Celebration of Witches - Mureni
The small village is not far from Segesvár / Sighisoara, close to Héjjasfalva / Vanatori. Its Hungarian name was probably derived from the German word Zedriasch. The region was inhabited by the Saxons for hundreds of years trying to revive the rimland of the Szeklerland. Like the neighboring Erked settlement, Szederjes also has old, traditional Saxon houses offering it a distinctive street image.
This region, like almost every landscape, has a special place for witches and the associated superstitions in its belief system.
The folklore in Szederjes says that the witches regularly revelled in this town. They moved in one of the old, uninhabited houses, from where loud music and cimbalming sounded out on the street every night, around midnight, rousing the villagers regularly. The local men overcame their fear after a while and took stock of the old house from where the sound of music could be heard, and the revellers were nothing but the witches of the region.
According to another story, once a man was lodged for a night in a barn in Szederjes. At night he observed that there was a big fire in the yard surrounded by witches in frilled dresses. He had already heard from someone that the ax had to be thrown into the threshold, to make the witches disappear – so he did, and there was silence after the ax chop.
If tourists arrive to Szederjes nowadays, they will not meet dancing witches, but sometimes the local small community still organizes dancing parties or vintage balls.
This region, like almost every landscape, has a special place for witches and the associated superstitions in its belief system.
The folklore in Szederjes says that the witches regularly revelled in this town. They moved in one of the old, uninhabited houses, from where loud music and cimbalming sounded out on the street every night, around midnight, rousing the villagers regularly. The local men overcame their fear after a while and took stock of the old house from where the sound of music could be heard, and the revellers were nothing but the witches of the region.
According to another story, once a man was lodged for a night in a barn in Szederjes. At night he observed that there was a big fire in the yard surrounded by witches in frilled dresses. He had already heard from someone that the ax had to be thrown into the threshold, to make the witches disappear – so he did, and there was silence after the ax chop.
If tourists arrive to Szederjes nowadays, they will not meet dancing witches, but sometimes the local small community still organizes dancing parties or vintage balls.
