After seeing several fascinating fortified churches throughout Transylvania, we were excited to visit the picture-perfect fortified city of Sighișoara. From the moment we put our eyes on Sighișoara’s Old Town, we were enchanted. Not only are Upper Old Town’s historic streets pretty, they are surrounded by a wall with nine adorable watchtowers. It’s unique, hilltop location adds to its appeal.
Saxons began to settle in the area in the 12th century and by the 1400s, the city was flourishing. Its success encouraged the most skilled tradesmen to set up shop. There were blacksmiths, cobblers, goldsmiths, furriers, weavers and tailors. There was already a fortified wall in place, built by the Szeklers (Hungarian tribe), but the Transylvanian Saxons dramatically expanded it between the 13th and 15th centuries.
Despite the wall, in the 17th century the city was the victim of invasions, earthquakes and fires. The city, however, endured and is now one of the best-preserved fortified cities in Europe today. It’s so perfect in fact, that the entire Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
If you enjoy Sighișoara, don’t forget to check out the other fortified citadels in our posts: Explore Brașov’s Old Town, Discover Medieval Sibiu and Fortified Churches of Transylvania.
We had our first glimpse of the citadel from below. High above us, we could see the towers of Upper Old Town poking above the roofs of Lower Old Town. Even from below we could tell that this was going to be a great city to explore.
Perched above the modern city of Sighișoara, the large citadel has only a few old entry gates that allow access. We entered through the weathered looking Tailors’ Tower (Turnul Croitorilor) to arrive at Citadel Square. This lovely plaza is surrounded by colourful 2 and 3 story heritage homes that make a great first impression.
One of the most recognizable structures is the large Clock Tower. Seen from many points in Old Town this impressive 14th century building is the quintessential medieval tower. The small figurines near the clock’s face add even more character to the tower; making it look like it came out of a story book.
There are so many quirky details that add to the town’s already charming nature. Among those are its many towers, gates, passageways and their accompanying names. Other than Clock Tower and Tailor’s Tower there are seven more towers; each with their own shape and personality. Their names are also unusual as they are associated with the trade guilds that built and maintained them. There were originally 14 towers, today 9 remain. As well as enjoying the different tower designs, they also gave us unique views of the city.
Even without the multiple towers and gates, the colourful heritage buildings in this city would make it a worthwhile visit. Every single building inside the fortified wall is a restored heritage building. It is such a great city to roam up and down the streets, trying to choose your favourite building.
At the top of the hill is the aptly named, Church on The Hill. The Lutheran Church was closed when we were there, but from its grounds we had nice views of Lower Old Town and the modern city of Sighișoara below.
One of Sighișoara’s most famous sons is Vlad Ţepeş (also known as Vlad the Impaler and Vlad Drăculea). He has the name Drăculea because his father was Vlad II Dracul, a member of the Order of the Knights of the Dragon. Drăculea means son of the dragon. Even though Vlad Ţepeş was not Dracula he did have a reputation for being a brutal warrior who committed heinous acts. But he did defend the country from the Ottoman, so to some, he is also a Romanian hero. Whether this house was his actual birthplace or not, it is not as sinister looking as we expected.
We had already visited Dracula’s Castle which, although has nothing to do with Vlad Drăculea, it was nice to begin to put the pieces of the legend together. You can read about it in our post Dracula’s Bran Castle.
After visiting Vlad Drăculea’s birthplace we were enjoying a coffee at an outdoor cafe in Lower Old Town when Richard asked about the bite on my neck. I immediately gasped and reached for my neck. Indeed I had a single bite mark. Either I was bit by a one-toothed vampire in Dracula’s home town, or it was just a spider bite.
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Coming Next – Discover Medieval Sibiu
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