# Sighișoara, Romania - the birth place of Dracula



## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Sighișoara - the birth place of Dracula​











Named Schäßburg in German and Segesvár in Hungarian, Sighișoara is a city of 26,370 people on Târnava Mare river, in the Transylvanian Plateau.


A Unesco Wolrd Heritage site, Sighișoara is one of Romania most picturesque and most visited cities.


It was founded in 12th century by Germans (know as Saxons, althought they were not originary from Saxony but from Franconia), in a place were in Antiquity the Dacian city _Sandava _and the Roman _Castrum Stenarum_ stood.


In middle age, Sighișoara was an important strategical and commercial center. During the 16th and the 17th centuries it had as many as 15 guilds and 20 handicraft branches. 



Vlad III the Impaler, also known as Dracula, was born in a house which is still preserved (although two floors were added later over the original 15th century construction).


The city has two parts, the Upper city or the Citadel situated on a hill and surrounded by fortifications and the Lower City. Although the Lower City has fine historical buildings, the most precious and interesting are inside the Citadel.

The city's skyline is defined by Upper city rising from the forests above the olde city and which in turn is dominated by a height of some tens of m on whose top is the 14th century gothic Hill Church. 


The massive Clock Tower (64 m tall) built in 14th century, the symbol of the city. It hosts the city's museum and has the oldest clock mechanism in Romania which has rotating figurines on both sides (toward the Citadel and toward the Lower City).



The surroundings of Sighișoara, like most of Transylvania, are beautiful, with rolling hills, forests, Saxon medieval villages with fortified churches. Just outside the city is the Breite Plateau, where is the largest reserve of venerable trees in Romania. Here are ~400 oak trees 400-800 years old (as old as the city) and ranging from 3 m to 9 m in circumference.




20120710_0045 by Joel_Rowland, on Flickr


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Orange by jiminius, on Flickr




View by jiminius, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr






Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr





Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr




Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr




Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr




Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr



Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr





Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr




Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr




Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr





Sighisoara by DangerousBiz, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Vlad the Impaler's birth house



Dracula's House Sighisoara by MarculescuEugenIancuD60Alaska, on Flickr



Sighisoara Dracula's House by MarculescuEugenIancuD60Alaska, on Flickr




Sighisoara Dracula's House Original Painting by MarculescuEugenIancuD60Alaska, on Flickr



Sighisoara Romania by MarculescuEugenIancuD60Alaska, on Flickr


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

El Viejo Cementerio Alemán de Sighisoara, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Entrada Principal de Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Alcaldía de Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Iglesia del Monasterio, Sighisoara, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Imágenes de Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Imágenes de Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Catedral Ortodoxa de la Trinidad, Sighisoara, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




La escalera cubierta, Sighisoara, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Imágenes de Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Imágenes de Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Plaza principal de Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr




Entrada Principal de Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr​





Village from surroundings


Camino a Sighisoara, Transilvania, Rumania by Juan Actuario, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Sighisoara river scene at sunset by kathrynbullock, on Flickr



Sighisoara by kathrynbullock, on Flickr


Sighisoara main square by kathrynbullock, on Flickr
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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Sigishoara_Segesvar18 by Szittyakutya, on Flickr




Sigishoara_Segesvar21 by Szittyakutya, on Flickr



Sigishoara_Segesvar56 by Szittyakutya, on Flickr




Sigishoara_Segesvar49 by Szittyakutya, on Flickr​


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## Romashka01 (Mar 4, 2011)

surprising...marvelous...


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

sighisuara1 by Noam Mai, on Flickr





sighisoara3 by Noam Mai, on Flickr
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## Amrafel (Nov 26, 2006)

Beatiful, reminds me of old German towns in Slovakia, like Levoča, Kremnica or Banská Štiavnica - well, in that time, when they were built, it was all the same country  Thank you for posting.


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Romania-2169 - Church on the Hill by archer10 (Dennis), on Flickr




Romania-2178 - Inside Church on the Hill by archer10 (Dennis), on Flickr



Romania-2132 by archer10 (Dennis), on Flickr



Romania-2130 by archer10 (Dennis), on Flickr

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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Romashka01 said:


> surprising...marvelous...





Amrafel said:


> Beatiful, reminds me of old German towns in Slovakia, like Levoča, Kremnica or Banská Štiavnica - well, in that time, when they were built, it was all the same country  Thank you for posting.


Thank you for your words!


Laszlo Mojzer 1 2 3 4 5 6​
























































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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

*Breite Plateau* is situated just outside Sighișoara, on the right of the road to Mediaș and Sibiu. Is the largest and most precious reserve of ancient trees in Romania. A number of over 450 centuries old oak trees are found here, most of them with age between 350-450 years. The oldest trees are have 800 years, almost like the city of Sighișoara itself.



