Unique Places in Romania - 2 -

Sighisoara

         Sighisoara is located on the Tarnava River in Mures county. It is located in the historic region of Transylvania. German craftsmen and merchants, The Transylvanian Saxons, were invited here by the King of Hungary during the 12th century, to settle and defend the frontier. Central Sighisoara has preserved in an exemplary way the features of a small medieval fortified city and it has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Each year a Medieval Festival takes place in the old citadel in July. Sighisoara is a popular tourist destination due to its well preserved walled old town. The landmark of the city is The Clock Tower, a 64 meter high tower build in 1556. It is presently a Museum of History.

• Sighisoara Citadel - a 12th Century Saxon edifice, it is the historic center of the city. Still inhabited, the citadel is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Inside the Citadel:

• Clock Tower ("Turnul cu Ceas")- Built in 1360 and standing at 60 meters tall atop the citadel hill. History museum inside, balcony with a great view on the top.

• Monastery Church ("Biserica Mânăstirii") - Lutheran church in late Gothic style, located next to the Clock Tower, built starting with 1291 by the Dominican Order

• Weapon Museum - next to Vlad's birthplace. Very small, but it contains an interesting selection of medieval weapons (swords, arrows, etc.).

• Covered Staircase ("Scara Şcolarilor") - an old stone staircase with a wooden roof along the whole span. This leads up to the Church on the Hill, the cemetery and the Joseph Haltrich High School (a.k.a. "School from the Hill").

• Church on the Hill ("Biserica din Deal")- Lutheran church in late Gothic style, contains many frescoes and a crypt. Close to the cemetery on the side of the hill, which contains many German tombstones.

• Vlad Dracul House ("Casa Vlad Dracul") - allegedly the place where Vlad Tepes "The Impaler" (a.k.a. "Draculea") was born.

• Bust of Vlad Tepes - located around the corner from his birthplace, within sight of the Clock Tower.

Outside the Citadel:

• Orthodox Cathedral - located across the Târnava river

• Corneşti Church ("Biserica din Corneşti") - oldest Orthodox church in town, built in 1797, located in the "Corneşti" neighbourhood

Vila Franka - a restaurant on a hill surveying the Târnava valley, offers an outstanding panorama point. Can be reached by car or on foot (~1 hour walk/hike from the Citadel)

 Bran Castle

         According to this legend, the castle used to be the place where Dracula, the character of Bram Stoker's book, lived. But there is a confusion between Dracula and Vlad Tepes, ruler of Wallachia, as they are not one and the same person. The first is just a mith, a character, and the second has nothing to do with Dracula, it is just a result of the interference between some real historical facts about the rulership of Vlad Tepes, mentioned in the writings of some chroniclers of the time, who wanted to put him in bad light and the association of these facts with Dracula's character.
There are many stories about the cruelty of Vlad Tepes "The Impaler", but no one can prove their veracity, so they still remain surrounded by mystery.
Bran Castle, got the name of Dracula's Castle, three decades ago, when tourists who came to Transylvania in the look for Dracula, the famous character, saw the castle and thought it resembled the castle described in Stoker's book as being Dracula's Castle.
In 1920, the castle was donated to Queen Maria, by the City Council of Brasov. She brought an architect from the Royal Court, by the name of Carol Liman, to restore the place. The restoration took seven years, and in the end the castle was transformed in to a gorgeous summer residence, surrounded by a beautiful park with alleys, a lake and several fountains.
It was enharited by the queen's daughter, Princess Ileana, who will own it until the year of 1948, when the royal family is expelled from the country.
It becomes a property of the state, but unfortunately, it is devastated and abandoned. Only in 1956 it is opened as a history museum, but still it's state is very bad and has to be restaured, starting from 1987 to 1993.
On the 18th of May, 2009, the Castle was retroceded to the family of Princess Ileana. It suffered some thematic changes: a special room dedicated to Dracula was arranged, and it is called "Bram Stoker", a room in which you can see video projections from the National Archives, about Queen Maria and Princess Ileana. On the 1st of June, the castle was officially reopened.

 

Peles Castle

        Today a historical monument, the castle was home to several Romanian monarchs including King Carol I, who died here in 1914. Located in Sinaia - 44 km from Brașov, in Prahova country - the Neo-Renaissance castle is set on an medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1883. The German prince Carol I de Hohenzollern - was to become a king - chose the location. Although the building of the castle began in 1873 under the direct order of the Viennese architect Wilhem Doderer, the castle was inaugurated only on October 7, 1883. The work was abandoned during 1877-1879 because of the war. The Guard's Chambers, The Economat Building, The Foisor Hunting House, The Royal Stables, and the Electrical Power Plant are annexed to the castle, and were built simultaneously.
The castle has over 160 rooms and was built in wood, stone, bricks and marble. The seven terraces that surround it are decorated with statues, Carara marble and stone-made-fountains. The luxurious interior is also abundantly decorated with paintings, statues, ceramics, gold and silver plates, the Meissen and Sevres porcelain, the Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows, walls covered with Cordoba leather, ebony and ivory sculptures, as well as the extensive weapon collections
Close to the Peles Castle is the "Little Peles" called The Pelișor, a 70 room small castle. The successor of Carol I intended to use it as a summer residence, since he found the Peles overwhelming and wanted a more private, art-nouveau style residence.

Voronet Monastery

         Romania is renowned for the painted monasteries from southern Bukovina. Voroneț Moastery is probably the most famous of them all. The church became well-known for its exterior frescoes of bright and intense colours, and for the hundreds of well-preserved figures placed against the renowned azure background.

The legend tells that Stephen the Great - Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 - was in a moment of crises during the war against the Ottoman Turks. He went to Voroneț to see Daniel the Hermit and to ask for advice. After winning the battle, he kept his promise to the monk and built a new church dedicated to Saint George, the "bringer of victory in battle". The Metropolitan Bishop of Moldavia, Grigorie Roşca, added in 1547 the exonarthex to the west end of the church.The church was built in only four months and a half in 1488, a real record of the time.

The church still has the original decoration on the north façade with beautiful rows of ceramic enameled discs in yellow, brown and green, decorated in relief.

Situated 36 km from Suceava and only 4 km from Gura Humorului, the church is a real treasure of Romanian culture and history. Voronet Monastery is one of the Painted churches of northern Moldavia listed in UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites.