Via Transilvanica

Via Transilvanica (in The Transylvanian Trail) is a hiking trail which crosses the Transylvania, Bukovina and Banat regions of Romania, and is meant to promote their respective cultural, ethnic, historical and natural diversity. It was built between 2018 and 2022, with its design and conception heavily inspired by historical pilgrims' ways and hiking trails, such as The Way of St. James and The Appalachian Trail. Starting at Putna, Suceava County, it stretches over 1428 km, 10 counties of Romania, over 400 communities, and 8 UNESCO World Heritage sites, ending in Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Mehedinți County. Its motto is "The road that unites".

History
The trail was envisioned by the non-governmental organisation Tășuleasa Social, based in Bistrița-Năsăud County. The way marking of trail was done in five major stages between the years 2018 and 2022:


 * In 2018, the first 134 km of trail was marked in Bistrița-Năsăud county.
 * In 2019, 137 km of trail was marked in Suceava County and 98 km in Mehedinți County.
 * In 2020, the trail sections in the counties of Mureș, Harghita, Brașov, and Sibiu were completed, bringing the total length of marked path to approximately 800 km.
 * In 2021, the approximately 250 km of trail through Caraș-Severin County were fully marked, bringing the total marked up to 1,077 km.
 * In 2022, on October 8, an inauguration ceremony is held in Alba Iulia after the last 150 km of markings in the counties of Hunedoara and Alba are completed.

In terms of funding, the marking of approximately 830 km of trail was funded through charitable donations, sponsorship deals, and other partnerships with various private companies. Some of the funding was thanks to a donation of profits from the sale of the book "27 steps" by Tiberiu Ușeriu, a Romanian ultramarathon runner and extreme sport athlete, one of the main ambassadors of the Via Transilvanica. The marking of the trail, including the laying of the over 1,000 andesite milestones came up to approximately 1.5 million Euros. Hundreds of volunteers took part in the marking and promotion of the route including actors Marcel Iureș and Pavel Bartoș, former prince Nicholas Medforth-Mills, journalists Andreea Esca and Andi Moisescu, activist Dragoș Bucurenci, tennis player Horia Tecău, TV presenter Charlie Ottley, and philosopher Mihaela Miroiu.

In 2023, it received the "Citizen Involvement and Awareness" award offered by Europa Nostra.

Route
Via Transilvanica is divided into seven historical and cultural regions: Bucovina, the Highland, Terra Siculorum, Terra Saxonum, Terra Dacica, Terra Banatica and Terra Romana. The route spans ten of Romania's counties: Suceava, Bistrița-Năsăud, Mureș, Harghita, Brașov, Sibiu, Alba, Hunedoara, Caraș-Severin, and Mehedinți.

The trail blazing consists of either painted markings on trees and stones, or handcrafted andesite milestones, each with a unique design and weighing approximately 260 kg each, position roughly one kilometer apart. The painted markings always come in the same two colors, orange and white, with the orange arrows pointing south-west, towards Drobeta-Turnu Severin, and the white arrows pointing north-east in the direction of Putna. There are also painted markings of an orange "T" on a white background.