Several days have passed since I returned from Romania. They say everywhere is beautiful, but home is the most beautiful.
Romania is a large country - about 23 million inhabitants. Mostly Romanians of course, but they have even 2 million Hungarians, who live mostly in the Transylvania region. In the Banat region some Serbs live, on the Moldovan border some Moldovans, on the Romanian some Romanians, they also have a Turkish minority, Germans, Jews and of course surely countless Roma, who as we saw are pushed into more remote areas, hidden from curious tourists. Unfortunately they live in catastrophic conditions. Romania was for long centuries prey of various rulers, be it Austria-Hungary, Turkey, even earlier Rome, Huns, ultimately Slavs. So many influences so many faiths in Romania. Christianity always predominated. The schism between Rome and Constantinople in the 6th century significantly influenced the current picture of believers in Romania. Over 80% are Orthodox, a little are of course Greek Orthodox. They say the rites don't differ much, just they have a different calendar. Although Austria-Hungary ruled here too, which had Roman Catholic faith in first place, Roman Catholics are only a few percent, Protestants about the same. Influence of other faiths is also felt, they say - Mormons, Jehovah's etc. Interestingly, you see huge churches in almost every town, even every larger village surely has three. Mostly these are Orthodox churches - you can recognize them by characteristic crosses on top of churches. We also have of course Roman Catholic churches, Protestant ones in between. Synagogues or mosques we really didn't see any. Interestingly, no crosses on mountain tops. I present a collage of churches, crosses across Romania.