3 day guide for a visit to Sighisoara Transylvania
Day 1 - A step back in time - Visiting the Clock Tower Museum
This is probably the best place to start. The Clock Tower is visible from anywhere in town and has an interesting museum and a great view from the top.
This will give you a really good understanding of the Citadel and how the German settlers came to be here.
The Clock Tower is visible from anywhere in town and has an interesting museum and a great view from the top.
During attacks the town councilors fled in the tower to defend it.
Beneath the tower is one of the main entrances to the citadel and the only direct connection to the lower part of the town.
Here you can see the gaps in the walls where the mighty oak doors and lattices would have been. In the first years after its construction the tower played more of a practical and strategic role than that of a symbol of the town.
Its main function was to defend the main entrance. For this reason, the lower part of the tower (13th/14th Century) is much simpler and stronger built than the rest (16th Century). The wall has an incredible width of almost two and a half meters. Further up, under the roof, the wall still almost one and a half meters.
Scientists figured out that the lower part is made from river stones and stone plates.
The citizens of Sighisoara always wanted to have the biggest and highest tower of Transylvania. For this reason they later raised it by another two floors. With its total height of 64 meters, from the overlook on the sixth floor you have a breathtaking view on the Lower Town, the whole Citadel Hill and the surrounding area. In the 17th Century the Saxons installed the first clock in all of Transylvania. Then the Clock Tower received the name, “Master of Time”. At this time the clock mechanism was even made from wood.
There are many hidden symbols in the architecture of the Clock Tower many of them from astronomy, astrology and alchemy.
For example the figurines of the clock, pointing to the lower part of town, contain allusions to many symbols of alchemy. In total there are seven wood statuettes of which, when seen from below, only one is visible at a time. They are installed on a moveable round wooden plate. Each night at midnight the plate rotates, revealing the figure for the next day. The figures represent gods and goddesses of Greek and Roman mythology.
The eternal Vlad Tepes
Your first real taste of Vlad Tepes will probably be his Bronze statue.
Right between the Town Hall and the Monastery Church in the Cidatel you will find a bronze bust of Vlad Tepes who is said to have been born in Sighisoara. It is one of the most photographed objects in town. For any of you who are following the trail of Dracula, this is one of the best sites in Sighisoara.
Blood and Torture - an Exhibition of medieval torture techniques
The chambers under the Clock Tower.
If you look down from the Upper to the Lower Town, you can see on your right side the Torture Chamber. Today it is a part of the Clock Tower Museum and can be visited during the day. On exhibition here are several torturing tools, such as chains, torture racks and stocks. After the lawbreakers were forced to confess their crimes, they were brought back into the Clock Tower were the official judgment followed. Finally the offenders had to suffer their punishment in the Prison which was situated directly at the citadel entrance opposite the Torture Chamber. Now it is a small souvenir shop.
The prison was intentionally put next to the entrance to warn other potential offenders entering the town. Another symbol to ensure obedience is a figurine of an executioner which was put in the Clock Tower. Once he had an axe and a whip in his hands, to show that crimes were punished harshly in Sighisoara, even with death.
It’s interesting that on the side of the tower which is facing the citadel square there is an Angel of Peace giving her blessings to the Town. Generally the figurines which are placed on this side are much more peaceful then their counterparts.
On the right side of the stairs between the first and the second gate along the exterior of the Barbican Wall you can see a covered passage built in 1830.
The intention was, to make walking up to the citadel easier for older people during wintertime - hence, the name Old Women’s Way. The stairs up to the citadel have only existed since the middle of the 20th Century. In the years before the passage was built, the road under the tower was still paved with slippery river stones. This passage provided a safe route.
The Vlad Tepes Birth House is easy to find. Just look across the street from the Monastery Church and you will see a yellow building with a little arch on the left side. Its a right in front of the Clock tower, and should be easy to find from the crowd of tourists that are bound to be huddled around the plaque on the wall outside.
 The VLAD DRACU HOUSE house is one of the most renown historical monuments in Sighisoara, visited by Romanian and foreign tourists alike due to its connection to the legend of the infamous Dracula. This house was inhabited between 1431 and 1435 by the Wallachian prince Vlad Dracul (known today mainly as Dracula). At that time Vlad Dracul coined money that pictured on one side a dragon, and on the other a vulture - which also was his royal seal. Today, the house is a museum and also hosts a large restaurant. The medieval room of the restaurant holds a beautiful XV century fresco of Vlad Dracul - the only known authentic portrayal of the man, making it a unique piece of art.
