Each summer the Middle Ages came to life in Sighisoara with the occasion of the traditional 3-day Medieval Arts Festival. Tourists from all over the world enjoy Middle Age costumes, medieval music, theatre live performances, dances, parades, fireworks and a variety of other activities.
Romania highlights
When visiting Sighisoara do not miss:
- Sighisoara Citadel - a 12th Century Saxon edifice, is the historic center of the city. Still inhabitated, the citadel is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Clock Tower - Built in 1360 and standing at 60 meters tall atop the citadel hill. Inside is a museum that finishes in a great view from the top
- Weapon Museum - next to Vlad's birthplace. Very small, but it contains an interesting selection of medieval weapons (swords, arrows, etc.)
- Covered Staircase - an old stone staircase with a wooden roof along the whole span. This leads up to the Church on the Hill and the cemetery
- Church on the Hill - contains many frescoes and a crypt. Close to the cemetery on the side of the hill, which contains many German tombstones
- Bust of Vlad Tepes - Located around the corner from his birthplace, within sight of the Clock Tower.
Sighisoara is the best preserved fortified town in Transylvania, being built by the Saxons between the 12th and the 17th centuries.
The citadel dominates the town with its hilltop setting. The old town enclosed within the citadel walls has narrow cobblestone streets and brightly painted 16th century Saxon houses. There are nine surviving towers; the most beautiful is the striking Clock Tower, the main gate into the citadel. From its balcony one can see beautiful views over the whole town and countryside.
Sighisoara fame is drawn mainly from being the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler which some still believe served as the inspiration for the novel "Dracula". The house in which he was born lies at the foot of the Clock Tower. To get there you can climb the Covered Stairway, which was built in the 17th century. Or see the Church of the Dominican Monastery which has been built and rebuilt for 800 years.
You can also have fun by trying to find all the towers that are still standing or simply just by walking inside the citadel and looking at the old houses in which life still goes on after so many centuries.