Densus

ou're about to discover a unique and weird, yet beautiful piece of architecture. The small village of Densus, close to the towns of Deva and Hateg, can easily go by unnoticed. Still, it hosts a very old orthodox church, built in the 13^th century on the place of an even older one (10-11^th centuries). The unique and somewhat strange architecture reminds of the Romanesque style, but the construction is almost certainly the work of a local builder, without too much experience in style. What's unique about this church is the building material. The builders used tiles, tombstones and columns, and even small statues and a stone-carved figure of a lion! These were undoubtedly brought here from the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, only a few kilometers away. Thus, the glory of the ancient times was ``recycled" more than a thousand years later! The surprises are not over yet. Step inside the church and you will find remnants of Byzantine frescoes painted in 1443.

Not far from Densus, in the same geographical area of ancient roman and dacian ruins, lies the village of Strei. The little church here is like a small sister to Densus. The two share a lot in architecture and building materials, while the frescoes inside are simply astounding.