Saxon heritage in Transylvania in 3 days

Cluj – Mediaș- Valea Viilor – Slimnic – Sibiu – Cisnãdioara – Cisnãdie – Fãgãraș Mountains – Cârța – Cisnãdioara – Hosman – Richiș – Biertan – Sighișoara – Cluj

Due to the multicultural nature of Transylvania further we will use the names of the localities in Romanian together with the Hungarian or in case, in Romanian together with the German.

– Departure from Cluj-Kolozsvár to Cisnãdioara-Michelsberg
– Mediaș-Mediasch – one of the seven fortresses from which the German name of Transylvania Siebenbürgen (Seven Fortresses) was formed – visiting the old center of the city, St. Margaret Church, the Franciscan Church and monastery, the Steingasser Tower.
– Valea Viilor-Wurmloch – the first fortified church which we will visit was built in the 14th century
– Slimnic-Stolzenburg – we will visit the gothic style Lutheran church built in the 14th century and the fortification of the village meant to protect the way from Sibiu-Hermannstadt to Mediaș-Mediasch
– Sibiu-Hermannstadt – the former capital of the Transylvanian Saxons was in 2007 the Cultural Capital of Europe alongside Luxembourg. We will visit in the totally renovated city-center the Big Square, the Tower of the Council, the Brukenthal Palace, the Lutheran Cathedral and the Bridge of Lies.

– Travel to the Fãgãraș Mountains
– Cisnãdioara-Michelsberg – we will visit the Bergkirche, the one of the oldest Roman styled basilica in Transylvania built in the second part of the 12th century.
– Cisnãdie-Heltau – in the town you can find the fortified church built in Roman style) the first clock tower built in Transylvania (1425). This is the place where, for the first time in Transylvania a lightning rod was put on the church tower in 1797.
– Trip in the Fãgãraș Mountains on the famous Transfãgãrãșan road to the Bâlea Lake (2040 m above sea level) – short walk around the lake, with optional trekking to the Vânãtoarea lui Buteanu Peak (2507 m above sea level), the 9th highest peak in Romania
– Cârța–Kerz – Visiting the ruins of the 12th century Cistercian monastery and church

– Hosman–Holzmengen – the Roman styled church of the village was built in 1270. It is surrounded by two walls.
– Richiș-Reichesdorf – the gothic styled fortified church hides grotesque stone figures.
– Biertan-Birthälm was the Transylvanian Saxon Lutheran bishop seat between 1572-1867, and therefore administratively more important than the town of Mediaș-Mediasch. Every year the Transylvanian Saxons organize their annual festival here.(Siebenbürgen Sachsentreffen in Birthälm)
– Sighișoara-Schäßburg was not the biggest or richest of the seven Saxon walled citadels in Transylvania, but it has become one of the most popular. Today it is the best preserved citadel in the country which is still inhabited. In the citadel is the house where Vlad Țepeș, who inspired Bram Stoker’s famous Dracula, was born in 1431 and lived with his father, Vlad Dracul, until 1435 when they moved to Târgoviște. We will visit the Clock Tower, the Venetian House, the Church of the Dominican Monastery, the Church on the Hill and the Scholars’ Stairs.

 

Map for the program