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Sibiu The Old Saxon City
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Simply Beautiful Sibiu!
With a population of about 170,000, the decidedly delightful old
Saxon town of Sibiu straddles the river Cibin,
a tributary of the river Olt, and is the capital of Sibiu County.
Sibiu is
just about at the true geographical centre
of Romania, and long served as an outpost for first the Saxons in
Transilvania, and later the Wallachians coming up the Olt River from
the more traditional Romanian principalities of Oltenia and Muntenia
to the south.
 The Enchanting Main Square
The fairy-tale old city centre has at it's heart the Piaţa Mare
(Big Square), lined with buildings which look like they were
designed in Hollywood to be the perfect late Mediaeval backdrop for
a romantic epic.
Even the most travel-weary amongst us will melt at the sheer
charm and uplifting drama of the wonderful old buildings which line
the three downtown squares, all linked by little alleys, cute
passages under clock towers, and quiet cobbled side streets which
confirm you are in the real old Europe.
A European Union Cultural Capital
As you browse through our website, you'll probably realise that
many cities in Romania are still undergoing significant development
to bring the tourism infrastructure up to more Western standards.
But Sibiu is one of the shining jewels in the crown of "ready"
Romanian cities. The international airport, despite the town's
small size, enjoys flights on major airlines, including Lufthansa
and Austrian Airlines. The town centre is well preserved
and dotted with world-class museums, and some inspirational
architecture (keep your cameras at the ready!).
All of this contributes to Sibiu being chosen by the European
Union as the European Capital of Culture in 2007, which indeed only
added to the panache and more importantly, the tourism
infrastructure of one of Europe's newest lights.
Stop in Sibiu. Seriously.
Even if it is your first visit to deepest, darkest Transilvania,
Sibiu is one of the easiest towns for an English-speaker in which to
stay and get around.
 We
hate to mention it, but yes, there IS a McDonalds (placed next to a
bus station), and you can get that could-be-anywhere mall feeling on
the road going out towards Braşov if you really must.
And there are several top-notch hotels if you prefer a good view
over the city centre, although a more meaningful cultural experience
might be had with fewer familiar trappings.
If you only can afford even a two or three day stop somewhere in
your travels around Romania, Sibiu really does afford a restful and
very entertaining stopping off point to catch your breath, enjoy the
history in full, and even make a few side-trips to the lofty little
lake of Bâlea Lac or nearby mountain town of Paltiniş.
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Sibiu's ASTRA Ethnographic Open-Air Museum
Over 500 exhibits of life in Romania
through the ages, moved to Sibiu and placed in
appropriate settings with a wealth of cultural
information
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 The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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The Enchanting Bâlea
Lac Cabin
Fearlessly poised in an ice lake (here
in July) atop Romania's highest section of the Carpathian
Mountains, you can watch the snowboarders play on a summer's
day in the Făgăraş mountains, complete
with great food and table service! (Great rooms with fabulous
views available)
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The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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The Transfăgăraşan Road
Closed even through the supposedly less snowy
summer months many years!
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The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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The Bâlea Waterfall
Take the cable car to the top and marvel
at this mighty waterfall, about halfway between the lower complex
and the Bâlea Lac cabins at the top.
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The photo immediately preceding this notice is Copyright (c)2005 - 2008 Rest
Romania SRL, All rights reserved.
Photo:
© REST ROMÂNIA
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Fortified Sibiu
Sibiu is dominated by it's medieval fortifications and its vibrant
historic centre. Much of the city's aspect is due to its position, easily
defensible, but allowing horizontal development.
The old city of Sibiu lies on the right bank of the Cibin River,
on a hill situated at about 200 m from the river. It consists of two
distinct entities: the Upper City and the Lower City. Traditionally,
the Upper City was the wealthier part and commercial outlet, while the
Lower City served as the manufacturing area.
The Lower City
The Lower City (Romanian: Oraşul de jos) comprises the area between
the river and the hill, and it developed around the earliest fortifications.
The streets are long and quite wide for medieval city standards,
with small city squares at places. The architecture is rather rustic:
typically two-storey houses with tall roofs and gates opening passages
to inner courts.
Most of the exterior fortifications were lost to industrial development
and modern urban planning in the late 19th century; only one or two
towers still exist. A building associated with newer urbanism of the
period is the Independenţa Highschool.
This area has the oldest church in the city, dating back to 1386.
The Upper City
The Upper City (Romanian: Oraşul de sus) is organised around three
city squares and a set of streets along the line of the hill. As the
main area for burgher activities, the area contains most points of interest
in Sibiu.
