I kept thinking about how I should begin this post because it's obvious it is going to be very different from what I'm usually sharing on my blog. But while I've never been good at introductions and perhaps most of the people skip them anyway, I'd like to jump right into the middle of the action by saying that even if it's going to be a short post, I promise it's a meaningful one.
Last year, during my Romania Tour in the company of my family, we focused on Cluj county which has a lot of interesting places to offer for the tourists. Hence why, for quite a few times we had no other way to reach our destinations than crossing Huedin which represents the smallest city in this region. However, its size is not what determines its value, as it seems like it already caught the attention of the TV news shared in the UK a while ago.
Both BBC and Daily Mail mentioned that all 100 palaces belong to 1,000 gipsy people only who raised them from theft, begging and illegal actions. In 2012, more gipsy people coming from Huedin stole goods from over 1,000 people in the UK while they were travelling by train and fell asleep. There are even rumours of speaking about one of the most dangerous clans of gipsy people in the world, but I really try to stay away from all the news and rather focus on the palaces that do stir curiosity from everyone in my opinion.
Even if the city itself doesn't seem like having to offer too much spotting just a school, some shops here and there and a few cultural monuments, when you least expect it you will run into a couple of kilometres that suddenly will seem more interesting for anyone crossing by.
The reason behind all of this is played by the 100+ palaces built by the gipsy people living here, which create a pretty bold comparison showing luxury at its finest which is quite the opposite from how most of the locals live in this city and in Romania in general.
Not all the palaces are finished yet as you'll see in the following pictures, but I don't even think that's less interesting as the architecture, detailed gates, roofs and balconies are the first finished details and they catch most of the attention. Along with these, the number of floors which can easily reach a block of apartments, and the vibrant colours are two more aspects of the overall scenery that make you feel like you are getting teleported into a completely different world in a blink.
I know some of the pictures are quite blurry and I apologize for that. All the pictures were taken while in the car as we decided not to stop the car and walk around taking pictures to avoid bothering anyone with our actions.
Even if there have been discussions since 2021 about including this side of Huedin as a possible attraction for tourists, there is a big fight of self-prides going on which is not random since gipsy people belong to a minority category and not for a couple of times are excluded or part of racism. And I sort of understand not wanting to see people stop by your house, take pictures of it, and show appreciation, while the rest of the time this is a very rare thing.
Sadly, the truth is somewhere at the middle as gipsy people in general have built a perspective on their own as most of them are not working but still raising palaces of 2 or 3 floors while people who work hard don't even manage to get a three-room apartment at the end of their lives. Which is not funny at all.
But if I have to be honest, I really believe there are exceptions and behind some of those imposing palaces and proofs of wealth, we can still find hard-working people with a big heart and ready to help if this is needed.
As I am part of a country that is known as the 2nd poorest one in Europe, this sort of give some answers as to why people tend to become meaner and to envy those who seem like having more than them as we all live with frustration more or less which is inherited from one generation to another.
Anyway, this wasn't my first time seeing palaces of the gipsy culture but definitely the first when spotting so many next to each other. There are at least two more similar places but in different parts of Romania that I have not reached yet, but makes me really curious to see them as well now that I got to taste this feeling. Have you ever seen something like this before?
Other articles from my Romania Tour 2023:
- The Blue Lagoon of Cluj (Laguna Albastră)
- Ciucaș Waterfall... or beer? (Cascada Ciucaș)
- The Sequoia Tree from Romania
- Șapte culori ale Pământului (The 7 Colors of the Earth, Romania)
- Lacul Tarzan (Tarzan Lake of Romania)
- Gresiile de pe Stânca Dracului (The Devil's Rock)
- Cetatea Trascăului (Trascău Fortress)
- Grădina Zmeilor (The Garden of Kites)
- The Gypsy Palaces of Huedin
more coming soon...
Gabriela Travels is the FOUNDER of "Festival Mania" who started this community from the passion of attending various festivals and with the purpose of encouraging more people to explore festivals all around the world and share their experiences. At the same time, Gabriela is an independent Graphic Design Freelancer since 2019 completing over 600+ orders in this time and collaborating with various businesses and people from all over the globe. Additionally, Gabriela has her own corner on the internet since 2017 where she writes various articles for her blog, the most popular being the travel ones (300+ articles written on this field), but also abording other topics as well, like game reviews, lets plays, movie and series reviews, photography posts, cooking recipes and more, boosting the total number of articles written to 700+ blog posts. Gabriela is also a gamer since she was 11 years old and gaming remains one of her biggest passions along with traveling, owning a YouTube channel for each of the two.
Let's keep in touch:
↪ Blog: http://gabrielastravels.wordpress.com/
↪ YouTube Travel: https://www.youtube.com/@GabrielaTravels
↪ YouTube Gaming: https://www.youtube.com/@DoiLupi
↪ Instagram Travel: https://www.instagram.com/GabrielaTravels/
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I don't know how to define their architectural style, it's like a mixture of several, but I find these palaces very attractive.
That's exactly what it is! They never take note of a specific style but basically mix all together everything they like. Hence why the roof might be part of a style, balconies of another, shape of another, columns of another, and so on.
They achieved something original, no doubt :)
Wow
I love the way they make their buildings in Romania
The architecture is really crazy
Nice one!
They definitely know how to stand out in the crowd, lol
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Woww, the architectural style of the houses there are quite spectacular!
Quite unique I'd add! :)
WoW que aventura más asombrosa viviste, tomando fotos y todo 🤩 lo de no molestar deteniéndose a tomar fotos fué bastante correcto 🤭 muy bien post
I wish I'd have understood your comment...!
They really are monstrosities! I travelled through there a couple of years ago and took some snaps, we didn't hang around either it did not seem very welcoming.
PS went to Vienna last week to see the imperial Crypts, queued for an hour and once inside told "No photography!!! FFS, turned around and left before paying the 6euros,on how did you manage it....sneaky shots on a phone? Naughty girl LOL
Yeah, now that I know some stories shared by the UK news I'm really happy I decided not to properly stop while taking those shots, lol!
What?!?! There was no information shared to me about no photography or videography! And I had my camera in my hand when buying the tickets and the girl said it's fine. I also didn't see any panels as this activity is not allowed because I always respect it. They must have introduced this aspect lately. I've been there almost 3 years ago but still, doesn't seem fair at all! This is so sad and dumb to hear! 🥺😥😭
I read that in the press too. very annoying about the no photography rule, still never mind.
Hey Gabriela, those are so beautifully made architectural palaces. 👌✨
They are! Funny how they all seem having something in common but as you approach you'll find uniqueness within each of these :)
Thank you for stopping by! Hope you have a lovely day.
It's true that people can have palace and others have difficult to have a room. But that's the beautiful thing. Run and purchase your goals and priorities.
I know lot of people that spend a lot on expensive car and pay rent. Or upgrade iphone every year and complain about rent. Priorities....
By the way, beautiful palace. I liked the architecture of this one. Looks like a mixture of architecture kinds
Yes, totally agree. But it's also important to create your little life you've dreamed for the right way, not through illegal stuff or harming others.
And yes, that's the architectural design they use.. a mix of everything, lol.
Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a lovely weekend!
I know what you mean... the downside is that illegal or not illegal varies over time... it's based on laws created by humans... and humans can be mean, to each other and to others species.
Just like an aquarium and a zoo, I don't think it should exist, but it's not illegal.
Exactly!!! What a good comparison!
have a lovely weekend too!
Thank you very much :)