Sighisoara
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Sighisoara
SIGHISOARA ( Schassburg)
Landmarks
Located in the south of the Mures county, on the sides of the river Târnava Mare; the old town has been raised by the Saxons between the 12th-17th centuries; included in the UNESCO world heritage, Sighisoara is today a lively European medieval town whose old edifices are still functional and well-preserved; 36.373 inhabitants (1997) Access by train - Brasov (126 km), Medias (39 km); by road - E 60 Brasov (116 km), DN 14 Medias (37 km), E 60 Tg. Mures (54 km).
Highlights
Medieval fortifications (12th-17th centuries) several Guild Towers, among which the Council Tower/Clock Tower (14th c.) at present, History Museum 64 m high, with four small towers which stand for the Town Council's right to take and carry out their own decisions during the Middle Ages; tower-clock with a Swiss mechanism and seven figurines carved in wood which indicate the days of the week Religious monuments Monastery Church (13th-15th centuries) raised by Dominican friars; formerly Roman-Catholic, subsequently Lutheran; late Gothic style; bronze font (15th c.); stone frame decorated in the Transylvanian Renaissance style (16th c.); wooden carved altarpiece and baroque painted pulpit (17th c.); baroque organon (17th c.); collection of 39 Oriental carpets (16th-17th centuries); Hill Church (13th-15th centuries) formerly Catholic, has become Lutheran after the Reform (1547); valuable murals (15th-16th centuries); Renaissance style pews; Romanesque crypt (13th c.) - singularly preserved in Transylvania; organon from the 19th c.; Former Leper Hospital's Church (16th c.) small Gothic edifice with outside pulpit for lepers Stately buildings Vlad Dracul's House (15th c.) where Vlad the Impaler was born; Antlers' House (17th c.) home residence house built by a nobleman in the Transylvanian Renaissance style; Venetian House built in the 13th c. and restored in the 17th-18th centuries Historic places Wooden Covered Staircase (17th c.) 175 wooden steps; Old Ladies' Corridor (18th c.) Cultural-tourism interest events Medieval Art Festival revival of medieval times by way of theatrical, musical and dancing performances, carnivals, contests etc.; joins together hundreds of youngsters from Romania and elsewhere (3 days during the summer, shifting dates)
Lodging and Meals
Hotels Dracula 3* (Danes); Rex 2*; Steaua 1*