The height of the trees is beteen 16-35 m with many 20-30 m tall. Most of the trees have a circumference of 4-5 m (400-500 cm) but there are many over this size too. The largest has a circumference of 930 cm (see first photo) being the biggest tree in southern Transylvania.


On the plateau and surrounding forests there are bears, wolves and wild cats as well as other wild animals.










Flock at rest by habeebee, on Flickr




Calendar shot by habeebee, on Flickr



Steep way up by habeebee, on Flickr​


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## Linguine (Aug 10, 2009)

interesting thread, thanks for the very nice photos...:cheers:


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## medpaisa19 (Jun 5, 2007)

Beautiful city! In a few pictures it looks like Cartagena, Colombia (only the ones with the colorful buildings) Def wanna go, plus I have a small fascination with vampires haha


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Thank you! :cheers:



Sunny set by chertioga, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Untitled by Sybil_Vane, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

IMG_6680 by Augusta Ene, on Flickr




IMG_6726 by Augusta Ene, on Flickr



IMG_6654 by Augusta Ene, on Flickr



IMG_6729 by Augusta Ene, on Flickr



IMG_6730 by Augusta Ene, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

ILG_20120801_00164 by ilg-ul, on Flickr



ILG_20120801_00169 by ilg-ul, on Flickr




ILG_20120801_00178 by ilg-ul, on Flickr

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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr




Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr




Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr





Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr




Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr




Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr



Romania i Bulgària 2012 by jordillar_fotos, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Sighisoara, clock tower by KAM0S, on Flickr





Sighisoara, kids playing violin by KAM0S, on Flickr




Sighisoara, clock tower by KAM0S, on Flickr




Sighisoara, werewolfs night by KAM0S, on Flickr



Sighisoara, roofs by KAM0S, on Flickr

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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Wich one for tonight? by Sebastian Condrea, on Flickr​


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## Ulpia-Serdica (Oct 24, 2011)

Gorgeous place. :cheers:

I hope more buildings get renovated in order for the city to truly become perfect. kay:


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## Chadoh25 (Dec 28, 2007)

Wow, very nice! I've always wanted to see where Dracula came from!!!


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## midrise (Feb 17, 2012)

Where is the Blood Bank?..:lol:hno::lol:


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Thank you Ulpia-Serdica, Chady and midrise!





Sighisoara # (56) by sadat81, on Flickr



Sighisoara # (36) by sadat81, on Flickr​


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## Dakaro (Nov 20, 2011)

Magic town! :cheers:


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

:cheers:



Sighisoara - Rom and Rem by Brombags1, on Flickr




Sighisoara defences by the clock tower by Brombags1, on Flickr



Sighisoara monastery church by Brombags1, on Flickr





Sighisoara - inside the monastery church by Brombags1, on Flickr



Sighisoara - tapestries / carpets in the monastery church by Brombags1, on Flickr



Sighisoara Shoemaker's Tower by Brombags1, on Flickr




Sighisoara - from Oberth Pita by Brombags1, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

HD207129 1 2​





























florinc​















alex3us​














Andrei Pavel​













worldalldetails.com​















Sighisoara, clock tower by KAM0S, on Flickr​








Cezar F​











Răzvan Muntean​


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## midrise (Feb 17, 2012)

mg:..Hauntingly.....delightful..


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Darius Olteanu​












































Emil Dendyuk​













aleea13​











Scott Humphrey​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

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erdely.ma​


















Ovidiusflavius 1 2​
































Wikipedia​


















Lazar Boglarka​















György Székely​









































DSC_1012 by Noemi D.Soos, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

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Sighisoara by Alex Buga, on Flickr












Sighisoara by Alex Buga, on Flickr














Sighisoara,Romania by rusty1452, on Flickr














Sighisoara,Romania by rusty1452, on Flickr











DSC_0136 by AAAPOE and 1China1 Photos at flickr, on Flickr













DSC_0196 by AAAPOE and 1China1 Photos at flickr, on Flickr













Sighisoara by Alex Buga, on Flickr











Sighisoara by Alex Buga, on Flickr











Sighisoara Skyline by Sergio Formoso, on Flickr












Happy New Year! by Sighisoara.me, on Flickr











Winter colors by Sighisoara.me, on Flickr












romania by KABBY PHOTO, on Flickr​


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## balthazar (Jul 19, 2007)

nice town!


