Romania has always been a rather dark mystery in the eyes of the rest of Europe. The country between Wallachia and Transylvania is still, together with Bulgaria, the poorhouse of Europe. But Romania can also be different: of all things, poverty, but also its geographical location on the edge of Europe, give the country its own special wealth today. Where hay has been made with a scythe for centuries, where the plough is still pulled by horses or oxen, cultural landscapes of extraordinary biodiversity and therefore of inestimable value have emerged. In the cities, the new wealth shows itself in the form of cultural diversity.  When a baroque castle hosts an internationally renowned festival for electronic music in order to use the proceeds to make the careful renovation possible, when the famous poet Mircea Dinescu experiments in his Bucharest restaurant with 100-year-old recipes and exclusively regional products, new values are created. In this way, new concepts of life and action emerge from the ruins of the old with the skill and wisdom of individuals.

The two-part series (Romania’s Wealth/Romania’s Wisdom) by Detlev Konnerth is a journey through time, a tour along the last traces of the European Middle Ages in the 21st century, and a journey in search of those new approaches in the old. Our protagonists lead us through a country with breathtaking landscapes and show us what opportunities lie in transforming structural poverty into new wealth through sustainable and creative action.

Broadcast dates:

Romania’s Wealth, first broadcast Arte 1.4.2017

Romania’s Wisdom, first broadcast Arte 8.4.2017