74 miles northwest from Braşov
population of about 30,000 people
Schässburg to the Saxons and Segesvár to the Hungarians
14th-century wall, to which 14 towers and five artillery bastions
Unesco World Heritage list
Perched on a rocky hillock with its protective wall intact, romantic Sighisoara makes the perfect introduction to Transylvania’s medieval heritage.
It is located in Transylvania along the banks of the Târnava Mare River. The city is situated 74 miles northwest from Braşov and has a population of about 30,000 people.
The beautiful silhouette of battlements and needle spires rises over SIGHIŞOARA lower town (Schässburg to the Saxons and Segesvár to the Hungarians), overlooking the Târnava Mare valley.
Originally known as Castrum Sex (Fort Six, of the seven Siebenbürgen citadels), Sighișoara grew rich due to intensive trade with the neighbouring Moldavia and Wallachia provinces.
Fortified with a 14th-century wall, to which 14 towers and five artillery bastions were later added, today the citadel, which is on the Unesco World Heritage list, retains just nine of its original towers and two of its bastions and three rings of defensive walls.
Once inside its citadel, you will feel as though you have been transported into the past. Sighișoara's 13th-century fortress stands in the middle of the modern, lower town and seems to float overhead. Built after the terrifying 1241-42 Tatar invasion, the lower town now contains hotels and inns, restaurants, cafes, a school, several churches, and a museum. Two gates guard entrance into the citadel, one on the east and the other on the western side. Cars are not allowed inside.
Although the Saxons began to settle in Sighişoara during the 12th century, most of the oldest houses inside the citadel date from the late 1600s, built after a fire destroyed the town.
Sadly, the German-speaking population has largely gone (although some are returning), but still the town has a cared-for appearance, partly thanks to the efforts of various NGOS such as Messerschmidt Foundation and the Mihai Eminescu Trust.
In 2006 a British newspaper announced that the Prince of Wales was planning to purchase a ruined farmhouse in the village of Viscri, partly to live in and partly as a tourist guesthouse. However, Prince Charles has long been a promoter of Romanian country life, highly interested in Transylvania, and also a patron of the Mihai Eminescu Trust.
