site.btaRomania's Oldest Terracotta Tiles, Tiled Stove Factory Preserves 118-Year-Old Tradition
The Romanian factory for terracotta tiles and tiled stoves in the town of Medias in Transylvania is one of the oldest in the country and the last of its kind. Founded in 1906 by the Saxon Gref Iulius, it has changed several owners, including the Romanian State, and managed to survive two world wars. It did not lose the battle with modern heating systems, although its workforce currently numbers just 15 people. The COVID-19 pandemic even revived the business, as Romanians started buying old houses in the countryside and restoring them en masse during this period. And traditional tiled stoves are often present in such decor.
"It takes between six and eight weeks to build a stove because the individual elements dry naturally. After pressing, the piece is left in the moulding factory for three to four days, cleaned of excess material, straightened and taken indoors where it remains until it dries. It is then lowered into the kiln and fired at 950-1000 degrees. We cannot measure up to the big factories, but we pride ourselves on our uniqueness. We use original recipe and equipment, like in the old days," factory director Radu Djordje told BTA.
A tiled stove weighs about 300 kg and has a lifespan of 50 years. Since 1906, each tile has been cast, pressed, glazed and painted by hand. There are at least 300 models available.
Once upon a time, the choice of tiles reflected the social and economic status of the owner. Designs ranged from religious motifs to floral, vegetal or star motifs. Today they are much more varied because the team members include sculptors and artists who graduated from the National University of Arts in Bucharest. But the customers themselves can also create their own unique pattern and paint the tiles of their future stove themselves.
(The visit to the factory in Medias was carried out in the framework of a media trip under the project "Attractive Romania")
/MR/
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