Casa Gritta

A miner from Roșia Montană who lived over 200 years ago became  and still is a legendary figure in the Apuseni Mountains. Yes, you guessed it, it's about Mihăilă Gritta, whom we mentioned  earlier, at the Orthodox Church built by him. As you already know he was a mine owner using the money earned from mining to build churches and schools in the Apuseni Mountains.

So we are in front of the Gritta House and what we do know about this family is best summarized by the  mining engineer Valentin Rus from Roșia Montană:

"After 1600, here, in Roșia, it was a true 'El Dorado'! People came from all over Europe! The imperial house in Vienna encouraged mining because it had a share, and it provided facilities for greater and faster gold extraction. Many tried their luck. Just as some went to America, to the New World, others came to us, to Roșia. It was a very diverse world here."

The Gritta family is presumed to have come from Italy. "Mihăilă inherited the family business and continued it. He had a starting point, but he was also very serious because the temptation was great. With gold, you could do a lot back then, both good and bad, to invest further, to do charitable deeds like Mihăilă, or to have fun at the restaurants in Abrud. There were plenty who fell into this temptation and worked for months to be kings for a few days and throw money around at the 'Casino.' But none found as much gold as Gritta," claims the mining engineer Valentin Rus.

Around 1800, Gritta, a miner and owner of mining rights in the Cetate mountain, is believed to have encountered a supernatural experience deep within a dark gallery. He witnesses a luminous figure, believed to be a spirit called locally "valva", who promises to lead him to a rich gold deposit. Paralyzed with both fear and awe, Gritta follows the spirit, expressing his intention to use the gold to build churches and schools. Following the spirit's instructions, Gritta triggers an explosion that reveals abundant veins of gold. Despite his initial apprehension, Gritta navigates the mine's passages with newfound clarity, carrying the gold  towards the surface. This legendary tale underscores Gritta's courage and faith, as well as  the transformative power of his encounter with the supernatural.

That was the only time he met the spirit or “Vâlva” which is how we call them here. Although he entered the mine many times during his life to extract gold, he never saw the Vâlva again. He had everything he wanted in his life, he kept his promise to the Vâlva, and he had no troubles.

Equally interesting is the Gritta family's interest in ancient artefacts. An engraving from 1892 shows around the house a veritable lapidarium of Roman architectural and funerary pieces. This practice of displaying Roman artefacts can be  encountered in many more cases in houses in Roșia Montană. We will revisit this aspect in another step of this tour.

You have listened to the content dedicated to the Gritta House.

The UNESCO tour of Rosia Montana is a project implemented by the non-governmental organization ‘Rosia Montana in Patrimoniul Mondial’. The audio-tour is co-financed by Romania’s Administration for National Cultural Funds. We based our story telling on local anecdotes and the works listed on the bibliography on our website. We encourage you to follow the trail that we prepared for you via our website. This will ensure that you discover all objects and their stories of Rosia Montana. Have a pleasant journey and ‘drum bun’ as we say here.