'Nature in pictures' AGERPRES photography exhibition opens at Cea1 Borsec Festival

A new photography exhibition by the AGERPRES National News Agency called "Nature in pictures" opened on Friday with the opening of the Cea1 Borsec Festival that takes place this weekend. Mounted in the centre of the resort are 15 plates of photographs from the AGRERPRES picture library taken over time in Borsec as well as several nature photographs that AGERPRES photojournalists have taken in well-known areas of the country. The photos taken in old-time Borsec capture the time when the resort was flourishing, the buildings had their special charm, and the number of tourists was very high. Also, two of the photos are taken in 1959, at the local mineral water factory. In terms of nature photos, they illustrate well-known tourist areas in Harghita County, such as Lacu Rosu, Sfanta Ana Lake and Tinovul Mohos, the Fagaras, Bugeci and Calimani mountains. At the opening of the exhibition, AGERPRES Director General Claudia Nicolae pointed out that the exhibition was customised this year so that the inhabitants of the city could be presented with moments from the history of the place. "This is the second year in a row that AGERPRES is at Cea1 Borsec Festival. Last year we came with nature pictures from all over Romania; this year we tried to customise the exhibition a little and bring the inhabitants a little of the past of this city. We even talked to some residents who watched the AGERPRES images and recognised buildings that no longer exist today, a sign that photography keeps nostalgia, keeps memories alive that we may not find today. But these memories are part of the history of the place and the memory of its inhabitants. And I think it's good for young people to see what their city was like and how it is now," said Nicolae. Cea1 Borsec Festival producer Dan Burlac said the exhibition was "a surprise" and voiced hope that the resort would soon regain its former luster. "It is a surprise for those from Borsec, because I did not expect these pictures either, I think that the people of Borsec are also very pleased to see this exhibition. I am glad, we are here where the promenade used to be, we are where the Borsec vibe still exists and I believe that this place will soon regain its shine again, with the investment that being made," said Burlac. In his turn, Borsec Mayor Mik Jozsef, confessed that he looks at the photos with nostalgia and believes that in a few years' time the image of Borsec will change. "I get nostalgic, because I lived those times (...) It was very beautiful and we would really like Borsec to return to where it was a long time ago; when we look to the future, we practically look to the past, to take example and to rebuild the city, which, unfortunately, was destroyed. We really want to keep as much as possible of the architectural style of the city and I am really glad that, after many years in which only the local administration has made major investment in the area. For some months now, a private movement has been on and they started to buy and even renovate and now I see and I hope that in three years' time and these buildings, which are as they are at the moment and we look in pictures as they were, most of them will be refurbished, and Borsec will be more beautiful," the mayor told AGERPRES. The locals are looking with interest and nostalgia at the photos of the old-time Borsec remembering that in the good old days, the resort was extraordinarily beautiful. "I'm looking at the photos and trying to see where they are taken. I lived these images from the photos. It was extraordinarily beautiful, especially in July-August; there was two-way driving on the boulevard, on one side people were going up and coming down on the other side. There were so many people that if you lost someone, you couldn't find him, you only met him at the villa. I think we will reach what Borsec was like in just over 50-100 years," said a Borsec local. In turn, tourists remembered the charm of "the most beautiful hidden resort in Transylvania," as the organisers of the Cea1 Borsec Festival called it. "It reminds me of my childhood, I would spend my holidays here in the '80s. My children asked me these days, being on vacation, what these buildings look like, which are now abandoned, unfortunately. It was a good opportunity to see, really, what these buildings were like, these spaces, in those times and we hope to see them again as they are in those images and not as they are now ", said a tourist from Iasi. The Cea1 Borsec Festival takes place between July 30 and August 1, and kicking off the fun will be Goran Bregovic, who will stage a concert on Friday night on the stages set up on the Speranta Slope. Also, "the festival evenings will resonate with the rhythms of Balkan Taksim, sensational band Om la luna and the beloved Hungarian bands Role, Koszika & The Hotshots and cello magician Kalmus Felician." On Sunday, August 1, a folk music concert is scheduled called "Longing for song, Longing for play, for beauty, longing for Borsec." The star of the festival, the "cauldron," returns for this edition after a difficult year in which the cooking contest could not take place.. The play bill also includes conferences on topics of interest, film runs, a fair of traditional and handmade products, workshops of traditional peasant arts or crafts of local craftsmen, and mountain cross-country competitions, orienteering, paragliding and mountain biking and demonstrations, as well as a chess contest. In addition to the exhibition to be opened by AGERPRES, there will be an exhibition enjoying support from the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Bucharest and called "Herculaneum Baths (past and present)". The event is organised by the Borsec City Hall and Pro Borsec Foundation, with support from several public institutions and the private sector, and is produced by the Secvente Cultural Association. AGERPRES (RO - author: Gina Stefan, editor: Marius Fratila; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Cristina Zaharia)

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