In one of the old royal cities of the Habsburg Empire, the one called Elisabetopole, Elizabetopolis, Ibașfalău, Ibișfalău, Bășcăleț, Elisabethstadt, Epeschdorf, or Erzsébetvároș, there is a bright and bold building catching the eye instantly. It is centrally located, on one of the main arteries and near the Armenian cathedral, the one that lost one dome.
Featuring an imposing tower guarding the corner and elegantly outlined blue frames against the bright white façade the has distinction. Built in 1881, it wears its age gracefully, having been recently renovated.
The internal partitioning has created spacious and bright rooms, both on the ground floor (living room, three bedrooms, kitchen, two bathrooms) and upstairs (three bedrooms, an office, living room, and two bathrooms, one with access to the Finnish sauna). The fireplace stove warms a 40 sqm living room. The vaulted cellar with a brick floor, maintaining controlled temperature, is the perfect place for a private wine cellar, while the garden with lawn and fruit trees is the ideal option for peaceful afternoons. Breakfast can be enjoyed in the pavilion, where hearty meals can also be organized for loved ones, in its 9 sqm summer kitchen with a bread & pizza oven. The garage accommodates two cars.
The town of Dumbrăveni, one of the ten royal free cities, enjoys the benefits of multiculturalism, with Romanians, Hungarians, Jews, Saxons, and Armenians living in and beautifying it. In the 16th century, Grigore Apafi built the feudal castle in the form of a citadel, which now operates as the Museum of Transylvanian Armenians, and the Armenian community erected a cathedral here in the 18th century. Dumbrăveni is situated between Sighișoara and Mediaș, having touristic Biertan, Viscri, and Via Transilvanica in close proximity.

photo Florin Pepene