'Hobbit houses' that might just save a Moldovan villageListen to this articleLocal women in traditional dress sing carols outside a 'basca' hobbit house in Rogojeni, Moldova. (Photo: AFP)ROGOJENI — They call Rogojeni the "hobbit village", and its little half-buried houses, built to resist Moldova's cold winters and hot summers, do look like something from "The Lord of the Rings". The traditional dugout houses have put the shrinking settlement on the tourist map and locals hope they may also help to save it. "My goal is to develop this locality, build roads, repair where possible the houses that can be preserved and develop tourism," he told Agence France-Presse (AFP). A South Korean student was visiting when AFP went to the village two hours north of the capital Chisinau earlier this month.

Source: Bangkok Post January 16, 2026 17:27 UTC