Photographis: Castelul de lut

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

The Clay Castle - Castelul de lut Valea Zânelor

La nici 50 de km de Sibiu, la Porumbacu de Sus, in Valea Zanelor, gasim Castelul de Lut desprins parca din povestile fratilor Grimm: in mijlocul muntilor, pe malul unui rau, inconjurat de vegetatie. Turistii vin pana aici doar ca sa-l vada si sa faca fotografii.

A childhood dream came true for Răzvan Vasile! The fairytale castle is today a real one, which, he hopes his son will enjoy with family and friends. It was not easy to raise it up, but the determination that he had, helped him to carry out a project that would have seemed impossible to many.

"I wanted it to be a house from fairytales, because we have a little boy of seven years old and I traveled the country in various hostels. I wanted this to be something else, "said Razvan Vasile.

The castle is located 40 km from Sibiu, in the Fairies’ Valley and it will become a pension. It has ten rooms and a footprint of 320 square meters. It was built by craftsmen and workers of Maramures.

The foundation is made of concrete and stones, the structure is wood and the walls are built of cob (log of olid and then covered with cob), a mixture of earth, water, straw, clay and sand. The exterior walls are 60 cm thick and the interior walls have a thickness of 45 cm.

"The exterior plastering is of lime and sand and the towers are of river stone, built with lime and sand," explained Razvan Vasile, for casenaturale.org. Everything is made with natural materials, and the windows and doors are different, each room having its own separate entrance.