The medieval citadel of Sighișoara is an inhabited citadel located in the historical region of Transylvania. To be more precise, it’s located almost in the center of Romania.
The inhabited medieval citadel is a popular touristic attraction in the region. This place is visited by tourists from all over the world. The most important event which is held every year in the citadel is Sighișoara’s Medieval Festival. Then, the entire citadel is packed with tourists watching all sorts of medieval events.
Important things to visit in the medieval citadel:
There are a lot of interesting things to visit. For instance, the Clock Tower which is actually the landmark of the city. Inside you will find a museum where you can see many interesting items from the medieval era. On the top floor, you will find an open balcony from where you can admire the entire medieval citadel. Right under the Clock Tower, you will find the torture chamber.
On the right side of the Clock Tower, you’ll find the Monastery Church. This large Gothic church in the past was a part of an old monastery which was destroyed in the 19th century.
The following building after the Monastery Church is the town hall of the city. Behind you will find a small garden from where a large part of the modern city is visible. After the town hall, you will find the Roman Catholic church.
Not far from the Clock Tower, you will find the Citadel Square where you can walk on some paved narrow streets and admire the beautiful colored houses of Sighișoara.
If you plan to visit the upper part of the citadel, then you should definitely go to through the old Covered Stairways. Once you’ve reached the upper part, over there you can visit the old cemetery, the Gothic-style Church on the Hill and Joseph Haltrich high school.
I’ve included more photos of the upper part of this citadel from a trip made in the winter, a couple of days right after Christmas. You can check those travel photos in this post: Visiting Sighișoara in the winter.
Final conclusions
You can easily spend a couple of hours exploring this amazing medieval citadel for sure. Besides the landmarks mentioned above there are many more things that you can visit.
What else you can visit in the area?
The historical region of Transylvania is renowned for the old Traditional Saxon villages, medieval fortresses and citadels, also let’s not forget about the fortified churches as well. Not very far from Sighișoara, you will find the following destinations to visit. You can reach them very easily by a car.
- Apold – in the commune of Apold you can find a beautiful old Saxon church. This destination is not very far from Sighișoara.
- Viscri – this Romanian village was made very popular by His Royal Highness, the Price of Wales. In my opinion, this village is one of the best preserved traditional Transylvanian village. I highly encourage you to check out this place.
- Saschiz – I would like to add Saschiz to the list as well, if you are driving from Sighișoara towards Brasov, then at some point you will drive through Saschiz were you will find an interesting fortified church. The church tower is almost the same as the Clock Tower, the major difference is that it doesn’t have any open balcony like the one form Sighișoara.
- Biertan – Here you will find an old Transylvanian fortified church which is included in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. By car you will reach this commune in approximately 30 minutes.