Community, Solidarity, Perseverance: Historical Faces of Entrepreneurship in Transylvania

Sighișoara, Romania, 7–9 November 2025

The Restory conference “Community, Solidarity, Perseverance: Historical Faces of Entrepreneurship in Transylvania” aims to explore the many ways in which associative spirit, cooperation, and economic initiative have manifested in Transylvania, Romania, from the premodern period to the present day.

The event brings together established and emerging researchers, historians, archaeologists, and museum professionals from Romania for an interdisciplinary dialogue on the worlds of craft guilds, corporate structures, professional solidarities, and the cultural heritage of these communities.

The conference opens with an introductory session dedicated to sources, objects, and representations of medieval crafts, followed by two thematic sections focusing on guild organisation and professional networks. A special session will also address the cultural valorisation of historical heritage related to guild associations preserved in Romanian museum collections.

The discussions will be complemented by the roundtable “Trades and Crafts in Sighișoara: Continuities and Contemporary Echoes”, highlighting the connection between local traditions and today’s forms of entrepreneurship.

The event will conclude with the section “The Cultural Heritage of Entrepreneurship: Conclusions and Interdisciplinary Perspectives”, which will offer a space for synthesis and reflection on the contemporary relevance of historical professional business values.