Sugalete is a group of medieval houses built around 1480, with vaults on the ground floor open to the public space.
This complex, which stretches over almost the entire northern side of the Central Square, is the longest row of medieval houses with open arches in Romania.
Under the arches of medieval houses, craftsmen from Bistrita sold their products, and merchants passing through the city displayed their wares.
The evangelical parish house, the first house in Sugălete, has kept its medieval functions until today.
The stone border of the gate of this house contains an inscription attesting that the building was built as a storey house as early as 1480.
The statue of Saint Nicholas, placed in a niche on the floor of the main facade since the 15th century, continuously watches over the inhabitants of Bistrița.
The inner courtyard, decorated with stone elements from the late Gothic period and the Renaissance style, enhances the beauty of the building.
The Petermann House, built in 1480 by the city armourer, has on its stone portal a shield with its emblems, consisting of a saddle ladder and a spur, alongside the shield of the city of Bistrita.
Inside the house is a spiral staircase decorated with a carved stone column in the Renaissance style, and upstairs there are medieval stone portals.
The vaults on the first floor were made in the Baroque period, and the joinery of the windows and doors, from the 19th century, has been preserved in an authentic form.
The arched architecture of Bistrița is similar to that of the big cities of Prague and Krakow, the stonemasons from there also reaching the cities of Transylvania.
In the building on the eastern side of Șirul Sugălete, at number 24 in Central Square, are the workshops of the plastic artists from Bistrita, and on the ground floor is a gallery that offers exhibitions of contemporary art and artistic products for art lovers.
Sursa: www.primariabistrita.ro
