Valea Viilor: Church, Ecomuseum and Trails

Valea Viilor is the birthplace of the composer Marţian Negrea. Every year in November, the “Festivalul Martian Negrea” festival takes place in Valea Viilor.

Culture

The church is surrounded by defensive walls and towers. Four towers still stand, together with walls 6–7 m high featuring battlements. There is a portcullis at the church’s northern portal. It has remained intact since 1525.

The church retains pews dating from 1528. The altar dates from 1779, and the organ from 1807. A sounding board dating from 1746 is located above the pulpit.

The surviving architectural elements reveal different layers of the church interior and its fortifications: outside, walls, battlements, towers and the portcullis define the appearance; inside, the pews, altar, organ and sounding board tell of different periods of origin. The years 1525, 1528, 1746, 1779 and 1807 each refer to a specific surviving feature.

The Valea Viilor Ecomuseum comprises five farmsteads that have preserved their original appearance, with traditionally designed gardens and courtyards. The Valea Viilor commune is part of the regional ecomuseum network as one of six settlements in Sibiu County.

The focus of the farmsteads is not limited to individual buildings. The preserved appearance also includes the traditionally designed gardens and courtyards. As a result, the ecomuseum’s presentation encompasses architectural structures and their associated outdoor areas. Its inclusion in a network of six settlements in Sibiu County also extends this perspective beyond Valea Viilor.

The four-movement symphonic suite “Stories of Grui” by Marţian Negrea depicts the everyday life of the people of Valea Viilor. It also explores their customs and traditions.

Alongside the birthplace and the festival, “Stories of Grui” is another specific cultural testimony associated with Valea Viilor. The suite does not focus on a single building, but on the everyday life, customs and traditions of the people from the village.

Landscape

A walk through Valea Viilor and to the surrounding hills opens up views. Visible are the cultivated gardens of the residents, the former vineyards and the entire commune.

The cultivated gardens, former vineyards and the entire commune appear from the perspective of the paths through the village and to the surrounding hills. The vineyards are part of the visible landscape as former vineyards; the gardens are cultivated by the residents.

Activities

The trails around Valea Viilor can currently be used for hiking, cycling and horseback riding. These trails connect the village with Ighișu Nou, Motiș and Șoala. They also connect Valea Viilor with Agârbiciu, Axente Sever, Târnava and Copșa Mică.

Thus, the same trails offer three explicitly named uses side by side: hiking, cycling and horseback riding. Through their connections with Ighișu Nou, Motiș, Șoala, Agârbiciu, Axente Sever, Târnava and Copșa Mică, they also form a network of local connections extending beyond Valea Viilor.

Other places: Mohu, Gura Raului, Tilischen, Arpaşu De Sus, Tălmaciu, Heltau, Bazna and Ocna Sibiului.

Geographical setting

Valea Viilor is located on a side road branching off the national road DN 14.

The location on this side road and its junction with the national road DN 14 are the geographical features explicitly described for the village. A further spatial sequence is shown by the “Pe urmele coloniştilor saşi” route: it leads from Sibiu via Slimnic, Axente Sever and Valea Viilor. It then continues via Şeica Mică and Mândra. Via Ocna Sibiului, the route returns to Sibiu.

In the order stated, the “Pe urmele coloniştilor saşi” route therefore connects Sibiu, Slimnic, Axente Sever, Valea Viilor, Şeica Mică, Mândra and Ocna Sibiului before returning to Sibiu.

To the higher-level travel overview: Hermannstadt.