Sighisoara is a beautiful medieval UNESCO protected town in the heart of Transylvania. Most people know it as being the home of Vlad Tepes "Count Dracula".

Sites

The Town

First mentioned in documents of the town was made as early as 1280, but there is archeological evidedce of successive settlements for over 4000 years. Dacian, Roman and early Romanian dwelling places were in this area. Nevertheless the town as it is known today was founded by German colonists. Beginning with the second half of the 12th century German settlers were brought to Transylvania by the Hungarian kings. They founded many villages and towns among which Sighisoara is most outstanding.

The Clock Tower

The most famous bastion of Sighisoara, which has actually become a landmark of the town, is the Clock Tower, also known under the name of the Council Tower, because it functioned as such between the 14th-16th centuries. In 1648, a clock was set up at the top of the tower. Its electronical mechanism is unique in Romania and has been brought from Switzerland in 1906. It gets in motion wood-made figurines which symbolize the days of the week.

The Citadel

The Citadel was built in the 12th century; it was strengthened and extended in the 15th century. Today it counts 164 houses and 13 public buildings. The solid and variously coloured houses line up along narrow lanes; around them stands a 1 km long defence wall initially provided with 14 towers, of which only nine have been preserved to the day. The most impressive are the hexagonal Shoemakers' Tower, the Tailors' Tower and the Tinsmiths' Tower. Built in the late Gothic style typical of the hall-churches with 2 naves and 2 rows of pillars, the church holds valuable artistic assets. One of them is the bronze front dating back to 1440. It has been made by a bell caster, Jakobus by name, whose work exemplifies the artists' craftsmanship in the 15th century's Transylvania. Among other pieces of art can be mentioned a stone-carved frame adorned in the Transylvanian Renaissance style (1570); a baroque pulpit (1680); a baroque organ; 39 oriental carpets of the 16th-17th centuries. There is a covered wooden stairway that leads to the citadel, originally there were 300 steps, but after 1849, their number was reduced to 175 only.

Vlad Tepes

Near the church, there is Vlad Dracul's House, where Vlad the Impaler 's father, Vlad Dracul lived before he acceded to Wallachia's throne. Benefitting from the friendship Hungary's king, Sigismund I of Luxembourg, Vlad Dracul ( Vlad the Devil ) spent his youth at his court. He distinguished himself as a brave knight, punished some citadels rebelled against royal authority, and was bestowed the Order of the Dragon for his prowess against the Turks. Today his house hosts Dracula's restaurant on the ground-floor and a Museum of Weapons on the first floor.

Beautiful Streets

Narrow lanes winding towards the fortress, church towers, dongeons, covered stairs, arched and tunnel fronted houses make up a rich and unique out-door medieval museum.

Orthodox Church

Near the footbridge over the Tarnava Mare river, one can see the Romanian Orthodox Cathedral, built in Byzantine style in 1937.

The Mountains

The Fagaras mountains, in the centre of Romania, form part of the Carpathians and stretch for some 75Km(46.5 mi) south of the main Brasov-Sibiu road. The mountains are peppered with more than 40 glacial lakes, the highest of which is Lake Mioarele at 2282m (7484 ft). The Fagaras mountains offer the most spectacular hiking in the country, with well marked trails and an abundance of wildlife.

Day Trips:

Biertan

Biertan is one of the first German settlements in Transylvania, and is now a UNESCO site. As any other Transylvanian Saxon Community, it had an urban organization, being noticed the franconic style of the rows of houses around the central square overlooked by a grandiose fortress-church. Biertan locality lays in the middle of the Transylvanian plateau ,in the North of the Sibiu county,at equal distance between the cities Medias and Sighisoara. Attractions include: a picturesque town with a Fortified Church, mountainbike routes and plenty of hiking paths.

Targu-Mures