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Oct 15, 2023

King meets people keeping traditional craft skills alive during visit to Romania

The King met people keeping traditional craft skills alive in the village of his

The King met people keeping traditional craft skills alive in the village of his Romanian holiday let on Tuesday.

The private visit marks 25 years since Charles first visited Romania and is his first overseas trip since the coronation in May.

Tuesday's event, organised by The Prince's Foundation charity, took place in the Transylvanian village of Viscri.

Charles owns a number of properties in Transylvania, including a holiday let – which helps fund the foundation – and a 17th century peasant's house, which acts as the foundation's headquarters.

Both properties are in Viscri which is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site due to its fortified church and fortress.

During Tuesday's visit, Charles met with groups who have benefited from the support of The Prince's Foundation, including the Romanian Order of Architects and the Ambulance for Monuments, a project organised by Asociatia Monumentum which teaches students and volunteers to repair and conserve historic buildings across Romania.

One of the aims of The Prince's Foundation, founded by Charles in 1986, is to keep traditional building craft skills alive.

Speaking at a reception hosted by Romania's president Klaus Iohannis in Bucharest last week, the King spoke of his "love" for Romania and praised the "dedication" and "attention to detail" of the country's heritage workers.

He said: "It is so impressive to see how many young volunteers work every year with such love and dedication and attention to detail with their Ambulance for Monuments, to help preserve Romania's wonderfully diverse architectural inheritance."

Eugen Vaida, who co-ordinates The Prince's Foundation's activity in Romania, said: "It was a pleasure for us to welcome back His Majesty to Romania and to hear him talk about his love for the country and all we are doing to preserve our historic crafts and buildings.

"The skills being honed by our summer school students and practised by the Ambulance for Monuments are, unfortunately, increasingly rare, due to a lack of craftsmen and knowledge.

"It is Asociatia Monumentum's objective to preserve these skills by educating students and, in turn, ensure the future of historic buildings across Romania and the wider world."

The King is thought to be related to a well-known figure from Romanian history, Vlad the Impaler, said to be the inspiration behind Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The links are through his great-grandmother Queen Mary, the consort of George V, who was descended from the German Wurttembergs and thereby linked to Vlad.

Charles has travelled alone, leaving the Queen in the UK, as he has done for previous visits to the eastern European country.