Corund

Corund has made pottery for centuries, using local clay and a decorative style of blue, green and brown on a cream ground, with floral and bird motifs painted freehand. What sets it apart today is scale: the village has become a pottery market, with hundreds of stalls lining the main road for well over a kilometre, and pottery, painted eggs, embroidery, sheepskin and woodwork sold continuously through the season. Family workshops behind the stalls still throw and paint, and some open their doors for demonstrations. It is unashamedly commercial, and the mix now includes imported and mass-produced items alongside genuine local work, so the difference matters if you are buying seriously. The village sits in the Székely Land in a landscape of wooded hills, and it is close to the Praid salt mine and the mineral springs of the area.

Highlights

• The stall street - a long continuous market of pottery and crafts.
• Family workshops - throwing and freehand painting behind the frontages.
• The Corund style - blue, green and brown floral ware on cream ground.
• Other crafts - painted eggs, embroidery, sheepskin and woodwork.

When to go

April to October, when all the stalls are open; the market thins considerably in winter. Weekdays are easier for parking and for finding potters actually at work. Summer weekends are extremely busy with Hungarian and Romanian visitors.

What to expect

Much of what is sold is not made in Corund, and imported ware is common on the stalls, so ask and look for workshop marks if authenticity matters. The main road through the village is congested and parking is difficult. It is a shopping stop rather than a cultural site.

Nearby

Praid salt mine is minutes away; Sovata and Lake Ursu lie north.