Dobruja or Dobruja is a geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. It is situated between the lower Danube River and the Black Sea, and includes the Danube Delta, Romanian coast, and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast. The territory of Dobruja is made up of Northern Dobruja, which is a part of Romania, and Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria.
Local Culture
Our Values
The most striking thing about Romanian culture is the strong folk traditions which have survived to this day due to the rural character of the Romanian communities, which has resulted in an exceptionally vital and creative traditional culture. Romania's rich folk traditions have been nourished by many sources, some of which predate the Roman occupation. Traditional folk arts include wood carving, ceramics, weaving, and embroidery of costumes, household decorations, dance, and richly varied folk music.
Folk music is the oldest form of Romanian musical creation, characterised by great vitality; it is the defining source of the cultured musical creation, both religious and lay. Conservation of Romanian folk music has been aided by a large and enduring audience, also by numerous performers who helped propagate and further develop the folk sound. One of them, Gheorghe Zamfir, is famous throughout the world today and helped popularize a traditional Romanian folk instrument, the panpipes.
The religious musical creation, born under the influence of Byzantine music adjusted to the intonations of the local folk music, saw a period of glory between the 15th and 17th centuries, when reputed schools of liturgical music developed within Romanian monasteries. Western influences brought about the introduction of polyphony in religious music in the 18th century, a genre developed by a series of Romanian composers in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Traditional Romanian music reflects a confluence of sounds similar to Central European (especially Hungarian) as well as Balkan traditional music. In Romanian folk music, emphasis is on melody rather than percussion, with frequent use of the violin for melody. The melody itself and especially the melodic embellishments are reminiscent of music from further south in the Balkans.
Fields Of Wisdom
The wood used to be the main construction material, and heavily ornamented wooden objects were common in old houses. In MaramureÈ™, wood was used to create impressive structures such as churches or gates; in Dobruja, windmills were made of wood, and in mountainous regions, hardwood was used even for covering the roof. To preserve traditional houses, many village museums have been created in the last century throughout Romania, such as the Village Museum in Bucharest, the Traditional Popular Civilization ASTRA Museum in Sibiu, or the Oltenian Village Museum in Râmnicu Vâlcea.