The village of Viscri is quickly becoming a success story in the sad world of the Saxon villages in Southern Transylvania, abandoned in the last 13 years by their inhabitants, who emigrated to Germany, leaving behind beautiful mediaeval sites (some of the famous fortified churches – and Viscri's is one of them – have become in the last few years Unesco World Heritage sites), that are now in a serious process of deterioration. In 1999, Viscri was added on the UNESCO list of World Monuments, as a unique example of mediaeval German Transylvanian settlements.

Thanks to an energetic local leader and because it is now a pilot project financed by a World Bank Heritage and Sustainable Development Loan, Viscri is on its way of becoming revitalized and a meeting place for local and international tourism.

Pro Patrimonio owns house N° 18, an old house which it has begun to restore. The reparation and restoration will cost approximately $ 70,000.

• a bed-and-breakfast (four rooms) for local and international tourists;
• to host a local handicrafts center (for the beautiful Saxon handicrafts tradition of painted wooden furniture, embroideries, etc);
• to host an information center on the local history and heritage;
• to host a computerized database on the local architecture (rural houses, churches, architectural ornaments, furniture and costumes);
• to serve as an information center for the local community on the various cultural traditions of its various inhabitants (the old Saxon population - its heritage and traditions) and its new inhabitants (Rroma, Romanians, Hungarians and a few Germans established in the area).

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The village of Viscri - photo gallery

	The Restoration Work A detailed restoration plan has been drawn by the late Gabriel Lambescu together with Caroline Fernolend. Lambescu's intense and precise work was quite remarkable and the restoration is almost completed. We hope that the Viscri restoration work will serve as an example of the standards that should be maintained throughout the country. The house required extensive restoration work. The restoration included:
	Built bathrooms in the two houses (old and new);
	Built bathrooms in the two houses (old and new);
	Built a kitchen in the new building;
	Installed a new electrical system in both houses;
	Installed a new heating system in the new house;
	Redone the ceiling and the floors in both houses. At the end of the summer of 2006 the two houses can be used for living and the restoration work is almost completed, including heating, electricity and water supply. The two ceramic tile stoves have still to be finished.