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

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92. Walking under the moonlight, in Sighisoara, Romania by Robintel.ro, on Flickr






56. The lower town of Sighisoara seen from the uphill fortress, Romania by Robintel.ro, on Flickr






Romania_2013_13 by Avi Zioni, on Flickr








Untitled by multe culori, on Flickr






Untitled by multe culori, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

DSC03090 by Verijuuri, on Flickr​


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

96861096​


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## hugodiekonig (May 19, 2009)

whenever i remember dracula i will always then remember this town where he came from

beautiful Sighisoara! :cheers::apple:


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## Manitopiaaa (Mar 6, 2006)

I will be in Romania for a week this August and will be visiting Sighisoara on August 8! I can't wait


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Hope you enjoy! 
Sighisoara is one of the most beautiful towns in Romania, I can tell you from experience


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## Manitopiaaa (Mar 6, 2006)

ThatOneGuy said:


> Hope you enjoy!
> Sighisoara is one of the most beautiful towns in Romania, I can tell you from experience


Thank you! When I studied abroad in Madrid, most of my best friends were Romanian. I like their attitude, their friendliness and how warm and homely they are. So I'm visiting Romania now before I start grad school in Italy. One of my best friends (we trekked through Morocco together) attends the University of Bucharest so I'll be in Bucharest for 2 days and then I'll do 1 day in Sinaia/Peles, 1 day in Brasov/Bran, 1 day in Sighisoara and then 1 day in Pitesti/Transalpina with her. I wanted to also do Sibiu but she insists that Sibiu will 'look like a dump' after I visit Sighisoara, so we're skipping it. I feel a disappointed I couldn't do Sibiu also.

And then after that she's coming with me to Italy and we're going to do 3 days in Rome, 2 days in Florence, 1 day in Siena for the Palio, and then 3 days in Venice before I start grad school in Bologna.

I also managed to add in 2 days in London and 1 day in Riga before Romania so I'm gonna be tired as hell lol


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## ThatOneGuy (Jan 13, 2012)

Sinaia is also amazing, kind of a valley town with some interesting 19th century (I think) mansions. Not to mention the Peles Castle. Just Transylvania in general!


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

hugodiekonig said:


> whenever i remember dracula i will always then remember this town where he came from
> beautiful Sighisoara! :cheers::apple:


Is true Vlad Țepeș was born here, but he was not a Transylvanian but a Wallachian. Wallachia is the southern province of Romania and in middle age was a state with a dominant Romanian and Orthodox culture, while in Transylvania Hungarian and German culture was dominant as well as the Catholic and Protestant faith. Vlad was born while his father was a refugee there.

As for the character of the vampire, this one harmed much Romania, especially in the domain of tourism, like a dead dude invented by an Englishman would be the most interesting thing we have to show. Not to speak that Stoker novel isn't even original, he got 'inspired' by Jules Verne's Carpathian Castle novel which appeared few years earlier.




Manitopiaaa said:


> I will be in Romania for a week this August and will be visiting Sighisoara on August 8! I can't wait


Have a nice trip but if you accept an advice, the countryside around Sighișoara, especially the road to Agnita is much finer and generally the rural or wild (forests etc) environment is much more relaxing than the urban one, at least in Romania. Those roads you can travel by car, bicycle or even by foot, or by hitch hiking. Not any danger, people is friendly everywhere, the landscapes and vegetal diversity is amazing, a true paradise. Also, next to Sighișoara, on the road to Mediaș, is the Breite Plateau with trees as old as the city itself: 800 years.



> I wanted to also do Sibiu but she insists that Sibiu will 'look like a dump' after I visit Sighisoara, so we're skipping it. I feel a disappointed I couldn't do Sibiu also.


Actually, is much more to see in Sibiu which is a big city with all kind of museums, architectural monuments etc and where the streets are filled with foreign and Romanian tourists, while in Sighișoara you can spend two hours the most, is a small city, the old part is smaller than a village.


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## Manitopiaaa (Mar 6, 2006)

^^ Thank you for the information. I spoke with my friend about Medias and the forest and she said the route was different from the one we were going on.

She said we were doing Bucharest -> Sinaia/Peles -> Brasov/Bran -> Sighisoara -> Targu Mures -> Alba Iulia -> Sebes -> Transalpina -> Ranca -> Ramnicu Valcea -> Pitesti -> Bucharest. We are skipping Sibiu for Transalpina and Cindrel Park.


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## PRIMEVAL (Oct 4, 2011)

Manitopiaaa said:


> ^^ Thank you for the information. I spoke with my friend about Medias and the forest and she said the route was different from the one we were going on.
> 
> She said we were doing Bucharest -> Sinaia/Peles -> Brasov/Bran -> Sighisoara -> Targu Mures -> Alba Iulia -> Sebes -> Transalpina -> Ranca -> Ramnicu Valcea -> Pitesti -> Bucharest. We are skipping Sibiu for Transalpina and Cindrel Park.


Ofcourse you can't see everything. I said that about Sibiu because is really the most emancipated city of Transylvania (all others except Brașov are more or less provincial in atmosphere, even Cluj or Timișoara) with the best infrastructure and administration, best museums, best restored old neighborhoods etc.


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