Author Description

Today Transylvania is part of both Romania and Europe but, above all, it is the welcoming home of all its inhabitants. For the first time in history, its inhabitants can truly feel equal and at home. The country is no longer the Transylvania of yesteryear, bit the traces of the past are present everywhere. In the past, suffering and happiness were experienced, often at different times, by Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, Jews, and ethnic groups alike. Neither the suffering nor the joy must be forgotten. The memories of the past are a priceless treasure, and their preservation is the hallmark of a civilized nation. The Transylvanian entity is a historical construct but, at the same time, today it accompanies us everywhere. It is the only place in Europe where a Byzantine church stands beside a Romanesque basilica, next to a Gothic church and not far from a Baroque one, all located near a synagogue! It is also the only place where an Orthodox place of worship lies a stone's throw from a Greek Catholic, a Roman Catholic, a Calvinist, a Lutheran and a Unitarian one! This is indicative of peaceful cohabitation rather than of conflicts, and fully consonant with the very message of this book: the past must be known not for spite and hatred, but rather for friendship and understanding.