As I have written before, during the 12th century, a lot of German merchants and craftsmen settled in Transylvania. In case of an invasion by Tatars for example, the Germans could seek refuge in the fortified churches of the smaller villages or in fortified towns. Sighișoara is such a town. It actually became one of the most important cities in this part of Romania.
Nowadays it belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage List:
Criterion (iii): Sighisoara is an outstanding testimony to the culture of the Transylvanian Saxons, a culture that is coming to a close after 850 years and will continue to exist only through its architectural and urban monuments.
Criterion (v): Sighisoara is an outstanding example of a small fortified city in the border region between the Latin-oriented culture of central Europe and the Byzantine-Orthodox culture of south-eastern Europe. The apparently unstoppable process of emigration by the Saxons, the social stratum which had formed and upheld the cultural traditions of the region, threatens the survival of their architectural heritage as well.
One of the highlights of the historic center is the inhabited citadel with its beautiful medieval architecture. Of all the places in Romania that Lars and I have visited this summer, this was actually one of the very few where we saw foreign tourists. And last but not least, Sighișoara is also connected with Dracula; the father of Vlad the Impaler lived in exile here.
