This is one of the last villages in Moldova where low stone “basca” houses, built on grassy hillsides, with small doors that make people bend down when entering, are still preserved. They are cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And they really look like stills from the movie Lord of the Rings.
The population of Rogozheni, like many other Moldovan villages, is dwindling. “We fear that the village may disappear altogether, given that there are so few people left,” says Mayor Ruslan Groza. And notes that the village once had 200 people, now there are only 30 residents left.
However, the traditional dugouts have drawn attention to this dwindling settlement from tourists, and locals hope they will also help save it.
In 2020, the first “basca” was renovated especially for tourists and opened to the public. Inside the house turned museum, in a small room with an arched entrance and blue walls decorated with traditional handmade rugs in bright colors, a table serves pork stew, mamaliga with sheep cheese, pickles and red wine.
Outside, villagers put on performances and sell handmade souvenirs.
The mayor’s wife, 45-year-old Mariana Groza, is optimistic, insisting that the villages “will be reborn along with the traditions.”
A teacher of literature and French, she has opened a workshop for embroidery and traditional costumes, posting her work on TikTok.
“I have loved this craft since childhood. Not a day goes by that I don’t embroider a cross stitch or crochet something. If I don’t do it, the day goes in vain for me,” she said.
A group of AFP journalists recently visited Rogozheni to spread the word about the “hobbit huts” around the world. Perhaps this will attract fans of Tolkien’s work and lovers of all things unusual to the country.
