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| EQUINE TOURISM IN CAMPULUNG MOLDOVENESC 26/02/2009 |
| (2009-02-26) |
| Last updated: 2009-02-26 15:24 EET |
In today’s Traveller’s Guide we invite you on a trip to Bukovina, actually in Campulung Moldovenesc. The town is well known among tourists as a departure point for the most interesting attractions in Northern Moldavia and Maramures and also in terms of the region’s nature beauties. Only 60 kilometres away from Campulung, tourists can admire the Hutsul horses, a pure Romanian horse breed.
Ioan Itco, a teacher and founding president of the Bukovina Tourism Education and Research Institute in Campulung Moldovenesc, told us that tourists have been coming to this region for more than a century. One hundred years ago they were called “luftari”, a word inspired from a German word meaning strong air. Tourists used to come to Campulung for the strong air and for a series of treatments with plants, including pine buds and clay wrappings. They would also come for the sun and for the region’s salty waters.
“In 1934 in Campulung people had treatments with air, sun, pinic acid, clay from Botos, Ciocanesti; no less than 15 ailments were treated, among which nephritis, rheumatism, neurosis, as well as other diseases. Focus is now being laid on natural treatments, on ecological treatment, and by that I mean the region’s food products that have never been polluted by chemical fertilisers. For the cold season, Campulung boasts a 26 year old ski slope, located on the Dealul Lung. Campulung lies at the foot of Rarau mountains, a departure point to other areas in Bukovina. From here tourists can go to the monasteries of Voronet, Humor, Moldovita, Sucevita, to Vatra Dornei, and from there to Bistritsa and Maramures. So Campulung lies in a central area of Bukovina.”
Yet those who chose to spend a couple of days in Campulung Muscel will not regret it. If you’re into skiing it is useful to know that the layer of snow is 30 to 50 centimetres thick, and lasts for about 90 days a year. At higher altitudes, snow does not melt earlier than 120-150 days. If you’re not a skiing aficionado, you can go for a walk in the many forests and nature reserves in the neighbourhood. If you happen to take a walk in a nature reserve of the Slatioara secular forest, you will surely be impressed by the fir-tree and pine trees, which are 400 years old and have diameters of 40 centimetres. The Giumalau and Todirescu nature reserves also host rare flower species. Also, a walk through the Devil’s Mill Gorges will add further photos to your album. Imagine a 70 –meter long road, almost 4-5 meters wide carved by water in the rocks whose high walls make a breathtaking landscape.
Only 60 kilometers from Campulung Moldovenesc lies the Lucina stud farm. The Austrian Colonel Martin Von Heman founded this tourist destination in 1856. Only 30 kilometers of the road to the stud farm are asphalted, yet the road is accessible to cars. Once you arrive in Lucina you will meet hospitable people and will have the opportunity to go for a sleigh ride along the snow-capped hills and through centuries-old forests. However the place is not teeming with tourists. Since the stud farm does not provide accommodation, it is not included in the tourist circuit, so many tourists give up spending time in the region.
Mihai Litu, a forestry engineer and administrator of the Lucina stud farm, is a man with a passion for horses, who is very proud of the animals found here. He told us that anyone with little or no horse-riding experience who comes here will get to know how to handle a horse quite well.
“Our main goal is to raise and breed the Carpathian Pony, our country's only indigenous horse breed. The breeds you see in other private or state-owned stud farms are all borrowed from abroad. In the Romanian breed registry, our stud farm is ranked the highest. Apart from the Carpathian Pony, locally known as the “hutzul”, we also breed the Bukovina Stud. We offer tourists who come here a wide range of leisure opportunities, such as horse-drawn sleigh rides during winter, horse-drawn carriage rides in the summer, and horse riding. Local landmarks include a dwarf birch-tree nature reserve, the monument of colonel Martin von Hermann, the founder of the Lucina stud farm, and the Lucava Gorges geological reserve. We do not offer any accommodation services here at the farm, but we do collaborate with some guesthouses in the region, near the town of Campulung Moldovenesc. These guesthouses are located some 30 km away.”
The price for one hour of horse riding is 12 euros, and for an hour-long sleigh ride – 10 euros. After a day at the ranch, tourists shouldn’t miss a visit to the nearby town of Campulung Moldovenesc and its two notable museums: the Museum of Wood, the only one of its kind in Europe, and the Museum of Wooden Spoons. The two house impressive collections of hand-carved wooden spoons, as well as centuries-old wooden items, such as a wine-barrel carriage dating back to the time of Stephen de Great, ruler of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504. That being said, we hope we've convinced you to come and spend a few days here in Campulung Moldovenesc.
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