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The article examines depictions of musical instruments including the harp, the trumpet, and the portable organ in panel paintings, frescoes, and murals adorning Middle Ages-era Southern Transylvanian churches. Information is provided on the role of church music in the Middle Ages, dating is offered of some of the paintings in Romanian churches, and the depictions of musical instruments in Romanian churches are compared with those found in churches in Poland and Serbia. Analysis is provided of the depictions of angels in the churches' art.

The article offers suggestions for additions to the registry of Romanian historical monuments. Historical buildings including museums, churches, and houses in the city center of Agnita, Romania are evaluated for addition to the list, information is provided on the architectural design, ornamentation, and dimensions of the buildings, and descriptions of the shapes of the buildings' foundations are provided. Dates of the buildings' construction are provided along with descriptions and photographs of their design elements including windows, facades, and roofs.

The article discusses the social history of art by ethnic German artists in Romania during the period of Communist rule from 1949 to 1989. The author considers the context of the Romanian art scene during the Cold War, particularly the influence of Communist aesthetics and art theory and the concept of Socialist Realism. She distinguishes five phases of Communist cultural policy which oscillated between ideological dogmatism and the granting of limited artistic freedom. The use of art as political propaganda is also addressed.

The article discusses the history of the German party (Deutsche Partei) in Romania, which was founded on September 6, 1919, from 1919 until 1937 and the outcome of legislative elections in this time, with special attention to Transylvania (Siebenbürgen). A society for Germans living in Romania was founded on June 8, 1919 and named "Verband der Deutschen in Großrumänien". Several charts on the elections and Romanian parties are presented. Other topics mentioned in this article include the status of minorities in Romania, Romanian government policy, and the Roman parliament.

The article discusses the impacts for the Reformation of the 16th century on Transylvania, present-day Romania, with special attention the protestantization of the region from 1520 until 1580 and church synods of the time. The principles of Protestantism emerged in Transylvania in the 1520s influenced by its success in Hungary, caused conflicts with the Austrian empire due to its Catholicism, and was discussed at several church synods such as in January 1557. Other topics mentioned in this article include the founder of the Protestantism Martin Luther, Calvinists, and sacramentalism.

The article discusses the agricultural structure of Transylvanian villages, a region in Romania, in the second half of the 19th century. The scientific research shows a difference in the wealth of the peasants from comitatens territories and territories owned by the king after die abolition of serfdom, an high interest in wine growing, and that the peasants cultivated rather a small surface. Several charts on the agricultural structure of Romanian villages are presented. Other topics mentioned in this article include cattle breeding, the economic structure of Transylvanian villages, and research on wealth gaps in East Europe in the second half of the 19th century.

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In the year 1889 a Gepid grave was accidentally discovered at Apahida (a village near Cluj-Napoca), containing an important ritual grave furnishing of gold items. (Abb 4-9). Ancient texts and archaeological discoveries reveal that after the battle from 454 the Gepidae partially or wholly retreated from the Tisa plain to Transilvania (the ancient Dacia). (Abb 1-3). From the time of its first publication the text from the ring nr. 3 has been known as OMHARVS, being interpreted as a name given to a king or a prince or to a high ranked personality in the Gepid society. But neither history nor archaeology or German lingvistic has so far confirmed the existence of such a personality, or the German character of the name, respectively. The contradictory opinions concerning the text as well as the lack of resolved analogies (Abb 10-11) determined the author (N. Gudea) to tackle the text from another point of view. Based on the hypothesis that the treasure to which the ring belongs constituted a betrothal or a marriage gift coming from the Byzantine Empire, the author asserts that the ring nr. 3 might be a marriage ring. For demonstrations the author (N. Gudea) analysed a series of Byzantine marriage rings, marriage belts/chains with medallions (Abb 12-17) bearing Christian symbols or images, connected with marriage as well as marriage congratulatory expressions typical for the respective times. In this way he accomplieshed a typology of the rings having marriage representations and Christian symbols accompanying these representations and inscriptions (Abb 18). In the author's oppinion these early Byzantine marriage congratulatory expressions on rings and medallions could be grouped this way: - simple congratulatory expressions: omonoia/omonua (understanding), haris (good luck), ygia (health), evxi (fidelity); - compound wishes/congratulatory expressions: ex theou omonoia (understanding given by God), ex theou haris (good luck received from God); complex congratulatory expressions: ex theou omonoia, haris, ygia (from God understanding, good luck and health). Perhaps the Byzantine manufacturer who produced the ring, had to concentrate/ abbreviate this complex formula in order to find room for it on the bezel of the ring. Th e author proposes the reading of the inscription in this belief and this way: a. the cross is the symbol of Jesus Christ, who unites the pair (bride and bridgegroom); b. the text was divided in three parts, each being completed in the way of marriage congratulatory expressions. So, the lecture/reading of the inscription is: + (ex theou) OM(oni)A HAR(is) VG(ia) (from God (come) the understanding, the luck and the health) Unfortunately neither the ring itself, nor the inscription and abbreviation type has analogies in the archaeology of early Byzantine times. But the typology of the letters, the mixture of Latin and Greek letters as well as the structure of the treasure did not contradict such an interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents seven theses that are intended to enhance the research done by Thomas Nägler, an archaeologist and expert on the history of the German Saxons (called the Transylvanian Saxons) that settled in Transylvania (region of Romania) during the Middle Ages. Several topics are discussed, including how the development of the Siebenbürger Sachsen colonies in Transylvania took place over a long period of time, how the region that the Siebenbürger Sachsen moved to in Romania was considered to be uninhabitable during the Middle Ages because there were not enough forests in that region, and that the way the Transylvanian Saxons designed and built their churches has helped researchers figure out the time period in which a town was settled by the Saxons.

