• The 12th edition of Haferland Week, the leading cultural and ethnographic festival celebrating the Transylvanian Saxon communities, will take place from 8–11 August 2024 across ten villages and towns in Transylvania: Archita, Saschiz, Homorod, Rupea, Criț, Roadeș, Meșendorf, Cloașterf, Bunești and Viscri.
• Around 10,000 visitors from Romania as well as Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the United States are expected to attend this year’s festival. Admission to all events is free of charge.
• One of the highlights of this year’s programme will be the celebration of the 700th anniversary of the first documented mention of Rupea Fortress, one of Transylvania’s most important and impressive medieval monuments, now fully restored.
• The festival will be held under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Philipp von und zu Liechtenstein, a member of the Princely House that has ruled the Principality of Liechtenstein for more than 200 years.
• For the first time, Haferland Week will also be held under the auspices of the Romanian Royal Family.
• Another first for this year’s edition is the festival’s partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Romania, an organisation delivering a global youth development programme for young people aged 14 to 24. The Award is patronised internationally by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and nationally by Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown. Active in Romania for more than a decade, the programme helps young people develop transferable skills, improve their physical fitness, foster a spirit of adventure, and engage in community volunteering, empowering them to grow and excel.
• Festival participants will have the opportunity to visit historic landmarks such as the region’s fortified churches and traditional Saxon farmsteads—including King Charles III’s property in Viscri—as well as enjoy concerts, traditional Saxon balls and folk music performances, film screenings, public talks, exhibitions, workshops for children and adults, guided tours, visits to local farms and households, organic food tastings, and many other activities.

Bucharest, 17 April 2024. The 12th edition of Haferland Week, the most beloved cultural and ethnographic festival celebrating the Transylvanian Saxon community in Romania and the diaspora, will take place from 8–11 August 2024 under the High Patronage of His Serene Highness Prince Philipp von und zu Liechtenstein and the auspices of the Romanian Royal Family. This marks the first time that the Romanian Royal Family has officially endorsed and supported the organisation of this cultural event.

Haferland Week: An Immersive Journey into the Life, Traditions and Culture of the Transylvanian Saxons

Festival events will be held across several villages and towns in Haferland (“The Oatland”), the historic name of the region stretching roughly between Brașov and Sighișoara, including Archita, Saschiz, Homorod, Rupea, Criț, Roadeș, Meșendorf, Cloașterf, Bunești and Viscri.

Home to the Transylvanian Saxons for nearly eight centuries, this region is the cradle of Saxon rural culture in the heart of Transylvania. Its rich ethnographic and architectural heritage includes traditional Saxon houses and the remarkable fortified church ensembles of Saschiz and Viscri, both of which form part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Approximately 10,000 visitors from Romania, as well as Germany, Austria, the United Kingdom and the United States, are expected to attend this year’s festival.

The organisers have prepared a diverse programme of special events for visitors of all ages, ensuring that everyone can experience what it is like to be part of the Transylvanian Saxon community throughout the four-day festival. The programme includes visits to fortified churches and traditional Saxon farmsteads, concerts and traditional Saxon balls, organ recitals, folk dance performances, film screenings, public lectures, exhibitions of traditional crafts and folk costumes, workshops for children and adults, guided tours, visits to local farms and households, tastings of organic products, and much more. Admission to all festival events is free of charge.

Haferland Week offers a unique opportunity to experience first-hand the rural civilisation of the Transylvanian Saxons, which continues to thrive in the villages between Sibiu, Brașov and Sighișoara. While the Saxon presence in these cities has become less visible over time due to emigration and urban development, villages such as Criț, Viscri, Rupea and Homorod remain home to vibrant communities that continue to preserve their centuries-old traditions. As a result, the Haferland region has retained its authentic rural character, attracting thousands of visitors each year who come to explore the area and stay in traditional Saxon guesthouses and homesteads.

The theme of this year’s festival, “History, Tradition and Culture: Yesterday and Today in Haferland,” marks a milestone of great significance in the history of the Transylvanian Saxons: the 700th anniversary of the first documented mention of Rupea Fortress, one of the largest and most impressive medieval fortifications in Transylvania. The anniversary celebration will take place at the fortress itself on Sunday, 11 August 2024.

Another highly anticipated highlight of this year’s programme is the traditional Saxon Ball in Criț, featuring a live performance by the German band HighLife. The festival will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of Kraus House, a landmark destination in the region that combines a chalet with an after-school centre supporting children from disadvantaged communities in the surrounding area.

