A Step Into History - My Day In Sighisoara

Alright guys it's time for a long adventure post! I have riddled it with photos to make the journey more fun.

I will never forget the first time I set eyes on the medieval town of Sighisoara, Romania, but before I tell you about my personal experience, I would love to share some of the fascinating history behind this incredible place. (Historical information from Encyclopedia Britannica, the official Sighisoara website, and some I learned during my time there)

Sighisoara is located in Central Romania (Mures county) in the historic Transylvanian region, and it is roughly three square miles in size. It is known as being one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval towns in all of Europe. The area was settled in the Bronze age, but the town itsself wasn't founded until the 12th Century by Transylvanian Saxons. In 1676 tragedy struck when there was a fire that forced much of the lower town to be rebuilt.

Sighisoara is probably best known for being the birthplace of Vlad Tepes, who is better known to us as Vlad Dracul, or Vlad the Impaler. He ruled Walachia from 1456 to 1462. We all best know him for being the inspiration to Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The town is surrounded by nine towers that house cobblestone streets and winding alleys, the Church on the Hill with its half of a millennium old frescoes, steep stairways, several medieval churches, secluded squares, a 13th century Venetian House, burgher houses (burghers were medieval middle class level citizens in a town), hilly streets with original medieval architecture, turrets, and the breathtaking Tower of the Clock. The World Heritage Site states that Sighisoara has "enough atmospheric magic to rival the historic streets of Old Prague or Vienna." Being in this place is truly like stepping back in time through the pages of a history book.

So, now that I've shared some of the history, I will share some of my personal adventure in this magical place. I will also include some of the photos I shot while there.

My heart pounded when I realized I was going to be seeing things that were a piece of world history much older than anything I had experienced before. I have such a huge heart for Medieval history so to be able to physically see and touch pieces of that history was more than I could put into words.

As we rounded the bend I got my first glimpse of Sighisoara...The Church on the Hill jetted above the trees. I had no idea what to expect.


I could barely contain my excitement as we unloaded from the car and made our way towards town. What new adventures were just waiting to be had here? There was so much to see and hear and smell that my senses were all on overdrive, but I didn't care. I felt like I was running and moving in slow motion all at the same time.

So many smells mingled together in the air, from cooking food to smoke from wood fires. I could hear several different languages from people all around me being spoken all tangling together. I saw houses of all colors lining the cobblestone streets that wound through the buildings and hid small squares, the stone stairs beneath my feet were worn and uneven from time and use, and the towers all around the town stood upright a beacon of safety to all who lived within these walls. I never wanted to look away, and yet I wanted to see everything.

The Tower of the Clock was a piece of art unlike any I had seen, and housed a museum that I was able to walk through with my team. (A full blog on the Clock Tower Museum will be coming soon)

I was able to have supper in the house where Vlad Dracul was born. Now, I will say they have completely made this house a tourist trap, but it was still a lot of fun to eat in (It is also a fun story to tell. I mean honestly, how many people can say they had dinner at Vlad Dracul's house?), and the food was pretty good too. So in my book that was still a win even though I normally stay as far from tourist traps as I can preferring the authentic experience over the fabricated money-making one.

After I ate (maybe I should have thought it through and ate afterwards, but hindsight is 20/20), I climbed up one of the steepest, longest staircases I have ever seen. It led from the lower part of town up to the Church on the Hill. I was told that children go to school up here, and they have to climb these stairs every day. They must be in the best shape ever. (The second photo is looking down from about half way up)

The Church on the Hill was unfortunately closed, but we got to explore around outside and see the cemetery and old city wall. I hope to one day be able to go back and see the interior of the church and the crypt below. (The caretaker's house -4th photo- reminds me of something from Harry Potter)

My day here flew by far too quickly. I felt like I blinked my eyes and it was gone. There was so much more I wanted to explore. Alas, time was against me, and soon my adventure here had drawn to a close. I will leave you with a few of my favorite shots of the town. I hope that one day my path will lead me to this place again. I will never forget this place. It opened my eyes to so much, and made my love of medieval history even greater. What an amazing adventure that day was!

Farewell, Sighisoara,
I will miss you, and I will think of you always, Thank you for the memories that we shared together. How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard?