Transylvania's last Saxons bring ghost villages back to life
Carmen Schuster left the Transylvanian village of Cincsor for West Germany in search of a better life 40 years ago. But when she returned to Romania for work years later, she was overcome by an urge to stay – and to save the centuries-old Saxon community she once called home.
Schuster is a member of a dwindling ethnic German minority in Romania, descendants of Saxons who were recruited by the Hungarian kings to settle in Transylvania from the 12th century onwards.
"We had to save the school, which was in ruins," Schuster, who is now in her 60s, told French news agency AFP. Alongside her husband Michael Lisske, she has been carefully restoring the historical heart of Cincsor for more than a decade, and transforming some of the buildings into guesthouses in a mission to revive the village.
"Other buildings have also been restored and the village once again revolves around its Protestant church," which still holds services for its seven remaining parishioners, Schuster said.
Britain's King Charles III – who claims descent from the notorious 15th-century Transylvanian prince known as Vlad the Impaler – also owns a number of properties nearby, renting out some to tourists.
Transylvania gears up for King Charles III's first post-coronation visit
