It would be Romanian tourism’s biggest boost since Count Dracula.
The tiny Transylvania village of Viscri has surprisingly been mentioned as one of the potential honeymoon destinations for Prince William and soon-to-be Princess Kate.
The Royal honeymoon is one of the best-kept secrets of the year – no one knows for sure and some of the latest rumors flying about where the happy couple may be jetting off to are pretty wild, but perhaps none is quite as unusual as the little known Romanian village.
Viscri, located dead-center in vampire country, may not be as famous as some of the other mooted destinations, like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia or Petra in Jordan, but it sure makes up for it as far as intrigue goes.
The village is a place where the horse and cart still rule the roads, and where a 500 year old white church remains the most imposing building for miles around. Barefoot peasant girls can be seen walking the streets chasing geese, while farmers peddle their animal hides in dusty old shop windows.
But still, as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Viscri can be a fairytale of sorts.
Rumors about the royal couple honeymooning in the village surface in the Romanian media just last week. Local villagers, having spotted what they guessed might be royal security agents, were reported to be sprucing up the village, ready to lay on the red carpet treatment for everyone’s favorite couple.
It’s reported that farm houses owned by Prince Charles were being renovated.
Charles purchased a couple of holiday homes in the village back in 2006, after becoming enamored of the local countryside following a visit in 1997. He bought one home for himself, and another for paying guests. Indeed, his Romanian property manager, Count Tibor Kalnoky, is said to be on the invitation list for the royal wedding this Friday.
Should they really make it to Viscri, the lucky couple would be able to take in the famous old church of Viscri, while soaking up nature at its finest, riding horses or walking, where they may even be lucky enough to spot some wolves or a bear or two deep in the Transylvanian wilderness. And don’t forget the local delicacies of roasted pig and geese soup, which will be sure to titillate those royal taste buds.
Viscri was first settled by Szekler Hungarians around 2,000 years ago, before being dominated by Germanic Saxons from 1185. The German speaking population left for West Germany back in the 1970’s when a deal was struck between that country’s government and the Romanian communist leaders of the time.
Since then, only 30 German speakers remain, with today’s village occupants being mostly Roma Gypsies.
