Minor Products Transylvanian Carpets

Siebenburzen, located in Romania, gave its name to great number of Turkish Carpets, discovered in the Protestant churches of Transylvania which became the Turkish province during the Ottoman Empire. According to a legend, Suleyman the Magnificent sent his Grand Vizier to Brosov with a beautiful carpet as a sign of friendship for the Christians. Apparently, the patriarch was so impressed by the beauty of the rug and ordered 2000 more to be bought. This order opened a new horizon for the merchants who started a great trade between Romania and Ottoman empire. These rugs offered to Protestant Churches in Romania and Hungary as wedding gifts, funeral offerings and donations. Although Anatolian origin of these carpets is certain, the pin-pointing locality is difficult. It is suggested that these rugs came from Usak, Gordes and Bergama regions. Most of these carpets are either praying niche designs or Lotto patterned carpets.

So Transylvanian carpets were produced in great numbers and these were the first commercial carpets exported to Balkans and Northern Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries.