I wrote this small reportage for smugmug journeys, but since it is, actually, about …footsteps/shootsteps, i guess it belongs here as well, so – here we go…

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A walk through Sighisoara is like a journey back in time. The city was built by German colonists called “Sachsen” (Saxons), who settled in starting with the 12th century, invited by the Hungarian King to secure the borders of just conquered Transylvania. They came in, allegedly from the ares of today’s Rheinland-Luxemburg and settled in well-organized villages and cities. They built a chain of city-fortresses, 7 of them more important, giving the German name of Transylvania – Siebenbürgen, i.e. “7 castles / fortresses”. Sighisoara was one of them.

Today it is the only inhabited original medieval citadel in Central and Eastern Europe and one of the most beautiful towns in Romania. If you ask me, the most beautiful :).

The city was built on the top of a hill, surrounded by defense walls and towers. At the top, the most important buildings of a city – school and church. At the bottom, the less important – city hall 🙂 and houses.

Each defense tower was built and maintained by one of the city’s manufacturer guilds.
The highest and strongest tower served till 1898 as a city hall, since then history museum.

It is called the Clock Tower and it is the landmark of the city.

The city is small, easily walkable in less than half a day. Its charm lies exactly in this walk.

Usually, in summer streets are more and more crowded with tourists, albeit nothing like in famous European tourist centers – few people have, yet, heard of Sighisoara, and of those, even fewer get to go there, as it is not exactly on everyone’s way home.

But this winter, the narrow streets of cobbled stone were almost empty.

Let’s take a walk. Under arches

and timegates

passing by the House with the Stag

up towards the school

through the 176 steps long covered wooden staircase from 1642

Most of the houses are from the late 16th, 17th and 18th century

and some even look that old 🙂

some don’t.

Time to stop at a local Inn for a rest and a hot wine with cinnamon.

then we can go down

to have a view at the citadel from… “downtown” 🙂

and a look at the Tinners’ Tower, the Joseph Haltrich High School and the Church from the Hill.

back up

for a view of “downtown” (actually, just a few rooftops).

Finally, for New Year’s Eve, a look at the fireworks from the top of the “Vila Franka” hill, from a restaurant a friend of mine called “Batman House”.

Happy New Year!