The Drăuşeni fortified church, in central Romania’s Brașov county, will be the pilot project in a development plan for abandoned medieval churches of the Prince of Wales Romania Foundation.

The foundation is working on this new model together with the Fortified Churches Foundation and the local authorities. It supports the “Regeneration through Heritage” concept, which supports both heritage protection and economic development.

The Drăuşeni church will be restored, a coffee shop and accommodation facilities will be built on site, as well as traditional crafts workshops. All the employees will be locals from the area, and the place will be included in tourist circuits as an arts& crafts landmark.

The Drauşeni church is currently abandoned, after it was emptied during the 1970s.

Prince Charles of Wales visited the Drauşeni church on May 31, as well as the churches in Homorod and Mercheasa, also in Brașov county. All the three churches were built around 1200, in a Romantic style, and expanded in 1500 to the version they are in today.

The churches, which are surrounded by fortifications dating from the 14^th and 15^th centuries, were built by the Saxon community in Transylvania. A Saxon population of around a quarter of a million was living in Transylvania in 1990. Today, they are less than 15,000.

Some 250 endangered medieval churches and villages can be found in southern Transylvania, most of them fortified and built 400 – 600 years ago, according to the Prince of Wales Romania Foundation.

Prince Charles has been in Romania since May 29, when he received the Doctor Honoris Causa title from the Babeș-Bolyai University. He then went on a private visit at some of the properties he owns in the country.

The Prince of Wales Romania Foundation will launch a new project, aimed at helping farmers in mountain areas to develop their products and find new markets, in Romania or abroad.

Prince Charles reveals what brings him to Romania

(Photos: Cristian Nistor / Agerpres Foto)