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A Fishery

From the hotel on the lake we proceeded to the fisheries. Leaden clouds began to lour in the sky, a sharp wind began to blow; and the willows on the banks writhed in every direction. Far off, in the lakes, as far as our eyes could see from the upper deck of the ship, the

Extreme Architecture

excerpt Building materials, their textures and colors could also be the keys of an instrument on which the architect can play some cool music. Natural materials – earth, first of all, from clay to ceramic, but also stone, or wood – are here, waiting for us to come to

The Dobruja Patrimony Of The National Village Museum

Director of Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum in Bucharest Ethnological research of Dobruja represented an important objective for the experts at the Village Museum starting from the 1950-1960s. Dobruja proved to be one of the most fascinating regions due to the history

The Last Mohicans

Director of the Museum of the Romanian Peasant in Bucharest The right of the Danube Delta Biosphere locals to preserve their specific customs and traditional economic activities is guaranteed. That was in 1993. It was a sort of constitution of the Delta, which guaranteed

The Bilingualism Of The Lipovan Russians

At the beginning of their existence on the Romanian territory, the ancestors of the present Lipovan Russians were speaking only their maternal language, since they didn't know any other language. They were mono-lingual. In time, since they were in the midst of the Romanian

Ethnicity And Imagination In The Danube Delta

The Danube Delta is a land inhabited by Romanians coming from Transylvania, Moldavia and Oltenia (Little Walachia), as well as by people who came here from Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey. There seem to be two causes that led to this ethnic mosaic: a political one –

Nightfall On The Lake

He'd come with his head down, as if searching for something among the rocks on the road. What could he have possibly found new here, in a land surrounded by waters, on the shore laden with miasma? The narrowness of the bank? He knew all about it; the shiny grit? –

The Mirage Of Bird Migration

Head of Romanian Ornithological Center Over hundreds of thousands of years, Nature has searched for and found the most efficient adaptation mechanisms for each species, as well as for ways in which groups of animals and plants could support the big natural systems. In their

Spoonbills

At times, in vernal Romania, one may observe large birds migrating in triangular formation, high above towns, in a north-westerly direction. Their elongated necks remind one of our storks, still – the swift, fast propelling pinion flaps make one acknowledge a different

Reed, A Herbal Miracle

Among hundreds of vegetable species of the Danube Delta, I insisted only upon reed (Phragmites communis). It deserves to be called an amazing plant even though it doesn't belong to the rare or unique botanical species which can ensure the celebrity of an ambitious academician

The Danube Delta Treasure

Director of Grigore Antipa National Museum of Natural History in Bucharest The Danube Delta has a diverse fauna and flora which, in the context of the global preoccupation for environmental preservation, are major points of interest for Europe and even for the whole planet.

Biodiversity

One of the reasons why the Danube Delta has become a biosphere reservation is because, in comparison with the other deltas of Europe and even the rest of the world, it has preserved a higher level of biodiversity, whereby we understand a large number of species from a large