The Grand Tour of Communist Ages at Timisoara
Description
In December 1989 the communist Romania could be considered as a mental-hospital where the lunatics were running the asylum and the “internees” were punished for their sanity. How did we get to have one of the most symbolic dictatorship regimes in the modern history? What and who are to be blamed for this tragic condition? And not the last, how did courageous people stood-up and repudiated the evil leaders? The Grand Tour of Communist Ages is trying to provide answers to these complex questions, and not only.
Tour Options
Itinerary
We'll be spending time in one of the neighborhoods of Timisoara where we will see how life was back during communism times.
Here we'll talk about the beginnings of the Communist regime in Romania. We'll learn how it was installed and we'll see how it developed. We'll see also a unique private collection of objects made in Romania during the Communist era.
This is the place where everything started. We'll talk about 15th and 16th December 1989. In the afternoon of the 16th of December, one young man stopped a tram and his friend climbed the tram and shouted "Down with Ceausescu!"
Few young people died while protesting on the stairs of the cathedral because the Army opened fire without warning. We'll see some of the bullet holes.
150.000 people shouted "VICTORY" on the 20th of December when Timisoara was proclaimed the first city in Romania free of Communism. Remembering that moment the square was named Victory Square. Before that, the square was called Opera Square. We'll see bullet holes on the buildings around.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(18)
This was a fantastic tour! Dan was such a knowledgeable and engaging guide. He knew about *everything* we happened to ask about, and showed us such great details (from the type of insulation used to upgrade Communist buildings, bullet holes in building exteriors from revolution, back story on how apartment fences were made by local residents using scraps taken from factory jobs, you name it). We had 4 adults and 4 kids, ages 7-16, and he kept us all engaged- no small feat. Dan’s English is perfect, but he knows a million other languages. My son is learning Hungarian and Dan helped him with that, and went above and beyond sending us links to Hungarian cartoons after the tour to help him study. I work in transportation and had questions about the transit system and Dan knew all about that as well- just a fantastic tour!!
I joined this tour so my daughter who grew up outside the country would learn about the environment I grew up in. It turns out I learned from the tour almost as many new things as she did since reality and history were distorted by the regime in my youth. I highly recommend it to any adolescent or adult.
Dan was an excellent historian and guide!! Thorough and comprehensive, Dan had an answer to all your questions. The tour hit so many interesting aspects of the communistic period and the revolution. If you are remotely interested in communism or Romanian history, you will be happy you chose to do this tour!
We were very lucky and again Dan Codre as tour guide. With his fine humor, his profound knowledge and the ability to inspire others, he gave us a big picture of the communist era in Romania. He covered a wide range of politics, everyday problems and people's lives during this period.
We are a group of artists on a Hip Hop arts cultural exchange program in Romania. We are from different regions in America and Dan’s tour was educational and relational. He was able to accommodate our short time with important points of interest: neighborhoods with communist style buildings, the communist consumer museum and the church where the revolution of 89 began. Fascinating history! Thank you Dan and Timisoara City Tours. This was a fantástic addition to our visit to the city.
Dan gave an impressive tour. We were a group about about 7 Americans here for an arts exchange program. I was so inspired by Dan’s passion and narrative of the revolution in 1989. I highly recommend this tour if you make your way to Timişoara
Our guide Dan took a lot of time to give us an authentic insight into the life of Romanians during communism. Since he also runs many other tours in Timisoara, he has an expert and entertaining answer to every question. It was a lot of fun!
Ich freue mich, dass es euch Spaß gemacht hat! Für mich war auch eine Freude, mit euch zu sein! Ich schicke euch den Film über die rumänische Revolution in Temeswar. Alles Gute!
As an avid historian and someone who studied the 1989 revolutions, this tour was an absolute must! I cannot speak highly enough of the tour and our tour guide Dan, who brought everything to life with his passion and enthusiasm. The tour was made even more genuine given Dan's ability to reflect on his own childhood experiences, and to have such a personal tour was simply amazing. It was great to be able to visit the Communist suburb area where many workers' flats still exist and understand the differences between the architecture, as well as how these have transitioned post-1989. Dan answered all our questions and it was brilliant to be able to explore this living history together, complete with a trip to the Communist Consumers Museum which further demonstrated the starkness of that era. To be able to listen to the views of citizens living through those events by virtue of Dan's translating skills was something so unique to this tour, and it really made this tour more special than any other Communism tour in any other country that I have been. This tour is an absolute must do for anyone remotely interested in 1989, Communism or just how the world exists in the way it does today. It will also bring further places to explore afterwards, as the Communist Consumer Museum is well worth visiting again in its own right.
Thank's for the kind review! I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope to see you back someday to go even deeper into what was Communist Romania! All the best! Dan
Get ready to find out a great deal of stories, a lot of historical facts, cultural references and things you might not read in history books. Since he has documented this tour very well, Ludovic has many interesting things to tell you about communism and the Romanian revolution so you will definitely get an insider’s perspective on how it was, how it all happened.
Ludovic is a passionate guide who knows a lot of stories and has an indepth understanding of communist Romania. I highly recommend this tour!
