Every year, the Haferland Week festival takes place in mid-summer for three to seven days. The event is the largest event in Romania dedicated to promoting the culture and traditions of the Transylvanian Saxon community.

The 11th edition of the festival took place from 3 to 6 August 2023 in ten localities: Archita, Saschiz, Homorod, Rupea, Criț, Roadeș, Meșendorf, Cloașterf, Bunești and Viscri.

The theme of the 2023 edition was “Sustainability in the cultural landscape of Haferland” with all its valences: protection of the environment and preservation of the diversity of the local flora, preservation of the traditions and culture of minorities, support for new generations of inhabitants who will carry forward the specificity of the place, the stake being on the one hand the continuity of the Saxon community of Haferland, which has lived here for eight centuries, and on the other the revival of the area and its connection with the future. “This means sustainability in Haferland: a lively, active, multicultural community that retains links with tradition while investing in the future. I hope that Haferland will continue to be our home – Saxons, Romanians and Hungarians alike – and that we will welcome you as our guests every year. In the villages of Haferland there are still families whose ancestors are inscribed on the walls of these splendid churches. Our mission, those of us who come here every year for Haferland Week, is to make sure that we keep those deep ties that hold the community together, and that also link us to the past. It’s extremely important to make sure that these communities keep their traditions in order to have a sustainable future as well as a growing economy,” said Michael Schmidt, president of the M&V Schmidt Foundation, co-organisers of the festival.

The event took place for the first time under the high patronage of Their Serene Highnesses Prince and Princess Alexander von und zu Liechtenstein, members of the House of Liechtenstein. “I would like to thank Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid von und zu Liechtenstein, with whom I have a warm friendship. Her Serene Highness’s personal ties and concern for the preservation of cultural heritage and the environment have brought us here together in the service of a cultural cause of the utmost importance: keeping alive the cultural, architectural and ethnographic heritage of the Transylvanian Saxons, whose importance is recognised throughout the world. I hope that this gesture of great generosity on the part of Their Serene Highnesses, bringing together two centuries-old histories – one of an ancient and prestigious princely house, the other of a community with roots in the early Middle Ages – will mark the beginning of a long-lasting rapprochement between the family of Prince and Princess Alexander von und zu Liechtenstein and the people of Haferland“, added Veronica Schmidt, co-founder and Vice-President of the M&V Schmidt Foundation.

During the four days of the festival, the almost 5,000 spectators enjoyed over 200 minutes of traditional Saxon and Csángós dances. Brass bands delighted the audience with no less than 300 minutes of traditional music. Lasting more than 200 minutes, the musical evenings in the fortified churches brought the audience concerts of singing, jazz and classical music and instruments such as the organ, violin and piano. No less than 100 artists from different ensembles from Romania and Germany, aged between 15 and 70, were part of the festival programme.

In addition to exciting performances, the festival also hosted nine interactive workshops, open to all participants – adults and children – who had the opportunity to learn and experience new skills, crafts and artistic techniques specific to the Haferland. The event was complemented by an impressive costume parade and interesting debates, which brought to the fore relevant topics related to Saxon and Csángós culture and traditions. Participants also had the opportunity to connect with deeper cultural and historical elements through reading evenings, film screenings and exhibitions that showcased the richness of the Saxon cultural heritage.

Food lovers had their choice of dozens of local dishes such as Hanklich, braided cake, doughnuts and Lia-Schnitte, a traditional honey cake. There was no shortage of elderberry and blackberry syrups prepared by the locals, as well as rhubarb, elderberry and black cherry jam with walnuts, and local bread.

The rededication of the Evangelical Fortified Church in Rupea was one of the central events of Haferland Week 2023. On the second day of the festival, the church was re-confessed after the completion of the renovation works that took place over the last three years, as part of an EU-funded project worth over two million lei. After the reopening of the Evangelical Church, the site will also return to the tourist circuit of the area.

The number of participants in the festival has grown year by year, so that in the eleven editions held so far the total number of participants has exceeded 42,500 people.