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NASAUD |
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Twenty-five kilometres east of Dej lies the small town of Beclean (Bethlen),
at the junction of routes north into Maramures. The road and rail routes
to Vatra Dornei and Suceava in Moldavia also divide here, drivers
heading southeast to Bistrita while the train route runs further north
via Nasaud.
At Salva, 6km west of Nasaud, road and rail routes branch north to
Maramures; 9km along this road is the village of COSBUC , named after
its most famous son, George Cosbuc (1866-1918), poet and activist for
Romanian cultural revival. His father was the village priest, and their
simple home is now open as a museum (Tues-Sun 9am-5pm) dedicated to the
poet. Continuing north, the scenery is increasingly lovely, although the
gaps between the roadside villages are relatively short.
NASAUD (Nussdorf) is at the heart of a region where villagers still wear
their traditional embroidered waistcoats and blouses, and hats decorated
with peacock feathers. A selection of these is on display in the museum
in the former border guards' barracks at Str. Granicerilor 25. Just west,
on the main Piata Libertatii, the large Orthodox church still shows the
signs of its Greek-Catholic origins in Hapsburg times. On the south side
of the square, at Str. Ion Prodan 1, the sole accommodation in town is
the Hotel Salauta (tel 063/362 601; $6-10), with the most basic of
facilities - they can provide hot water in a couple of rooms only.
Just 5km south of town along the Bistrita road is the birthplace of
Liviu Rebreanu (1885-1944), whose novels Ion, Uprising and The Forest of
the Hanged give a panoramic view of Romanian society before World War I
- the village, formerly called Tarlisua, is now named after its most
eminent son. Another couple of kilometres south a side- road heads
southwest for 7km to Tarpiu (Treppen), where the Saxon church is now
beautifully maintained by an Orthodox congregation; another 4km along
the Bistrita road is Dumitra (Mettersdorf) where the Saxon church and a
fortified tower are slowly being restored. On the Bistrita-Reghin road,
7km south of Saratel, the other notable Saxon church of the Nösnerland,
recently restored, can be found in Herina .
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