Sighisoara Medieval Fortress

Sighisoara – the first destination of a five days trip after we said the most important “Yes” in our lives. 😊 In these five days, we have checked the following destinations: Sighisoara, Biertan, Hunyadi Castle, Turda, Cluj and Bicaz.

Sighisoara is a city – fortress located 290 km from Bucharest and 117 km from Brasov. The perfect destination for a city break or the first stop on a longer trip. We can’t say that it is a city that won us at first glance, but slowly and surely slipped into our hearts and we definitely want to come back here. We visited this medieval fortress at the end of May when the city wasn’t full of tourists as we heard and seen (other people’s pictures) it is in July during the Medieval Festival.

It is a place where we felt like the time stood in place, we did not feel hurried (maybe only when we were running to catch the sunset) or stressed by anything, we were able to relax and admire the surroundings.

To sleep & To eat

Surely the accommodation, which we reserved for booking (click here for a 10% discount on the next reservation on Booking) on the way to Sighisoara when we stopped at a gas station, is one of the reasons why we fell in love with Sighisoara.

Hotel Villa Franka is located in the center of Sighisoara, just a few minutes from the medieval fortress. Traditional decor, canopy bed, highly polite hotel staff, and discount + free dessert at a restaurant with delicious food and incredible views of the city: What can be better than that?

We stayed in Sighisoara two nights, so we ate in town two dinners and a lunch in the following places: Restaurant La Perla, Pizzeria La Piazzetta and Restaurant Vila Franka; and we can understand why they say that the food is very good in this area.

Booking.com

To Visit in Sighisoara

Medieval Fortress

The Medieval Fortress was built between the 13th and 14th centuries, surrounded by stone walls up to 10 meters high and 14 towers, of which only nine are today standing.

You take the pulse of the city the better if you walk around the fortress’s streets, among chic and colorful houses and still inhabited inside the fortress.

Towers

Towers of device that still surround the city are the following: Clock Tower, Tower of tanners, tailors, blacksmiths, furriers, shoemakers, butchers, ropers and tanners.

The Clock Tower, the highest one of the fortress towers, initially provided with two floors, was added to it two more floors in the  16^th century after a fire destroyed the tower’s roof. Subsequently, it served for a fair time as a fire prevention tower.

The view from the Clock Tower is spectacular, admiring the wonderful architecture of the medieval fortress. The tower railing has instead plates that show your direction and distance in kilometers between the tower and some of the world’s most important cities.

Covered Staircase

Covered Staircase (schools staircase) built in the 17th century by the high school students from the area, it has now 175 steps, initially 300; is the ideal place to get shelter from the heat of the sun and do some exercise, an interesting objective that contribute to the charm of the city, and at the end of the stairs you can find the Church on the Hill and the Evangelical cemetery.

Church on the Hill

Inside the Church on the Hill, you can admire 15th-century paintings, Renaissance-style wooden pews, and in the orgy’s balcony, you can find the flags of the guilds that built the fortress. Unfortunately, at the entrance to the church, it is not explained what you will find inside, why to pay the entrance fee, which is why we chose to admire it from outside, but it was on our list for the next visit.

Biertan

At 30 km away from Sighisoara, on the road that connects Sighisoara to Medias (DN14), you will turn left into Saros pe Tarnave, following the indicator to Biertan.

The most important attraction in this village is the Fortified Church of Biertan which was built at the beginning of the 16th century, surrounded by three walls and 6 towers of defense. The access to this small fortress is made by a covered ladder near the square of the village. Unfortunately, when we wanted to visit it the work schedule was between 10-13 o’clock, and coming especially to catch the sunset, we could not enjoy the inside of the church.

But the sight we enjoyed made it worthwhile. The village of Biertan is surrounded by hills, which gives the citadels from the center of the village a more mystical air. For one of the points where you can admire the Fortified Church from a height, a signboard with the route to follow is in the 1st December 1918 Square in the village.