Sighisoara is Romania’s best-preserved medieval town, a genuine Transylvanian tourist pearl, transformed in recent decades into a major attraction for Romanian and foreign tourists on holiday or traveling in the center of the country.
The city located in Mures county has a population of about 30,000 inhabitants and magnetizes its visitors with its historical center, included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sighisoara was founded by German settlers (craftsmen and merchants) who arrived in Transylvania at the initiative of the Hungarian king Géza II. These were later known as the “Transylvanian Saxons.” The first documentary mention of the village comes from 1280, under the name Castrum Sex, which speaks about a settlement founded on the ruins of a former Roman castrum.
First fortified in 1350, Sighisoara has had a tumultuous history, including the birth of Vlad the Impaler (in 1431) and numerous attacks by various nations and groups, by plague epidemics or fires. More or less, all these interesting histories are found today in buildings and monuments in the old center of the village. For first-time travelers, here are 10 places to visit in Sighisoara, a mini-guide regarding what to do and what to see in the medieval jewel of Romania.
10 places to see in Sighisoara, Romania
Built in the Gothic style, on the School’s Hill (429 meters high), between 1345 and 1525, and dedicated to St. Nicholas, the Church on the Hill is considered a significant architectural landmark of Sighisoara.
The Church on the Hill had two renovations, the first in 1934, the second in 1992-2003 – being awarded the Grand Prix of the European Union for the patrimony importance. It is a massive church, which is distinguished mainly by the frescoes on the inside, painted after 1480 by (most likely) Valentinus Painter and Jakobus Kendlinger. The renovations were of particular importance, as they unveiled the frescoes covered with paint on the occasion of the transition to Lutheranism of the Transylvanian Saxons in 1544.
Inside the Church, there are many tombstones (one of which belongs to former Mayor Stephanus Mann) and a baptizing font. Below is a crypt with 60 tombs from the 16th to 18th centuries. 16), painted by Johann Stoss, son of Veit Stoss, famous sculptor of Nuremberg.
Address: Str Scarii nr. 10.
