Holding inside its walls the largest and best preserved medieval site in Romania, Sibiu/ Hermannstadt is a unique city, full of history, culture traditions and legends.
Transylvania and particularly Sibiu have been bridges between the West and the East for centuries, both in terms of trade and business and in terms of sciences and art.

History:

The wonderful location, near the Carpathian Mountains, the rich historical and cultural heritage, the traditions and the serene atmosphere make Sibiu an unforgettable destination.

Sibiu, the medieval city in the heart of Transylvania has a history of 1,000 years. The city was settled by Germans who emigrated from the area of today Luxembourg and Rhine Valley in 12-th century and was the administrative centre and capital of the Siebenbürger Sachsen, the German-speaking population of Transylvania.
The historic centre of Sibiu, the Large Square located in the 'upper town' is the trademark of the city. The square, one of the largest in Transylvania, was first mentioned in 1411 as corn market where the public executions and public meetings used to be held. Most of the buildings here date from the 14th – 15th century.
The lower side of the town is a charming assortment of old houses and cobbled squares.
Linked through narrow gothic passages to the Large Square, the Small Square is a magnificent place surrounded by well preserved medieval buildings. The square is divided by the Liars Bridge, about which the legend says that it will crumble dawn if anyone says a lie while crossing it.
The Art House and the Goldsmith's Tower (1567) connect the square with the lower tower through the Goldsmiths Passage, one of the most beautiful places in town. The Huet Square represents the gothic part of the city. The square is dominated by the Evangelic Cathedral, an impressive gothic building carved in grey stone which creates an austere atmosphere that is slightly mitigated by exuberant carving in the vaulting and in the stone epitaphs that are fixed to a wall on the north side of the nave. One of them lodged Mihnea the Bad, the son of Vlad the Impaler, who was stabled to death after he attended a mass here in 1510.
The Brukenthal High School is on the place where in 1380 it used to be the Old German School, the first school in town. The actual building is dated 1786 and it was named after the governor of Transylvania between 1777-1787, Samuel of Brukenthal.

Out-side Sibiu

The visitors may explore the nearby villages, with well preserved medieval German fortresses but also the breathtaking landscape, where the mountains touch the skies and the air is so fresh that nearly hurts those used with the every-day pollution of the modern cities.
Indeed, only 30 km away from Sibiu lays the tallest segment of the Carpathian Chain, the Fagaras Mountains.
The south - eastern part of Transylvania, corresponding to the area where German communities have been colonized (Flandrens, Teutons, Saxons) by the kings of Hungary, has a specific character. It is conferred by the frequency of the fortified churches, dating since the 12th - 16th centuries, present in most of the villages colonized by the German population. Such church - castles are found in other parts of the medieval Europe too, but their frequency and degree of preservation is here greater then anywhere in the world.

www.sibiu.ro
www.sibiu.ro/index-en.htm
www.sibiu.ro/index-de.htm
www.cjsibiu.ro