document Book on the History of the Germans in Transylvania (1185 – 1531)