The restaurant (that houses 130 seats) offers international and local cuisine. Its specialty is "The Lunch of Prince Dracula", which is served with the Transilvanian "palinca" (double distilled plum brandy) and with a renown regional wine called "Vampire". The restaurant has also 2 patios that sit 60 people, and a wine cellar situated the ground floor that has 40 seats and serves wine and beer in mugs very much alike the ones used by the old Wallachian prince himself.
The Defensive wall of the citadel and the 14 Defensive Towers
As you walk around the citadel you will notice the defensive towers. One of them is now used as a Radio Station, and another a theatre.
The defensive wall which surrounds the 'Upper Town' has a length of more then 900 meters. Originally the defensive system had 14 towers from which 9 still exist today. In the 14th Century the Saxon hand crafts were already highly developed.
The craftsmen formed so named guilds - professionally organized groups which existed for almost each trade and in which the work of the different craftsmen was coordinated.
At its peak Sighisoara had more than 20 guilds in which 25 different professions were organized. This was a European record for that time. The town had more guilds than Vienna or any other big city in Western Europe.
All but one - of the 14 defensive towers - have the names of craft professions because they belonged in former times to the so named GUILDS of the town. Locksmith’s Tower, Fisherman’s Tower, Shoemaker’s Tower, Tailors tower.
If you want to know more about the towers then you could try the Digi Guide which takes about 2.5 hours to do and is packed full of historic and current information. They also offer guided group tours, which is worth considering if you are more than 2 people.
Day 2 - On the trail of the count - myth meets reality
On your second day in sigihsoara its worth knowing a little more about Vlad Tepes or 'Count Dracula' as most people know him. While you find out more about Vlad Tepes you will also learn about how the myth meets reality and enjoy a walk to a fantastic plateau called The Breite. It is very close to sighisoara and is well worth a visit to see the ancient and massive oak trees there ... the text below explains the connection between the count and this 24 hector nature spot.
Vlad Tepes is famous for his cruel execution and torturing methods. The name Tepes became synonymous with “Impaler” because his chosen form of torture was to impale his enemies alive on long wooden spikes. They were then left to die a slow and horrible death. We will spare you from his various other torturing methods.
Interestingly enough he learned these methods during his captivity with the Turks, which lasted for a large part of his childhood and ended with the death of his brother Mircea who was buried alive by the Turks. After he returned to Transylvania he became a feared but just ruler.
We have already mentioned the existence of the Ordo Draconis. Like his father years before, Vlad Tepes also became a member of this secret society.
The sign of the society was the Ouroboros, a Dragon biting its own tail. The symbol seems to have come from Indian mythology of Kundalini. It is not known how many members the society had. We only know that 24 high ranked knights from all over Europe formed the heart of the organization. Following this Order of the Dragon the Dracula Society was formed in the 1990’s. You can find out more about the present day Dracula Society when you enter the building.
But one question still stayed unanswered: What do Vlad Dracul and his son Vlad Tepes have to do with the famous Count Dracula and Vampires?
Sighisoara can be quite creepy and scary around midnight. But the Vampire story of Dracula as we know it is actually the invention of a 19th century English writer, Bram Stoker. As an author, Stoker was looking for the perfect main character for a horror story he was planning to write. He researched several history books for inspiration and soon became fascinated by the deep forests of Transylvania as well as the cruel Vlad Tepes and the Ordo Draconis. Combining these ideas with further research into biology, history and the occult, the story of Count Dracula was formed. Stoker’s novel, Dracula, would go on to be legendary. The author sold the story a million times over and adaptations can be seen on stage and the screen.
Transylvania, the land beyond the forests, became known as an eerie swampland with howling werewolves and frightening Vampires. As a tourist attraction the myths call thousands of curious people from all over the world to Sighisoara and Transylvania. While this kind of interest can be positive in some ways, these legends can also bring real danger to this region.
In the late nineties a few people, including members of the Romanian Parliament came up with the idea to build a Dracula Fun Park.
Not only was the idea badly developed and unsuitable for the region, but the location of the park was to be in the Breite, more than 24 hectares of plateau land near Sighisoara that boasts many protected animals and countless oak trees planted by the first Saxons 800 years ago. The inhabitants of Sighisoara and local social organizations like the Mihiai Eminescu Trust “Sighisoara Durabila” (Sustainable Sighisoara) worked together and eventually stopped the project.
Today “the Breite” remains safe and is a popular outdoor recreational area and is definately worth the walk there. It takes about 40 minutes to walk their from the city center and guides can be found through Digiguide.ro
The Dracula Inn
If you have visited the Breite, you wont be very far from the Dracula Inn, or Hanul Dracula in Danesh. Its located in a beautiful valley about 5km from Sighisoara. The Inn has a restaurant with an open fireplace and luxury rooms above. The grounds have several gazebos over looking a small lake. They keep animals here too - horses, deers, Ostriches and even wolves. It is qiute common to hear wild wolves howling in the valleys around while you enjoy a drink and a meal. Prices are reasonable, and the food quality is good.
Day 3 - The church on the hill
High up on top of the hill, stands one of the most precious buildings of Transylvania. The church, which may have been here for more than 500 years, is clearly visible.
The Saxon tradition was deeply connected with the belief that God has a central role in everyday life. The position of the church, in the center of town, at the citadels’ highest point symbolizes the importance of god and religion for the townspeople. The worldly parallel to the Church on the Hill is situated on the Lower Plateau - the Clock Tower.
It ruled, with its clock, upon the work and market life of the Citadel Square and the Lower Town. These two poles of medieval life complemented each other perfectly and remind us today of the principle of olden times: Ora et Labora (praying and working).
Outside
Compared with the richly ornamented inside of the church building, the outside is much simpler. Besides the richly decorated Gothic door frames of the south and north entrance only a group of four stone sculptures are apparent as decoration on the outside.
Inside
The main attraction of the interior is the precious Altar of St. Martin standing in the middle of an elegant sanctuary, brightly lit by the tall, narrow windows of the choir. The colourful murals of the church, whose fragments can be admired on almost all of the walls today, were whitewashed in the year 1776. They were probably made by different artists from the 14th to the 16th Centuries. Before the walls got repainted, exact copies of the old murals were made on parchment - which unfortunately got lost over the Centuries.
Crypt
As we have already mentioned, beneath the current choir, lays the only crypt in Transylvania. Situated at the end of a gloomy tunnel . Within the walls of the tunnel to the crypt, are 60 recesses, where the Saxons buried the wealthiest inhabitants of the citadel. The building is now the main church of the German Evangelical Parish.
Teo's Cellar offers the parched traveler a chance to do some sampling of the traditional brandy that this region is famous for. As you head up to the wooden covered stairs you will see their sign on the right. They have a charming courtyard with rooms available upstairs. To the right, and down a few steps you will find what you were looking for - an authentic looking cellar full of brandy barrels !!
This is a great place to visit and chill out.
It's up on a hill overlooking Sighisoara,and really offers a great view of the town.
A taxi up will only cost about 2 dollars/ 6 RON, or you can walk up through the forest or the road.
To satisfy your appetite you can choose from a traditional saxon and hungarian cuisine.
The facilities include 13 little houses for rent and special areas for camping and for R.V-s.
The prices here are pretty good and there are alot of facilities. You can even rent a BBQ set for 10 RON if you prefer to cook your own food.
Horse riding through the hills and forests of Transylvania is about as good as it gets !!
Mihnea (or Mick) will pick you up from town (you can usually find him at Nathans Villa Hostel - but any hostel or hotel will arrange a pickup for you).
Romania Cross Country Farm Transylvania is located in the middle of the country, 15 km from Sighisoara (Schæßburg) - The farm is surrounded by quiet wooded hills with a very special charm, the closest village being 2 km away.
They claim it is the best riding experience in Transylvania, and I think they may be right.
Their offer includes more than 15 equestrian programs and a young professional english-speaking staff. It doesn’t matter if you are a horse owner or not, a good rider or just a beginner. If you want to improve your riding skills (dressage, show-jumping and cross-country) or just to spend some time with a horse this is the place to go.
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Cross-country horse riding