This article focuses on the life and work of the philologist and cultural historian Harald Krasser, who contributed to the study of the history of the German Saxons that settled in Transylvania (historic region in Romania), known in German as the "Siebenbürger Sachsen." Several topics are discussed, including how he worked at a research institute in Sibiu, Romania doing tasks such as proofreading, research, and translating, how he worked on numerous important books about the language spoken by the German people in Transylvania, and how his political beliefs (he was a supporter of the National Socialist Party of Germany) probably caused his work to be ignored by German historians.

This article focuses on the "Venus of Limba," an anthropomorphic Venus statuette (figurine depicting a woman) that has been attributed to the Vinča people (European culture from the Neolithic Era), and was unearthed at the Lima archaeological site in Oarda de Jos, Romania in 1997. Several topics are discussed, including how there are artistic elements that are characteristic of the Starčevo culture (ancient culture of Southeastern Europe) that were incorporated into the statue, how the creator of the statue emphasized certain parts of the female anatomy (such as the hips, the thighs, and the breasts) and left out other features (such as the eyes, the mouth, and the neck), and how this was the largest anthropomorphic statue found at that site.

The article discusses the author Hansgeorg von Killyen's research on documents relating to the medical care system and doctors' associations in Sibiu, Transylvania, Romania, from 1910-1920. The German minority in that region were major contributors to the health care apparatus, and their records indicate that the city had high quality medical care that became a model for the rest of Romania in the first half of the 20th century. The reserach took into account hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, and charitable associations.

The article discusses the career of Heinrich Wachner, a nearly forgotten geographer and naturalist of the first half of the 20th century who published both in Romania and Germany. Particularly regarded are his writings of the geomorphology of the areas around Giurgiu, Ciuc, and Braṣov, Romania, which were published in German. Wachner's career as a teacher of geography in several high schools is reviewed, as well as his work editing student geography handbooks and popularizing environmental protection issues.

The article discusses European Enlightenment influences on the growth of scientific research and the natural sciences in Sibiu, Romania, during the closing decades of the 18th century. Partly influenced by the work of the Swedish botanist Carl Linné, as well as activities of the freemasons, and under the influence of Sibiu's integration into the Habsburg Monarchy, the region became an area of scientific research interest, particularly for studies in mineralogy and botany under the encouragement of the governor Samuel von Brukenthal.

The article discusses the influence of German Saxons on Transylvania, Romania. Saxon settlements in the Sibiu regional municipalities known in German as "Siebenbürgen" ("Seven Fortified Towns") are traced to the 15th century. Names of a number of cities and towns in the region are traced to Saxon dialects and hence German founders and original settlers. Descendants, names, and remnants of that German culture and community still existing in the capital city of Bucharest, Romania, are remarked upon.