- The event will take place under the patronage of H.E. Mr. Mircea Abrudean, Senate speaker and Nadia Comăneci the world famous gymnast who celebrates 50 years since she scored the first-ever perfect 10 at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics.
- The event is organized by the Michael Schmidt Foundation in partnership with the Tabaluga Foundation // Peter Maffay Stiftung, and will take place in 10 localities in the Oat Country: Archita, Saschiz, Homorod, Rupea, Criț, Roadeș, Meșendorf, Cloașterf, Bunești and Visc.
- The theme of this year’s edition of 14th edition, is “Missing Transylvania”, an illustration of the bridge that unites the historical roots of this community with the future of the next generation.
- The festival will also host the exhibition “AGAPI – half a century of love”, signed by artist and actress Kira Hagi, an artistic project that interprets the idea of “home” as a place of memory and continuity and, at the same time, as an illustration of the theme “Longing for Transylvania”.
The XIVth edition of the cultural festival Haferland Week, an event that celebrates the history, culture and customs of the Transylvanian Saxon community, will take place this year between August 6-9, in ten villages in the Oat Country: Archita, Saschiz, Homorod, Rupea, Criț, Roadeș, Meșendorf, Cloașterf, Bunești and Viscri.
The event will take place under the patronage of the President of the Romanian Senate, Mr. Mircea Abrudean, and Nadia Comăneci. This year, Romania celebrates with Nadia 50 years since the first ever score of ten in the Olympic gymnastics competition, at the Summer Olympics in Montreal, in 1976, when our athlete achieved a historic performance. One of the greatest sportswomen of all time, Nadia Comăneci has never stopped representing us proudly, as an ambassador of sport or for humanitarian causes.
The public who will visit the villages of Haferland during the festival will have the opportunity to attend about 60 events for the whole family: visits to the famous fortified churches (some of which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site), concerts, theater performances, traditional dance performances, conferences, guided tours to historical objectives in the area, craft workshops for children and adults, as well as traditional Saxon music dances and concerts. Also, this year the festival will host in Cloașterf a Maria Tănase recital held by Luiza Zan & Jazzpar Trio, as well as a jazz concert at the Rupea fortress, held by Luiza Zan, Mariano Castro and Muse Quartet. As every year, this year there will be a traditional Saxon ball in Criț, held by the Saxon music band Flamingo Sound from Nuremberg.
Also, the 2026 edition will celebrate 5 years of collaboration between the Haferland Week festival and the Saxon brass band Kulturwerk der Siebenbürger Sachsen, through a special moment held on Saturday afternoon in the courtyard of the fortified church in Criț.
Also on Saturday afternoon, the parade of traditional Saxon brass bands will also take place in Criț, three of which are present in this year’s program: Kulturwerk der Siebenbürger Sachsen, Original Karpaten-Express, Siebenbürger Trachtenkapelle Göppingen.
Access to all events is free, with no age limits. Over 8,000 visitors from the country and abroad are expected to attend Haferland Week.
The festival will also host the exhibition “AGAPI – half a century of love”, signed by artist and actress Kira Hagi. Conceived as an immersive space, Kira Hagi’s project focuses on the idea of home as a place of memory and continuity. Inspired by the meaning of the term “meraki” (a Greek word, also present in the Aromanian dialect, which means “to do something with soul and dedication”), the house is built as a real space where image, object and sound meet, giving visitors the opportunity to reflect on their own roots and personal relationship with the idea of “home”.
The full program of the event can be found here:
https://haferland.ro/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ro_HAFERLAND-2026_A4-Program.pdf
“I am particularly proud that we have managed to make Haferland Week, through a sustained work carried out for almost a decade and a half, perhaps the most important cultural meeting of the Saxon community in Transylvania, an opportunity to reunite and reaffirm the ties of the Saxons in emigration with the places and families at home”, says Michael Schmidt, President of the Michael Schmidt Foundation, co-organizer of the festival. “For the Saxons, longing for Transylvania is also a form of trust. Trust in our inner resources to build on, to carry forward the story of the Transylvanian Saxons, to take care of our cultural heritage and the future of the generations to come. Last but not least, I would like to add that we are honored by the generosity shown to us by H.E. Mircea Abrudean, President of the Romanian Senate, and Nadia Comăneci, a legendary personality of world sport, agreeing to grant their patronage to our festival.”
At the press conference to present the 2026 edition of Haferland Week, the theme of “Longing for Transylvania” and the return to the historical roots of the Saxons was illustrated in the donation that Mr. Michael Schmidt made for the benefit of the “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum: a traditional dowry chest from Criț, dating from 1897, which was previously part of the Michael Schmidt Foundation’s collection of traditional objects.
Thus, a small part of the precious material heritage of the Saxons in Transylvania reaches the collection of the most important museum of rural civilization in our country, so that it can be admired by all visitors. At the same time, the donation is both an expression of the Michael Schmidt Foundation’s dedication to preserving the cultural heritage of the Saxons of Haferland, and a gesture of thanks to this prestigious cultural institution that is the Village Museum, for its long-standing partnership and support of the festival.
Started 14 years ago, the Haferland Week festival has become one of the most important cultural events of the Saxon community in Romania and in the diaspora. The event is organized by the Michael Schmidt Foundation in partnership with the Tabaluga Foundation // Peter Maffay Stiftung, organizations founded by the German musician of Romanian origin Peter Maffay. The festival was launched by Mr. Michael Schmidt and Peter Maffay as a joint project to recover and consolidate the cultural memory of the Transylvanian Saxons, the two co-founders being linked by a friendship that lasted over two decades.
Youth Haferland, a unique experience for young people, in partnership with The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Romania, has reached its third edition
Thanks to the partnership started in 2024 between the Michael Schmidt Foundation and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Romania foundation, the festival also includes a component for young audiences: the Youth Haferland initiative, an educational and adventure camp aimed at creating bridges between young people, communities and local cultural heritage, with a focus on civic engagement and identity.
This year, two foreign teams will participate for the first time in Youth Haferland, along with the national team – from Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, respectively.
Run globally, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award programme offers international recognition and a structured framework of non-formal education activities for young people aged 14 to 24. Internationally, the program is patronized by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh, and nationally by HM Margareta, Custodian of the Romanian Crown.
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The 14th edition of Haferland Week is organized in partnership with the “Dimitrie Gusti” National Village Museum in Bucharest, with the support of the Bucharest City Hall and ARCUB – the Cultural Center of Bucharest, a project supported by CEC Bank, Geiger, Aqua Carpatica, Samburesti Domains, Automobile Bavaria and MHS Truck & Bus.
The event is organized by the Michael Schmidt Foundation and the Tabaluga Foundation // Peter Maffay Stiftung, with the support of the partners: the Democratic Forum of Germans in Transylvania, the Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany, the Evangelical Church C.A. in Romania, through the District Consistory of the Evangelical Church C.A. Brașov, the Cultural Center of the Transylvanian Saxons in Bavaria, the Mihai Eminescu Trust Foundation, the ADEPT Transylvania Foundation, Nowero Association, Rupea City Hall, Discover Archita Association, Vânători City Hall (Vânători county). Mureș), Saschiz City Hall (Bucharest county). Mureș), the Women’s Neighborhood Association of Saschiz and the Bunești City Hall (Bunești. Brașov).
