Sibiu
hotels Sibiu
Travel guide Sibiu arrival
Sibiu
Listings Sibiu
eating and drinking Live
Sibiu
Sibiu
City Guide
Sibiu is an attractive and lively town where many of the houses are painted sky blue, red,
apricot or pea green, and cafés and restaurants do a busy trade along the length of the
promenade. The town is split into a historic center, which contains most of Sibiu's
historic sights and a lower new town which is a charming wasteland of old houses. |
City Center
|
| The city has many
fine old churches, as well as the remains of the original Saxon Bastions that formed the
town's fortifications and home to some of Romania’s best museums. |
What to see
Connecting the upper and lower towns are dozens of tunnels, stairways and hidden
passageways which will let you speechless. The old part of town centers on the magnificent
Large Square (Piata Mare) and Small Square (Piata Mica), with their painted 17th century
houses. The Large Square (Piata Mare) marks the heart of the city.
The most picturesque street in the Upper town remains Strada Avram Iancu
(1556) which connects the Council Tower, in the Large Square, with the Ursuline Church. On
this street is found the oldest residential house in the city, Casa Bobel, which keeps the
same look for nearly 500 years. The house at No. 9 has an arcaded court based on an
Italian Renaissance design, and at the back of the yard you can still see the ruin of a
defense tower. Opposite, at 9, is the former residence of Brukenthal family with a
wonderful arcaded courtyard. Avram Iancu No 21 was the home of composer Gheorghe Dima
(1874-1925) who wrote choral music inspired by Romanian folklore. About halfway down Avram
Iancu on the left is a steep passage, Pasajul Scolii (The School Passage), which brings
you below the city walls into the rutted cobbles of Strada Movilei.
The Brukenthal Palace named after Samuel Brukenthal, Governor of Transylvania in
the late 18th century who gathered a large collection of paintings, antiquities and rare
books. The building sheltering the museum is an architectural monument in the
Austrian-baroque style. It is situated on the western side of Sibiu
"The Large Square" , in the center of the medieval Sibiu. The buildings
on the southern side of the square have also been declared "architectural
monuments" and preserved their medieval characteristics.
The Fingerling stairway - "Pasajul Scarilor" also an interesting sight,
linking the "upper town" and the "Goldsmiths' Square" . The old
district with its narrow picturesque streets, bearing the seal of by-gone times, deeply
impress the visitor.
The Parochial Evangelical Church, built during the 14th and 15th centuries, on
the place of a Roman basilica dating from the 12th century. This monument combines, for
the first time on Romanian territory, the archaic basilica with a mature Gothic work. |
|
The
tower of the Town Hall "Turnul Sfatului" - was built during the 13th
-14th centuries. It owes its name to the building next of it, which was the first town
hall of Sibiu.
The Parochial Catholic Church, built between 1726 and 1738 in a baroque
style, with classical features.
"The Small Square" surrounded by buildings belonging, to a
great extent, to the Gothic epoch and protected as medieval architectural monuments. |
The old
Town Hall was built in the 15th century, in the Gothic style. In its courtyard
there is a gallery leading to a small tower with a chapel and a weapon room. In the tower
there is a little bell, called "the bell of the poor sinners", as it used to be
tolled only when a person sentenced to death was taken to the execution place.
The Orthodox Cathedral on the Metropolitan Street ("Strada
Mitropoliei") was built in 1906, on the model of the St. Sofia Cathedral in
Constantinople.
The Museum of Romanian Rural Technology exhibits old artifacts, testimonials to
the past. There are few monuments in the world dedicated to the brain and the hands which
created the tools to master nature. Technical installations of various kinds, from gold
mines, windmills, workshops to home distilleries etc. extend over an area of 40 ha. Over
200 authentical peasant households from all areas of the country bear witness to the
techniques used in the Middle Ages. Everything is set amidst the forest which surrounds a
beautiful lake. It is a piece of heaven. You'll regret that you must leave. An original
inn is open for lunch or dinner, reservations suggested.
DEFENCE TOWERS Piata Huet (Huet Square) No. 3, built in the 13th century, one of
the oldest buildings in town. |
STAIRS
TOWER Piata Mica (Small Square) No. 4, access to the Aurari Square through an
archway. The actual look is preserved since 1567.
CITY WALL Cetatii St.: the third fortification wall was consolidated in the 17th
century. Here can be also seen the Arquebusier Tower dated to the 15th century (later on
called the Drapier Tower), Potter Tower and Carpenter Tower. They were all fitted for
using firearms and holes had been made in the walls for throwing the tar.
GUNPOWDER TOWER Pulberariei St. (Gunpowder St.), circulars massive tower that was
part of Ocna Gate Complex (16th century), used to store the gunpowder.
HALLER BASTION Spitalelor St. (Hospitals St.), an ample brick edifice, filled
with earth, built in 1552, it offers a good protection against infantry fire shot.
ASTRA PALACE Gh. Baritiu St. No. 3, built on the initiatives of ASTRA
Cultural Association with the purpose of sheltering the museum, library and Association
offices (1905). An architectonic style, the entrance with caryatids, the festive hall in
rococo style.
THE ARSENAL Piata Armelor (Army Square) No. 1, documentary mentioned in 1427. It
was an inn at first, then an arsenal and then a barracks.
The town itself was considered to be the jewel in the crown of German Siebenbuergen
(Transylvania). Sibiu, and Sibiu area, contains the largest concentration of tourist
attractions in Romania. |
email us site map privacy policy : terms and conditions : F.A.Q. : About
Us links
|
|
|
|
