The famous Transilvania Hotel in Cluj-Napoca, located on Regele Ferdinand street, was admitted to the prestigious Historic Cafes Route cultural route, under the High Patronage of the Council of Europe. Hotel Transilvania is mentioned in the famous novel "Dracula" by Bram Stoker as the place where the British lawyer Jonathan Harker would have spent the night, called by the Vampire Count to mediate a real estate transaction in England.
Historic Cafes Route or "Golden Cafes Route" in Europe is one of the 49 cultural routes accredited by the Council of Europe.
Hotel Transilvania's accession to the Historic Cafes Route will be marked by a special event, scheduled for June 29, from 12:00 p.m.
The highlight of the event will be the decoration of the building with the honorary plaque of the Council of Europe, the first official speech by Mr. Arnold Gunter Klingeis, the new president of the Route of Historic Cafes in Europe now representing 47 member states of the Council of Europe.
The admission event coincides with the official taking over of the Historic Cafes Route chairmanship by Arnold Gunter Klingeis, representative of Brukenthal Palace Cafe Avrig. It is the first time in history that a Romanian citizen becomes president of a European cultural route.
The ceremony includes, alongside the official festive moments, fashion shows, live musical recitals, the viewing of a short documentary about the most famous adaptations of the famous novel Dracula, as well as the invitation to a culinary journey inspired by the historical menus of the Cluj hotel restaurant.
On June 29, 2024, from the presentation of the dishes included in the historical menu of Hotel Transilvania (which, in the novel "Dracula" is called the Hotel Queen of England), there will be celery soups and dumplings, beef tongue with a bouquet of lettuce and tartar sauce, salads summer dishes with duck breast and vinaigrette with pears or aged cheese and French dressing, rabbit leg with sauteed carrots and wholemeal flour dumplings, venison ragout with pear in wine and polenta with truffles, paprikash with boneless legs, braided with aubergine (also mentioned in the novel Dracula), duck leg with baked apple, red cabbage and wholemeal flour dumplings, lamb stew with celery puree and polenta with truffles, carrot pudding, with apples, berries or vanilla sauce, baked apples with raisin applesauce or vanilla sauce.
"Participants at this important moment will have a truly special experience, a journey through the history of over 500 years of this famous hotel, combined with contemporary experiences, flavors from the past, plans, ideas and strategies for the future.
Representatives of the European cultural route and the Council of Europe, local and central officials, people of culture and art,
representatives of the media, various other guests will be present at the activities occasioned by the admission of Hotel Transilvania to the HCR. This event represents a real business card for Romania", says
the president of the "Cultural Route of Golden Cafes", Arnold Gunter Klingeis.
"Hotel Transilvania means much more than the mention in the novel Dracula. It is linked to the ancient history of Cluj.
Historically, the hotel was built over the ruins of the residence of the governor of Dacia, Porolissensis. We also know the name of this governor: Cnaeus Minucius Faustinus Sextus Iulius Severus, mentioned in a Roman military diploma, issued as early as June 29, 120 AD
There is also a legend, from the 19th century, which says that the king of Dacia, Decebal, committed suicide nearby.
We know for sure that, in the Middle Ages, the current Hotel Transilvania was an inn, located on the street called Platea Pontis, which connected the main entrance gate to the medieval city and the central square of Cluj.
The hotel's uninterrupted history spans more than half a millennium," says tourism expert Adriana Sava, who continues, as the hotel's General Manager, this remarkable tradition of hospitality in Cluj.