A map of the region
Our city lies not so far away from the Nemira Mountains. These mountains form the Eastern part of the Carpathians. They reach 1648 meters, being the highest of our region. During one field trip with some of my students we have come across an amazing sight, up there, on top of the mountains.
How we got there
In order to get to the top of these mountains from our city, you have to drive some 30 km into the woods and afterwards, when the road starts disappearing between trees you are left to walk. It is a most interesting walk. You have to climb all the time and after some 5 hours of walking you can get to the top. The scenery up there is more than amazing. Apart from the natural beauty of the landscape, there is another aspect that gets your attention. At first, when you just see the amazingly looking structures that form the upper side of the mountain, you are a bit puzzled.
My students were curious and decided to get to know more
Trenches from World War I
Thus, doing some research, they found out that those rock formations were trenches during the First World War. It is amazing the way they are preserved. They are so visible, despite the fact that some are covered with leaves. You can see trenches, munitions depots. There is even barbed wire between trees to mark the enemy lines.
And bears……
Just the thought of a war going on up there during the winter gives you the shivers. Not only that it is very far away from any inhabitants, but it is also the realm of the bear and we have to admit that we had to look over our shoulder, just in case. One never knows when the bear might come out or where he might come out from!
Looking through the files from our school library, we found out some very interesting information concerning all that evidence of the First World War.
The events took place between the 1st of October and the 10th of November 1916.
It was during the winter and I have to say that winter in our region deserves its name. Temperatures go down to -35 C and if you add the wind to that, well you have there one very powerful enemy. The battles concerned the Romanians and the Austro-Hungarians in 1916. During these battles, 4 officers went missing along with 1462 soldiers. 33 officers were severely injured and 2183 soldiers had the same fate. And the sad part is that during that frightful period 14 officers with 446 soldiers died. The persons that died then were from different countries throughout Europe. They were Polish, Germans, Austro-Hungarians, French and not only.
Beauty and silence
The silence that reigns there is quite the opposite of the days that once were…. days that took so many lives. It is a particular feeling that gets the hold of you up there. If you don’t know what happened there you are stunned by the beauty of the places, the silence leads you to a reverie state, it soothes you. It’s nice being there; but if you find out more, you get to see the same reality with totally different eyes. There is the saying” there are two sides to the story”, well I guess this is the living example.
We are glad we are able to share this with you and hope you will come one day and experience what we have.
Thank you Mihaï for this informative and interesting article about your discovery. Congratulations too to your students who searched for more information about the site. The slide gives us a very good idea of what you describe in the article. There aren’t so many places from the first world war that were preserved so well.
I can’t but tremble with those poor soldiers who must have suffered so much from the cold and their wounds of course during this horrible war wondering why they had been sent in those trenches to be massacred. But aren’t all wars horrible? It must be difficult to imagine all that past tumult, violence and chaos in such a peaceful place today: beautiful trees, streams and nature. I am sure you were not really reassured though: Imagine finding yourself face to face with a bear!!!Brrr….
What an adventure!
Congratulations to all and thank you for sharing this magic adventure with us.
The two sides of the coin on this mountain: peace and silence now and atrocious fights a century ago. One of my grandfather was in the trenches in Verdun and along what was called “le chemin des Dames”. He never talked much about the three years he spent in the trenches and where 2 of his brothers died. But he said that the cold and the mud were very hard to cope with.
Nature can soothe us if we respect it though. Being out there must have been quite an experience for you and your students nowadays , despite the possible bear appearance. Bears can be dangerous but not as human beings. They also have the right to live free and into the wilderness, haven’t they?
Thanks Mihaï for this great post. Could we have a map to locate the area please?
My grandfather too had to join his fellows in the trenches. Fortunately, he lived long enough for me to know him. I was too young though to listen to his stories of the war told by the fireplace in his old breton house.
Watching at first this amazing slide show, I thought: what a nice virtual excursion even for us the foreigners. I changed my mind, though, when I read the text and especially the last part, Beauty and Silence. Then I thought again that humans sometimes are determined to destroy all the beauty that they were given so generously by God and Nature. What makes me more sad is that history is coming back again and again the same disastrous.
Thanks a lot Mihai, no matter if some melancholic thoughts were spread out…It is a great post
Are these mountains to the North East of Darmanesti? Or am I wrong?
Thanks for the map. Now I know where to locate your judeţe. You are in the north east of Romania and i am not mistaken Bacau was or still is a very indutrialized area.
Actually the mountains I am talking about are somewhere south-west of Darmanesti
I love nature very much and often walk through the woods.Romania has a rich diversity relif.In Orastie Mountains are the ruins of the Dacian fortresses.These sites are located 20 km from my hometown. Some time I’ll write about these wonderful places.Congratulations Mihai for your very interesting material! I’m sure that your students have enjoyed the experience.The Mountains are fascinating and you return to them each time.
Thanks Mihaï. I had a look at the map and I can see “your” mountains are quite away from Bacau. It helps to understand.