The Main Square
The Main Square is,
as its name suggests, the largest square of the city, and has been the center of the city since the 16th century. 142 m long and 93 m wide,
it is one of the largest ones in Transylvania.
Brukenthal Palace, one of the most important Baroque monuments in
Romania, lies on the north-western corner of the square. It was erected
between 1777 and 1787 as the main residence for the Governor of
Transilvania
Samuel von Brukenthal. It houses the main part of the National Brukenthal
Museum, opened in 1817. Next to the palace is the Blue House, an 18th
century Baroque house bearing the old coat of arms of Sibiu on its façade.
On the north side is the Jesuit Church, along with its dependencies,
the former residence of the Jesuits in Sibiu. Also on the north side,
at the beginning of the 20th century an Art Nouveau building was constructed
on the west part, now it houses the mayor's office.
Next to the Jesuit Church on the north side is the Council Tower,
one of the city's symbols. This former fortification tower from the
14th century has been successively rebuilt over the years. The building
nearby used to be the City Council's meeting place; beneath it lies an
access way between the Main Square and the Small Square.
On the south and east sides are two- or three-storey houses, having
tall attics with small windows known as the city's eyes. Most of these
houses are dated 17th to 19th centuries, and most of them are Baroque
in style.
The Little Square
As its name says, the Piaţă Mică is smaller in size, being rather
longer than wide. Its north-west side has a curved shape, unlike the
Main Square, which has an approximately rectangular shape. Accordingly,
Piaţă Mică plays a smaller part in the city's present-day life.
The square is connected to the other two squares and to other streets
by small, narrow passages. The main access from the Lower City is through
Once Street, which divides the square in two. The street passes under
the Liar's Bridge - the first bridge in Romania to have been cast in
iron (1859).
To the right of the bridge is another symbol of the city, The House
of the Arts, an arched building formerly belonging to the Butchers'
Guild. On the left side of the bridge is the Luxemburg House, a Baroque
four-storey building, former seat of the Goldsmiths' Guild.
The Huet Square
Huet Square is the third of the three main squares of Sibiu. Its
most notable feature is the Evangelical (Lutheran) Cathedral in its
centre. It is the place where the earliest fortifications have been
built. The buildings around this square are mainly Gothic. On the west
side lies the Brukenthal High school, in place of a former 15th century
school.
The Fortifications
The city of Sibiu was one of the most important fortified cities
in South-eastern Europe. Multiple rings were built around the city, most
of them out of clay bricks.
The south-eastern fortifications are the best kept, and all three
parallel lines are still visible. The first is an exterior earth mound,
the second is a 10-meter-tall red brick wall, and the third line comprises
towers linked by another 10-meter-tall wall. All structures are connected
via a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways, designed to ensure transport
between the city and lines of defense.
In the 16th century more modern elements were added to the fortifications,
mainly leaf-shaped bastions. One of these survived to this day, as the
Haller Bastion (all the way down Coposu Boulevard).
The Sleepy Eyes of Sibiu
- I arrive in Sibiu and friends meet me at the station. I twist and turn
on the back seat of their shiny new Dacia Logan, checking on the small,
ancient city.
- Several years since I was here. It feels the same as last time, yet
looks different. Tiled roofs still pitch at odd angles, their ventilation
slats watching the town like sleepy eyes.
- Citizens still stroll with an unhurried gait, born of resilience.
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Passage of the Stairs
The steep Passage of the Stairs leads down to the lower section
of Sibiu.
It descends along some fortifications under the support arches.
It is the most picturesque of the several passages linking the two sides
of the city.
Culture
Sibiu is one of Romania's most culturally lively cities. It has
two theatres and a philharmonic orchestra. The Radu Stanca National
Theatre is one of the leading Romanian theatres.
With origins dating back to 1787, it attracts some of the best-known
Romanian directors, such as Tompa Gábor and Silviu Purcărete. It has
both a Romanian-language and a German-language section, and presents
an average of five shows a week. The Gong Theatre is specialised in
puppetry, mime and non-conventional shows for children and teenagers;
it also presents shows in both Romanian and German. The State Philharmonic
of Sibiu presents weekly classical music concerts and also lesson concerts
for teenagers.
The concerts take place in the newly renovated Thalia Hall, a concert
hall and theatre dating from 1787, situated along the old city fortifications.
Sporadic organ concerts are organised in the Evangelical Cathedral and
thematic concerts are presented by the Faculty of Theology choir at
the Orthodox Cathedral.
Localities in
the Southern Sibiu county area:
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Museums
Sibiu's museums are organised around two entities: the Brukenthal
National Museum and the ASTRA National Museum Complex.
