In This Romanian Village Every Wall and Egg Is A Masterpiece

Ciocanesti is a tiny village in northern Romania. Dotted with cute little country homes, the lovely Golden Bistrita River meandering through and surrounded by verdant pine spruce forests and meadows, you’d think Ciocanesti is like any other Romanian village. Except, it isn’t. This quaint village happens to be one of the most artistic villages in the world.

Back in 1950, Ciocanesti resident Leontina T?ran decided to spice up her home. Unlike most people, she didn’t get a new sofa or retouch the paint. Instead, she carved her walls in traditional embroidery-motif-like geometrical patterns and painted it. Viola, she had the coolest house in town!

The trend caught on and soon, each family in the village tried to make their home better than the others. So, they came up with their own patterns unique to their family. To protect and encourage this traditional art, in 2004, the local authorities dictated that every house must have these painted patterns.

The locals believe that these patterns and their colors express the character of the house owner. If you have exquisitely painted walls, it means you’re a good householder!

It’s not just walls that the villagers like to paint. They paint eggs too! It doesn’t matter if they’re chicken, goose or ostrich eggs, the townswomen love showcasing their creativity in this unique way. Dating back a couple of centuries, this rare art form is usually passed down from mother to daughter. In fact, children are taught this egg-painting tradition right from kindergarten!

The villagers are so proud of their art, rightfully so, that there’s even a National Museum of the Painted Eggs here! A must-visit attraction, it houses thousands of painted eggs in different designs and colors. Ciocanesti also hosts the country’s most important National Painted Eggs festival right before Easter each year.

Art lovers, it’s time to add Ciocanesti to your bucket list!

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