The Princely House of Liechtenstein Supports Haferland for the Second Consecutive Year

The close relationship between the Princely House of von und zu Liechtenstein and Romania began with last year’s edition of the festival. In 2023, Haferland Week was held under the High Patronage of Prince and Princess Alexander von und zu Liechtenstein, who also attended the festival’s closing concert and ceremony in Criț. Prince Alexander is the son of Prince Philipp.

“We are deeply honoured to once again have the support of the Princely House of Liechtenstein,” said Michael Schmidt, President of the M&V Schmidt Foundation, co-organiser of the festival. “The generosity of Their Serene Highnesses Prince Philipp, Prince Alexander and Princess Alexander von und zu Liechtenstein demonstrates just how valuable the unique heritage of the Transylvanian Saxons truly is—a remarkable example of the survival of a German-speaking rural culture on the eastern frontier of Central Europe. We are equally honoured by the goodwill of the Romanian Royal Family, under whose auspices Haferland Week is being held this year. Their invaluable support, with its profound symbolic significance, is a great encouragement in our shared efforts to revitalise this region.”

“The close relationship between the Princely House of Liechtenstein and Romania began, as many wonderful stories do, with a chance meeting I had with Princess Astrid von und zu Liechtenstein, the wife of Prince Alexander,” said Veronica Schmidt, Co-Founder and Vice President of the M&V Schmidt Foundation. “That unexpected encounter gave me the opportunity to introduce Princess Astrid to one of the most beautiful and authentic regions of Transylvania, and I was honoured that Her Serene Highness agreed to become involved in our efforts to revitalise the area. I am delighted to have played a part in this remarkable story, one that brings together generosity, nobility, a commitment to preserving cultural heritage, and genuine care for the people of Haferland. I would therefore like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Their Serene Highnesses Prince and Princess Alexander von und zu Liechtenstein, as well as to Prince Philipp, for the generous support they have extended to help bring renewed life and vitality to Haferland.”

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation Becomes a New Festival Partner

For the first time, the festival has entered into a partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Romania, an organisation delivering a global youth development programme for young people aged 14 to 24. The Award is patronised internationally by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and nationally by Her Majesty Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown. The programme has been active in Romania for more than a decade.

By helping participants develop transferable skills, improve their physical fitness, foster a spirit of adventure, and engage in volunteering within their communities, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award empowers young people to grow, build resilience, and realise their full potential.

To date, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award programme has engaged more than 12,000 young people and over 3,000 adult volunteers, partners and operators working across a wide range of institutions aligned with the interests and challenges faced by today’s youth, including schools, universities, sports clubs, youth organisations, foster care centres, and rehabilitation institutions for young people. Upon completion of the programme, participants take part in a public recognition ceremony and receive accreditation for the non-formal education activities they have undertaken.

The international outlook of the festival is not limited to collaboration with the Transylvanian Saxon diaspora in German-speaking countries. Another new development in this year’s edition is the appointment of Mr Andrew Noble, former British Ambassador to Bucharest, to the Board of Directors of the M&V Schmidt Foundation.

Haferland Week is an event initiated and organised by the M&V Schmidt Foundation and the Tabaluga / Peter Maffay Foundation (Peter Maffay Stiftung), organisations founded by German musician of Romanian origin Peter Maffay.

The 12th edition of Haferland Week is organised in partnership with the Dimitrie Gusti National Village Museum in Bucharest, CEC Bank, Hochland, Bosch Foundation Romania, Rompetrol, Geiger, Aqua Carpatica, Domeniile Sâmburești, Automobile Bavaria and MHS Truck & Bus, with KISS FM as media partner.

The festival’s co-organisers—the M&V Schmidt Foundation, the Tabaluga / Peter Maffay Foundation (Peter Maffay Stiftung), the Democratic Forum of Germans in Transylvania, the Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany, and the Evangelical Church A.C. in Romania, through the District Consistories of the Evangelical Church A.C. in Brașov and Sighișoara—are supported by local partners including the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation, the ADEPT Transilvania Foundation, the Nowero Association, the Rupea Town Hall, the Discover Archita Association, the Vânători Commune Town Hall (Mureș County), the Women’s Neighbourhood Association of Saschiz, and the Bunești Commune Town Hall (Brașov County).

As every year, Haferland Week also benefits from the support of an important German partner, the Cultural Centre of the Transylvanian Saxons in Bavaria, an organisation supported by the Bavarian Government.

Press contact:
M&V Schmidt Foundation
Diana Mantu
Mobile: +40 724 333 086
Email: diana.mantu@fundatia-michael-schmidt.org