Sibiu, in central Romania, will once again host the Great Saxony Meeting, or the International Meeting of the Saxons from Transylvania, between August 2 and 4. The meeting brings together both the Saxon communities from Romania and from abroad.
The Meeting of the Saxons will also be marked by a special concert by the German singer of Romanian origin, Peter Maffay, who will perform on a stage in Romania for the first time.
Born in 1949 in Brasov and emigrated with his family to the Federal Republic of Germany at the age of 14, in 1963, Peter Maffay is one of the most well-known rock artists in Germany, with 20 albums reaching the number one spot in the music charts of his country and over 50 million records sold. He will take the stage in the Large Square in Sibiu, on the last day of the Transylvanian Saxons’ reunion, on August 4, starting at 20:00. This year the artist is on his farewell tour, which will conclude on July 20 in Leipzig.
“The decision to support this concert was one of the easiest I’ve ever made,” said Michael Schmidt, president of the M&V Schmidt Foundation, one of the organizers, cited by News.ro.
“Peter Maffay is an old and dear friend of mine and of Romania, and one of the things he is very passionate about is performing in front of the audience from his country of origin. This is probably the most beautiful gift we could offer him,” he added.
The event is organized by the Democratic Forum of Germans in Transylvania together with Saxon associations from Germany, Austria, the USA, and Canada. About 10,000 visitors are expected at the event, which will take place in the central square in Sibiu.
One of the central events of the manifestation will be the exhibition marking the 800th anniversary of the issuance of the so-called “Andreanum Diploma” (Diploma Andreanum), a document issued in 1224 by King Andrew II of Hungary, granting the Saxons settled in Transylvania a series of administrative, fiscal, and commercial privileges that remained in force for about 650 years. Even more importantly, the document enshrined the legal identity of the Saxons in this province, providing a legal basis that ensured the survival of the Saxon community for eight centuries.
(Photo source: Siebenbuergenforum.ro)
