Picturesque Biertan, one of Transylvania’s seven Saxon UNESCO World Heritage villages, feels frozen in time. Horse-drawn carts are still a part of daily life, and local residents gather to trade their wares in a cobbled village square. At the heart of the village, a 15th-Century fortified church towers over the surrounding structures from its hilltop perch.
美麗的別爾坦才漆，這個(gè)被國際教科文組織列入世界遺產(chǎn)的七個(gè)撒克遜村莊之一，這個(gè)村子仿佛在時(shí)間的長河中凝固住了腳步葫隙。馬車依舊是當(dāng)?shù)厝巳粘Ｉ畹囊徊糠衷岳茫麄円策€是會(huì)聚集到村子里那個(gè)用鵝卵石鋪就的廣場上買賣生活物品。在村子的中心位置恋脚，一座建造于15世紀(jì)的教堂矗立于山頂腺办，俯瞰著周遭的一切。
Inside the church grounds, along one of its fortification walls, is a small building with a room inside barely larger than a pantry. For 300 years, couples whose marriages were on the rocks would find themselves here, locked away for up to six weeks by the local bishop in hope that they would iron out their problems and avert a divorce.
在教堂內(nèi)部的一段防御城墻旁糟描，有一個(gè)小小的建筑怀喉，里面有一間只比食品儲(chǔ)藏室大不了多少的小房間。300年來船响，但凡婚姻中遭遇危機(jī)的夫婦們都會(huì)來到這里躬拢，由主教將自己鎖在屋子里長達(dá)6個(gè)星期躲履，他們希望能夠在這段時(shí)間中找到解決問題的方法，從而避免離婚聊闯。
It may sound like a nightmare – but records show that this ‘marital prison’ was rather effective.
這聽起來也許有些不可思議工猜，但事實(shí)證明這個(gè)“婚姻牢房”相當(dāng)有效。
In the 300 years there has only been one divorce
300年來這里只發(fā)生了一例離婚案
“Thanks to this blessed building, in the 300 years that Biertan had the bishop’s seat we only had one divorce,” said Ulf Ziegler, Biertan’s current priest.
“多虧了這座神圣的建筑菱蔬，在別爾坦擁有主教以來的300年里篷帅，這里只發(fā)生過一樁離婚案∷┟冢”別爾坦現(xiàn)任神父Ulf Ziegler這樣說道魏身。
Today, the small, dark prison is a museum complete with long-suffering mannequins. The room has low ceilings and thick walls, and is sparsely equipped with a table and chair, a storage chest and a traditional Saxon bed that looks small enough to belong to a child. As couples attempted to repair their marriages inside this tiny space, everything had to be shared, from a single pillow and blanket to the lone table setting.
如今，這個(gè)小小的蚪腐、昏暗的“牢房”已經(jīng)變成了一個(gè)博物館箭昵，里面擺放著人形模特模擬那些夫婦們當(dāng)時(shí)的情境。房間的天花板很低回季，墻壁很厚實(shí)家制，屋內(nèi)零散擺放著一張桌子、一把椅子茧跋、一個(gè)儲(chǔ)物箱慰丛，還有一張老式的撒克遜床，床看上去很小瘾杭，只容得下一個(gè)小孩诅病。夫婦們?cè)谶@狹小空間里尋求辦法修復(fù)婚姻的時(shí)候，必須和對(duì)方共享每樣物品粥烁，比如同枕一只單人枕贤笆、同蓋一條毯子，或者共用一張單人桌讨阻。
Lutheranism, the religion of the Transylvanian Saxons, governed most aspects of life, and although divorce was allowed under certain circumstances – such as adultery – it was preferred that couples attempt to save their union. So a couple seeking divorce would voluntarily visit the bishop, who would send them to the marital prison to see if their differences could be reconciled before they parted ways.
路德教芥永，作為特蘭西瓦尼亞撒克遜人的宗教，幾乎管束著當(dāng)?shù)厝藗內(nèi)粘Ｉ畹姆椒矫婷娑鬯薄１M管在有些情況下是可以離婚的（例如通奸）埋涧，但人們還是傾向于想辦法拯救自己的婚姻。因此想要離婚的夫婦們會(huì)主動(dòng)來這里找主教奇瘦，然后主教會(huì)將他們關(guān)進(jìn)“婚姻牢房”棘催，看看雙方是否能夠和好，不至于分道揚(yáng)鑣耳标。
“The prison was an instrument to keep society in the old Christian order,” explained Zielger, who noted that it also protected women and children, who were dependent on the family unit to survive. If a divorce did occur, the husband had to pay his ex-wife half of his earnings, but if he remarried and divorced again, the second wife was entitled to nothing.
“這個(gè)牢房是將社會(huì)秩序維持在舊有的基督制度下的一種工具醇坝。”Zielger這樣解釋道次坡。他提到這也是保護(hù)婦女和兒童的方式呼猪，因?yàn)樗麄兊纳钜蕾囉谕暾募彝セ７蚱揠p方一旦離婚，男方必須把自己一半的財(cái)產(chǎn)給女方宋距，而如果男方再婚后又一次離婚轴踱，那么他的第二任妻子將得不到任何東西。
In the 12th Century, Saxon settlers ? originally from areas that today are France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany ? were invited by Hungary’s King Géza II to settle rural Transylvania and protect it against threats from Tatar and Ottoman invaders, as well as develop the area economically. Transylvanian Saxons were industrious craftspeople; Biertan became an important market town and cultural hub with a 5,000-strong population in 1510.
12世紀(jì)時(shí)乡革，祖上由今天的法國寇僧、比利時(shí)摊腋、盧森堡和德國遷徙而來的撒克遜居民響應(yīng)匈牙利國王Géza二世的號(hào)召沸版，前往特蘭西瓦尼亞農(nóng)村定居，保護(hù)那里免受韃靼人和奧斯曼侵略者的威脅兴蒸，并發(fā)展當(dāng)?shù)氐慕?jīng)濟(jì)视粮。特蘭西瓦尼亞薩克遜人是一群勤勞的人民，他們讓別爾坦成為了商業(yè)重鎮(zhèn)和文化中心橙凳，并令人口數(shù)在1510年達(dá)到了5000人之多蕾殴。
Walking through the streets of Biertan as the sun begins to disappear behind the rolling hills, a few locals sit outside drinking beers and a farmer moves his hay cart through the village. The imposing church, with its nine surrounding fortification towers, is illuminated by bright lights and its purpose evident: it was a central point for the early Saxon settlers ? a place of safety and worship.
當(dāng)太陽開始消失在連綿的山丘后，我漫步在別爾坦的街上岛啸，一些當(dāng)?shù)厝俗谖萃夂戎【频鼍酰€有一個(gè)農(nóng)夫趕著裝滿干草的馬車穿過村子。那座雄偉的教堂坚踩，連同它周圍的九座守護(hù)塔荡灾，一齊被燈光照亮，其地位不言而喻：這里曾是早期薩克遜居民聚居的中心瞬铸，是一個(gè)既安全又備受尊敬的地方批幌。
The view from the church’s nearly 11m-high fortification walls next to the marital prison extends out across the village and surrounding countryside. Many current residents work their land using old-age farming techniques, and trade their wares to earn a living. Weather-worn shepherds can be spotted in the surrounding green hills herding sheep ? a scene that likely hasn’t changed much over the past several centuries.
站在“婚姻牢房”旁幾近11米高的防御圍墻處，整個(gè)村莊和四周的田野盡收眼底∩そ冢現(xiàn)在仍有許多居民采用舊時(shí)的技術(shù)耕田荧缘，并通過與他人交易物品謀生。牧羊人在四周綠色的山丘上放著羊群拦宣，風(fēng)雨無阻截粗，這樣的畫面延續(xù)了幾個(gè)世紀(jì)，幾乎從未變過鸵隧。
Life continues to move at a slow, meditative pace; however, these days there is less economic and religious pressure on struggling couples to remain together.
這里的生活以一種緩慢的绸罗、充滿禪意的節(jié)奏繼續(xù)著。不管怎樣掰派，現(xiàn)今對(duì)于處在困境中的夫婦來說从诲，雙方如果要想維系婚姻，其中牽涉到的經(jīng)濟(jì)和宗教壓力較小靡羡。
“The reason to remain together was probably not love. The reason was to work and to survive,” Ziegler said. “If a couple was locked inside for six weeks, it was very hard for them to have enough food the following year, so there was pressure to get out and to continue to work together.”
“那些夫妻們之所以選擇繼續(xù)在一起或許并不是出于愛情系洛，而是基于工作和生存的考慮俊性。”Ziegler說道描扯，“如果一對(duì)夫妻被鎖在‘牢房’里長達(dá)6個(gè)星期定页，那么他們會(huì)很難為來年儲(chǔ)備夠食物，所以出于這種壓力他們必須走出‘牢房’共同工作绽诚〉浠玻”
Ziegler believes that, even today, the concept of a marital prison has potential lessons for any modern marriage. And he’s not the only one: he says that he’s received requests from couples looking to use the prison to repair their own struggling marriages.
Ziegler堅(jiān)信，即便是今天恩够，“婚姻牢房”對(duì)新時(shí)代的婚姻仍舊具有潛在的教育意義卒落。持這種觀點(diǎn)的并不止Ziegler一個(gè)，他說他收到過不少夫婦的請(qǐng)求蜂桶，希望通過“婚姻牢房”來修復(fù)他們苦苦掙扎的婚姻儡毕。
“In modern families, there is less and less time for each other, we are more selfish than our ancestors,” Ziegler said. “We suffer from loneliness, which is why today we need to talk more, so we can find out what is important to us and what connects us.”
“在現(xiàn)代家庭里，雙方留給對(duì)方的時(shí)間越來越少扑媚，比起以前的人腰湾，我們要自私得多〗桑”Ziegler講到费坊，“我們備受孤獨(dú)的煎熬，所以我們應(yīng)該多花點(diǎn)時(shí)間與對(duì)方交談旬痹，這樣我們才能明白對(duì)我們來說什么才最重要附井，什么才是彼此間的維系〕”
*原文來自BBC? Travel頻道羡忘。僅做翻譯練習(xí)之用。*