The Brukenthal Museum consists of an Art Gallery and an Old Books
Library located inside the Brukenthal Palace, a History Museum located
in the old town hall building, a Pharmacy Museum located in one of the
first apothecary shops in Europe, dating from the 16th century, a Natural
History Museum and a Museum of Arms and Hunting Trophies.
The ASTRA National Museum Complex focuses on ethnography, and consists
of a Traditional Folk Civilisation Museum—a 96-hectare open-air museum
located on a forest south of Sibiu—a Universal Ethnography Museum, a
Museum of Transylvanian Civilisation and a Museum of Saxon Ethnography
and Folk Art. It also has a project of opening a Museum of the Culture
and Civilisation of the Romany People. There is a Steam Locomotives
Museum close to the railway station, sheltering around 40 locomotives,
two of which are functional.
Events
A great number of festivals are organised yearly in Sibiu, the most
prestigious being the Theatre Festival organised each spring at the
end of May.
The one in the summer of 2005, gathered over 2,500 participants
from 68 countries; over 300 shows were presented. Also, the oldest Jazz
Festival in Romania is organised here, as well as a festival for young
classical music artists, a documentary film festival, a medieval arts
festival and many more smaller cultural events
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Habsburgs take back castle Dracula
Sibiu's celebrated Brukenthal Museum and Transylvania's Dracula
site, Bran castle, have been restituted to their legal owners by
the Romanian state. Habsburg family descendants of Princess Ileana,
daughter of King Ferdinand of Romania, are now owners of the 14th
century Brasov county castle, a tourist destination for vampire
fans due to the spurious link that Vlad 'The Impaler' Tepes may
have spent the night there a couple of times.
In both cases, the properties will remain museums. Representatives
of the Evangelical Church of Sibiu, the regained owners of the Brukenthal,
said they want their property to become “an international museum,
a European asset”.
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The Astra Museum Park
All of Romania, in One Place!
Obviously, you'll want to spend time in the old town centre of
Sibiu, but your number two stop -- even if you only have a morning
or afternoon -- should definitely be the Astra park.
When you do a lot of travel-writing, as our Rest Romania
correspondents do, it is fairly easy to become a little jaded about
the seemingly endless number of tourist attractions, large and
small. But the incredibly well-done Astra open-air folk museum
just south of the Sibiu city centre is at the pinnacle of it's kind.
Spread across a wide swath of forested parkland reserve, over
200 structures are faithfully reconstructed in natural settings, all
connected with pathways, around lakes and watercourses.
Sibiu's Foothill Village
Year-Round Mountain Resort
We've got some gorgeous shots of this area -- coming online here
soon!
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Listed below are some local agents who can help you with bookings and organize local tours in the Sibiu area.
  +40 (269) 232882 FAX: +40 (269) 232882
+40 (269) 211296 FAX: +40 (269) 210364 +40 (269) 216013 +40 (269) 206630 FAX: +40 (269) 243955 +40 740140506 +40 (269) 244165 FAX: +40 (269) 421460 +40 (269) 216096 FAX: +40 (269) 217947 +40 (269) 223324 FAX: +40 (269) 223324 +40 (369) 405389 FAX: +40 (369) 405389 +40 (269) 230275 FAX: +40 (269) 230275 +40 (269) 216854 FAX: +40 (269) 216854 +40 (269) 215241 FAX: +40 (269) 212250 +40 (269) 214369 FAX: +40 (269) 214254 +40 722211644 FAX: +40 (269) 227743 +40 (269) 245508 FAX: +40 (269) 245508 +40 (269) 560048 FAX: +40 (269) 243464 +40 727851466 FAX: +40 (269) 421460 +40 (269) 212466 FAX: +40 (269) 228068 +40 (269) 431057 +40 (269) 212227 FAX: +40 (269) 233222 +40 745845156 +40 (269) 218140 FAX: +40 (269) 213526 +40 (369) 405390 FAX: +40 (369) 405390 +40 (269) 234082 FAX: +40 (269) 234082 +40 (269) 218339 FAX: +40 (269) 218339 +40 (269) 211788 FAX: +40 (269) 217933 +40 (269) 215003 FAX: +40 (269) 215003 +40 (269) 218100 FAX: +40 (269) 210125 +40 (269) 223860 +40 724217016 +40 (269) 422859 +40 (269) 223525 +40 (269) 217370 Agentia de Voiaj Sibiu, Str. Nicolae Balcescu nr. 6 in SibiuInformations about international and local routes,tickets +40 (269) 216441
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(Scroll left and down on the below map to see all
of Sibiu city centre)
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