I kept thinking about how I should begin this post because it’s obvious it is going to be very different from what I’m usually sharing on my blog. But while I’ve never been good at introductions and perhaps most of the people skip them anyway, I’d like to jump right into the middle of the action by saying that even if it’s going to be a short post, I promise it’s a meaningful one.
Last year, during my Romania Tour in the company of my family, we focused on Cluj county which has a lot of interesting places to offer for the tourists. Hence why, for quite a few times we had no other way to reach our destinations than crossing Huedin which represents the smallest city in this region. However, its size is not what determines its value, as it seems like it already caught the attention of the TV news shared in the UK a while ago.
Both BBC and Daily Mail mentioned that all 100 palaces belong to 1,000 gipsy people only who raised them from theft, begging and illegal actions. In 2012, more gipsy people coming from Huedin stole goods from over 1,000 people in the UK while they were travelling by train and fell asleep. There are even rumours of speaking about one of the most dangerous clans of gipsy people in the world, but I really try to stay away from all the news and rather focus on the palaces that do stir curiosity from everyone in my opinion.
Even if the city itself doesn’t seem like having to offer too much spotting just a school, some shops here and there and a few cultural monuments, when you least expect it you will run into a couple of kilometres that suddenly will seem more interesting for anyone crossing by.
The reason behind all of this is played by the 100+ palaces built by the gipsy people living here, which create a pretty bold comparison showing luxury at its finest which is quite the opposite from how most of the locals live in this city and in Romania in general.
Not all the palaces are finished yet as you’ll see in the following pictures, but I don’t even think that’s less interesting as the architecture, detailed gates, roofs and balconies are the first finished details and they catch most of the attention. Along with these, the number of floors which can easily reach a block of apartments, and the vibrant colours are two more aspects of the overall scenery that make you feel like you are getting teleported into a completely different world in a blink.
I know some of the pictures are quite blurry and I apologize for that. All the pictures were taken while in the car as we decided not to stop the car and walk around taking pictures to avoid bothering anyone with our actions.
Even if there have been discussions since 2021 about including this side of Huedin as a possible attraction for tourists, there is a big fight of self-prides going on which is not random since gipsy people belong to a minority category and not for a couple of times are excluded or part of racism. And I sort of understand not wanting to see people stop by your house, take pictures of it, and show appreciation, while the rest of the time this is a very rare thing.
Sadly, the truth is somewhere at the middle as gipsy people in general have built a perspective on their own as most of them are not working but still raising palaces of 2 or 3 floors while people who work hard don’t even manage to get a three-room apartment at the end of their lives. Which is not funny at all.
But if I have to be honest, I really believe there are exceptions and behind some of those imposing palaces and proofs of wealth, we can still find hard-working people with a big heart and ready to help if this is needed.
As I am part of a country that is known as the 2nd poorest one in Europe, this sort of give some answers as to why people tend to become meaner and to envy those who seem like having more than them as we all live with frustration more or less which is inherited from one generation to another.
Anyway, this wasn’t my first time seeing palaces of the gipsy culture but definitely the first when spotting so many next to each other. There are at least two more similar places but in different parts of Romania that I have not reached yet, but makes me really curious to see them as well now that I got to taste this feeling. Have you ever seen something like this before?
Other articles from my Romania Tour 2023:
- The Blue Lagoon of Cluj (Laguna Albastră)
- Ciucaș Waterfall… or beer? (Cascada Ciucaș)
- The Sequoia Tree from Romania
- Șapte culori ale Pământului (The 7 Colors of the Earth, Romania)
- Lacul Tarzan (Tarzan Lake of Romania)
- Gresiile de pe Stânca Dracului (The Devil’s Rock)
- Cetatea Trascăului (Trascău Fortress)
- Grădina Zmeilor (The Garden of Kites)
- The Gypsy Palaces of Huedin
more coming soon…
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Gabriela Travels 