One of the main attractions for tourists visiting Transylvania has reopened its doors. King Charles III’s house in Viscri is open once again for a new visiting season. This traditional Saxon property features a renovated barn now hosting a unique exhibition in Romania titled “The Darkness Within, Copșa Mică 1988 – 1995.”

The temporary exhibition showcases 42 photographs by British photographer Barry Lewis, captured during his visits to the area before 1989 and in the years that followed.

“I returned to Transylvania on January 6, 1990, amid a harsh, frozen winter. As I neared the town, the snow turned from white to gray, and I encountered shepherds with their flock of blackened sheep. The source of the soot was seven smokestacks, intended to protect against pollution but with most filters damaged. In Copșa Mică, people, snow, houses—even the children—were darkened by soot. Nothing grew in the surrounding blackened fields. Walking on the snow’s frozen crust, each step left a white mark, like a photographic negative; it felt like stepping into a surreal world where everything was reversed,” recalls Lewis.

Open to the public through October, the Viscri property lets visitors explore Lewis’s portrayal of the residents’ resilience amid the darkness cast by the Carbosin and Sometra factories. His work, which was featured in Life magazine and won the Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA), sheds light on the human toll of unchecked industrialization, inviting reflection on the need for environmental justice in post-revolution Romania.

“The Darkness Within” is Lewis’s second exhibition at King Charles III’s Viscri residence, following his autumn 2023 series of unique portraits of Romanian artists. In 2023, more than 38,000 visitors, Romanian and international, explored this traditional Saxon homestead now named "The King’s House," offering a glimpse into a simple, authentic way of life. The property will remain open until the end of October.

Over 38,000 Romanian and international tourists visited the King’s house in 2023. By visiting the Viscri house, reopened this season under the name 'The King’s House,' tourists will discover a simple, traditional Saxon household