On October 1, 2013 took place in Cluj-Napoca the 1st edition of the “Transylvania History Day” cultural-educational program organized by the Center for European Dialogue and Cultural Diplomacy in co-operation with the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the Babeş-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca.
The event was part of the program which supports the nomination of the city of Cluj-Napoca for the title of “European Capital of Culture”. Due to its cultural-educational profile, the event took place on the day of the official opening of the 2013-2014 university year by recreating an old times atmosphere in one of the oldest streets of the city (M. Kogălniceanu Street) and in one of the well preserved medieval towers of the city (the Tailors’ Tower).
Partners to this event were the Popular Craftsmen Association of Cluj, the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania, the National Archives of Cluj, Vitrina Advertising, the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, the Municipal House of Culture, “Clujul de Altădată” Association and Transylvania.Youth.Culture Association.
According to Mihai Alexandrescu, director of this project, DEDiC Centre proposed “for one day to recreate in our city the spirit of historical periods that we used to discover only in books. At a time when historical reenactment has become a new form of education in Europe, which is starting to develop in Romania as well, we wish to provide with help from our specialists a few moments of living history, of daily life and of multicultural and plurilingual education by means of which the ancient and medieval local and regional history can become more accessible to the public at large.”
Six historical reenactment troops were involved in this project: “Terra Dacica Aeterna”, Virtvs Antiqva”, “Ordinul Dragonului (Order of the Dragon)”, “Asociaţia Clujul Medieval (Medieval Cluj Association)”, “Ansamblul Passeggio” and “Ansamblul Zestrea”.
Aiming to capitalize on the cultural and historical patrimony of the city, the event brought to the general public the visual, theatrical and musical elements prevalent in the Transylvanian space. The first part of the event was dedicated to the presentation of the coat of arms of the medieval Transylvanian cities and the flags of the medieval guilds of Cluj. In the afternoon, the program continued with demonstrations of military skills, ancient and medieval games, reenactments of the social and economic life of the old city, photographic and post card exhibitions, 3D projection of a Dacian fortification, as well as reenactments of local and regional history.
The event hosted a book fair and a craftsmanship exhibition. Experts in the history of the city and in cultural tourism offered thematic history guided tours in Romanian and Hungarian generically called “Via antiqua” and “Via mediaevalis”. These tours proposed to acquaint the public with the history of the oldest medieval city of Transylvania established in 1316 and with the history of the preexisting ancient city.
