The bilingual album “Memorable Encounters in the Făgăraș Mountains”, a project of the Conservation Carpathia Foundation, was launched together with the opening of the exhibition of the same name, at the Dimitrie Gusti Village Museum in Bucharest.
The volume tells the story of a journey through the Făgăraș Mountains that starts from the villages scattered around the mountains and captures the meetings with the people who carry on traditions and crafts, but also with the people who have chosen to fulfill their destiny with the mountain. The traveler is carried further along the paths of Făgăraș, through virgin forests, ridges and valleys, where he encounters wildlife, including species that disappeared until recently and have returned after great efforts, such as bison and beavers.
“Memorable encounters through the Făgăraș Mountains” are captured by 25 Romanian photographers, members of Forona – the Romanian Nature Photographers Association, who immortalize in 140 photos the uniqueness of the Făgăraș Mountains and their life, a place that could one day become a national park.
At the end of each album there is a set of postcards with snapshots from this partially unknown world, readers having the pretext to pass them on as an invitation to new encounters through the Făgăraș Mountains.
The volume is printed in a limited edition of 2,000 copies at the Curtea Veche publishing house and will be distributed free of charge in projects that aim to promote the Făgăraș Mountains, but also in the communities around them, libraries, cultural institutions, guest houses and guesthouses.
This album was made within the project “Creation of a wild nature area in the south of the Carpathian Mountains Romania”, with the financial support of the European Commission, through the LIFE Nature Program.
Living Human Treasure in the Făgăraș Mountains Community
The people who live and work in the Făgăraș Mountains are key to the region’s protected areas, with 28 localities maintaining a strong connection to the unfragmented mountainous massif, one of the few left on the continent. The Romanian environmental NGO, Conservation Carpathia Foundation, aims to create the largest national park covered by wild forests in Central Europe, right in the Făgăraș Mountains. Their goal is to foster biodiversity while also providing sustainable development opportunities for local communities, all while preserving their traditions and culture.
“The album Memorable Encounters in the Făgăraș Mountains is a moment of joy and awareness of the beauty and connections that life in the Făgăraș Mountains offers. The images testify to the unique heritage of these mountains, and the stories reflect the special bond between nature and people in this landscape. The people and their work, the wild animals, and the pristine forests represent a valuable legacy for all of us to enjoy for many generations, and a national park would ensure their continuity,” said Victoria Donos, Communications Director at Conservation Carpathia Foundation.
The album includes stories of individuals who keep Romanian traditions alive, such as Angela Lungociu, who manages the traditional wool-washing whirlpools in Lisa and has been honored with the title of Living Human Treasure. This title is awarded to those who preserve and transmit elements of intangible cultural heritage through their talent and effort, using unaltered traditional methods. Other stories in the album feature a young craftsman who continues the traditional making of opinci (Romanian peasant shoes), a librarian who hosts storytelling workshops for children in Avrig, a female folk singer who inherited songs from her parents, a mayor who protects ancient beech trees around his community, local producers, and entrepreneurs who have started sustainable businesses in their villages.
The photographs of these community members were taken by Vlad Dumitrescu, with Dan Dinu, the director of the acclaimed documentary Untamed Romania, serving as the image curator.
Nature and Wildlife in the Făgăraș Mountains: A National Responsibility
“Romania still has virgin forests that are essential to protect. We cannot be better engineers than the forest itself—it is the greatest environmental generator. Timber only represents 30% of a forest’s function; the rest are protection functions that sustain us in the long term,” stated Mihai Zotta, Conservation Director at the Conservation Carpathia Foundation.
Wild nature is disappearing at an alarming rate across the world. Less than 2% of Europe’s surface remains in its original state. The Carpathian Mountains, home to wolves, lynxes, and brown bears, represent one of the continent’s last wild expanses. Moreover, they are covered by some of the largest stretches of wild forests in Europe, hosting the highest percentage of virgin forests, which still shelter an impressive number of species.
In the Făgăraș Mountains alone, there are 7,000 hectares of virgin forests. Over 1,100 hectares of forests, now protected by the Conservation Carpathia Foundation, have been included in the National Catalogue of Virgin and Quasi-Virgin Forests, but this is not enough to ensure their perpetuity.
After nearly 15 years of conservation efforts, more than 27,000 hectares of forests and alpine pastures in the Făgăraș Mountains, Piatra Craiului, and Leaota are protected by the Conservation Carpathia Foundation. Once the Romanian government establishes the Făgăraș Mountains National Park, assuming responsibility for the perpetual protection of these forests and pastures, the Foundation will donate its properties.
The exhibition “Memorable Encounters in the Făgăraș Mountains” can be visited at the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum in Bucharest, in the central hall, until November 1, 2024.