The Medieval Marvels of Southern Transylvania: Why This Fascinating Land Should Be on Your Bucket List
Southern Transylvania bears the imprint of the “Saxon” civilization during nine centuries of rule and is home to wonderful medieval cities.
Sibiu: The City of Fortifications
The city of Sibiu appears in documents with the name of Cibinium. The first German settlers settled there in 1150. They called the city Hermannsdorf, then Hermannstadt, while the Romanian population called it Sibiu. In defense of the continuous Ottoman attacks, the city built immense fortifications with 39 cannons, so much so that it was considered the strongest city in Transylvania.
Today in Sibiu we can admire the baroque building that houses the Brukenthal Museum. Baron Samuel built the palace in 1787. A great lover of art, he collected paintings by Flemish, Dutch, German, and French artists, rare books, and other works of art to exhibit in the museum. Representative for Sibiu is the Council Tower built between the 13th and 14th centuries. It was destroyed in the earthquake of 1568 and rebuilt in 1588 but retains its appearance from 1826. The tower offers a wonderful view of the city.
Next to it is the Evangelical Church, built on the foundations of a Roman basilica and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Inside there is a beautiful fresco depicting the Crucifixion, the largest mural painting in Transylvania, made in 1445 by Johannes de Rosenau, and a baroque organ from 1672. Every year in Sibiu there is a prestigious theater festival similar to those in Avignon.
Braşov: The Fortified City
Braşov, known since 1235 as Crown, was called Kronstadt by the German colonizers. Protected by its mountainous relief, Braşov developed around the central square and the church of Saint Mary, becoming the city of merchants and craftsmen. The belt of fortifications makes Braşov one of the most fortified medieval cities in Transylvania.
Over the years, Braşov transformed into a modern city that still preserves the ruins of the ancient defense wall and some towers: the Tailors’ Bastion, the White Tower, the Black Tower, the Gothic Catherine Gate, and the Baroque Scheilor Gate. Representative of the city is the Black Church, the largest Gothic church in Romania, so called because of a strong fire that broke out in 1689 that spared only the beautiful painting in the lunette of the southern portal. The exterior preserves on the buttresses of the choir and the apse Gothic statues placed under canopies.
Alba Iulia: The Military Center of Transylvania
Alba Iulia, built between 1716-1735 and spread over a vast territory, overlaps the ancient Apulum. Between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Alba Iulia was the military center of Transylvania and a general armament warehouse.
The entrance to the city of seven bastions is structured in six gates decorated with statues and reliefs made by various sculptors under the direction of Johan Konig. Inside the city, there are the Roman Catholic Cathedral built in the thirteenth century, the Princely Palace, the residence of Michael the Brave during the first political union of the Romanian Principalities, and the Bathyaneum Library, the former baroque church of the Trinitarians famous throughout the world for its valuable collections of printed works and rare manuscripts.
Târgu Mureş: A Cultural Hub
Târgu Mureş is located in the eastern part of the Transylvanian Depression. The city is attested in a document of 1332, when it is remembered under the name of Novum Forum Syculorum (The New Village of the Seats). The city developed quickly, becoming the main urban and commercial center of the area. After the fire of the early seventeenth century, it was rebuilt and transformed into an important cultural center. During the events of 1845, revolutionary movements took place there.
The medieval city was built in the fifteenth century and then rebuilt in the seventeenth century. It was surrounded by a wall with seven defense towers of which six bore the names of the guilds to which they belonged, while the seventh was the bastion of the entrance gate. Inside is the Reformed Church, built in Gothic style by the Franciscan friars.
In the center of the city is the Palace of Culture, a monumental building with interesting exterior ornamentation, designed in the Secession style by architects Komor Marcell and Jakab Deszo. The Palace houses the Museum of History and the Museum of Art. In a beautiful Empire-style building is the Teleky-Bolyai Library, which contains 40,000 old books and rare manuscripts, as well as a rich archive fund.
Mediaş: A City of Historical Significance
Mediaş was mentioned in 1267 as a rural settlement in the Târnava hills, which developed after the colonization of the Saxons in 1359. The city became famous as an important craft and trade center. In 1571 the Prince of Transylvania, Stephen Bathory, was elected here, and in 1773 Mediaş was visited by Emperor Joseph II.
The most important figure of the 1848 revolution in Mediaş is Stephan Ludwig Roth, whose house-museum is located in the center of the city. Important tourist attractions are the Fortress, built between the 14th and 16th centuries, the Evangelical Church of St. Margaret, which contains valuable Gothic paintings, and the Franciscan Monastery, today the seat of the Municipal Museum.
