Stroll Around Sibiu aka Hermannstadt

Sibiu is a large (c. 160,000) walled city on the edge of the high Carpathians - a place with a lot of history, lovely squares, pleasant buildings, nooks and crannies, intriguing passageways, great ambiance, steep streets, and a touch of Dracula. Have a look:

Medieval Festival

Our trip to Transylvania coincided with Sibiu's Medieval Festival. This involves lots of street processions, medieval market stalls, large and perhaps scary figures for the young, and some loud medieval (?) music - played last night by a group that included what must be ancient instruments including that something looking like the bagpipes. Have a look:

My Australian colleague, Roy Jones from WA being interviewed by Romanian TV about the experience. He did his Masters at Newcastle in the UK about the time I was there in the 1960s.

AS

World Heritage Biertan

A short distance from Sighisoara stands Biertan, another World Heritage Listed site comprising a fortified church of some distinction. The pictures in this brief post show the building complex in question.

AS

Amble Through Sighisoara's Old Town

Much of what you are about to see is world heritage listed and for good reason. Sighisoara is not only extremely picturesque but it has long played a key role in Romanian history, though not always under Romanian sovereignty. This town on the river Tarnava Mare was founded c. 3500 years ago and since then has been a Saxon town under German rule and part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. So its rulers, including the notorious Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula), have come from different cultures and language groups in frontier territory. And, as ownership shifted, so the site became more heavily fortified.

Take a walk with me through the historic fortified core of the town and gauge for yourselves its beauty. I'll only provide brief comment.

A long covered flight of stairs to the church at the centre of the fortified core of the town.

The very old school near the church was very interesting and evidenced the German nature of education in the 19th century. Would Max like to dress up like the kids in the photo?

This medieval busker spoke, of all things, Japanese and chatted to Daichi Khomoto who walked around with me.

AS