Transylvania Saxon Folkdancers @ So You Think You Can Tanz, Kitchener-Berlin 2018-10-9

The Transylvania Club Dancers performing at So You Think You Can Tanz at the Alpine Club Oktoberfest celebration in Kitchener (formerly Berlin), Ontario.
After having sold its hall a few years ago, the Transylvania Club now shares space at the Alpine Club. The Transylvania Haus Oktoberfest aka Oktoberfest Haus has taken place in a huge rented industrial space on 41 River Rd. Unit B, Kitchener, Ontario.
Transylvania Club
transylvaniacl...
At So You Think You Can Tanz, hosted at the Alpine Club, a number of mostly local German clubs present their folk dance groups, which have a variety of costumes and styles from various regions of Europe.
Alpine Club
464 Maple Avenue
Kitchener, Ontario
alpineclub.ca/
gottschee.org/
They also had Erdinger Weissbier available this year which is a traditional style beer from southern Germany, which is made from wheat and retains the flavour and nutrition from the yeast. Weißbier, bratwurst and baked pretzels are typical Oktoberfest fare.
In 2018 it was the 50th Year Celebrating Oktoberfest in Kitchener/Berlin. This is the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany.
Oktoberfest official site
www.oktoberfes...
Oktoberfest Celebrations Worldwide - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.o...
Oktoberfest website from Germany
www.oktoberfes...
Oktoberfest Official Site - Kitchener (formerly Berlin)
This is the largest Oktoberfest outside of Germany
www.oktoberfes...
Transylvania is a very beautiful part of Romania today, with a long and rich history. The Siebenburgen (7 Castles) Saxons are ethnic Germans who settled and developed the area going back over 800 years. In its history it has been part of Hungary and the Austrian empire. Around 2,000 years ago it was the heart of the Kingdom of Dacia-Getia, and much earlier it had been the center of the earliest civilizations in Europe such as the Cucuteni-Trypillia-Ariusd 4,600-3700 BC. There have been a number of early civilizations and cultures in the area going back thousands of years long into pre-history. Transylvania was settled by Germans after the area had been depopulated following the various Mongolian and Turkish-Ottoman invasions of Europe. It had been a frontier area for centuries and that is the reason for the fortified churches and settlements in the region.
en.wikipedia.o...
Post-WW2 with the soviet occupation of Romania and marxist dictatorship, it became a difficult time for the Transylvania Saxons due to deportations, and repressions, and many of those who still remained there desired to leave. After the fall of communism Germany invited ethnic Germans in eastern Europe and Russia to return to Germany and that became the end of a lot of long-established communities, since a large number of people in communist and post-communist countries are often thinking of ways of getting out somehow to escape the miserable conditions and jump at any opportunity to do so - the results were predictable. Instead Germany should have helped those communities financially in situ with development assistance and encouraged more trade. The beautiful historic Transylvania Saxon villages and towns are still there and are worth a tourist visit.
Transylvania and the Transylvania Saxons by Dr. Konrad Gündisch (Oldenburg) sibiweb.de/ges...
Interesting history of the Transylvania Saxons (ethnic German minority in Romania)
expelledgerman...
SiebenbuergerDE
/ siebenbuergerde
Radio - Siebenbuergen
/ @radiosiebenbuergen
Transylvanian Channel
/ siebenb%c3%bcrgisches
Siebenbuergen
/ siebenbuergenvideos
Jürgen aus Siebenbürgen
/ @juergenaussiebenbuergen
Günther Melzer
/ guenthermelzer
Siebenbürger Sachsen
siebenbuerger-...
Siebenbuerger-traun
siebenbuerger-t...
Siebenbuerger
www.siebenbuer...
Sibiweb
sibiweb.de/
The settlement around Kitchener was founded by German Mennonite pioneers from Pennsylvania in 1803. The city was called Berlin up to WW1, when it was renamed due to prejudices at the time. There is still an interest to restore its original name, since Herbert Kitchener was responsible for some very serious human rights abuses during the Anglo-Boer war against the civilian population. Berlin, Germany having been divided during the Cold War and then re-united has become a symbol of reconciliation and perseverance through difficult times.
There was a time when Toronto and the province of Ontario had German-speaking majorities - many were ethnic German immigrants from the USA.