We invite you along on a trip in an authentic Romanian landscape, a fairy-tale mountain lanscape at few km from Sibiu – the cultural capital of Europe!!! You are going to be the spectator to the shows in Sibiu, to meet the city full of powerful historic meaning, to find out why was it that they named it the cultural capital of Europe.

We also invite you to a one-day trip (optional activity) to the Open Air Museum just a few kilometers away from Sibiu. You will see traditional houses, specific to all the regions of the country, we could relax on the border of a great lake in the center of the museum, in the atmosphere of a traditional setting with horse-carriages.

Attractions in Sibiu

The Fortifications

The most of the remaining parts of the old City Walls and Towers can be seen on the East side of the town along the Coposu and Manejului Street. Parallel with Coposu is the Cetatii Street where three of the old towers are very well preserved. There can be seen the Arquebusier Tower (15th century), Potter Tower (15th century) and Carpenter Tower (15th century). They were all fitted for using firearms and holes had been made in the walls for throwing the tar. All three were part of the 3-rd precincts.

Another very well preserved elements of the 3-rd precincts of fortifications is the Gate Tower situated at the crossing of the streets Al. Odobescu and Pasajul Scarilor (The Stairs Passage). On its proximity, fragments of brick laying situated on the streets Odobescu and Centumvirilor, can be approximately dated in the years 1357-1366. Three towers are rising above the ruined walls forming the limit between the parcels of Avram Iancu and Movilei streets. As the walls, the towers are degraded, but this still allows us to notice on two of them the polygonal shaped plan.

Stairs Passage

The Stairs Passage (Pasajul Scarilor) is one of the most picturesque places in Sibiu. It makes the connection between the lower-town and the upper-town and was built in 13th century. At one end of the passage stands one of the oldest buildings in town. It hosts the oldest restaurant in Romania: "The Golden Barrel" (Butoiul de Aur). The Goldsmiths Square (Piata Aurarilor) is pockmarked with medieval windows, doorways and turrets and is connected to the Small Square through a stairway (15-th century) of asthonishing beauty. The actual look is preserved since 1567.

BASTIONS

Haller Bastion

Part of the protection edifice that surrounded the old town, built in 1552.Situated at the south-eastern end of the fortification, on the present Corneliu Coposu Boulevard, is an ample construction with brick structure, having a total length of the walls of 223 m and about 9 m high, filled with earth and offering a good protection against the fire of the artillery. Its largeness allowed the emplacement of many cannons. It was built between 1551 and 1558. In 1771, the town raised on it a covered Riding School and at the beginning of the 20-th century, a building is erected here, sheltering today the hospital.

Soldisch Bastion

At the end of strada Bastionului on the right on the ivy-covered remains of one of Sibiu's great bastions, the Soldisch Bastion, finished in 1629. A better view of this is from down the Alba Iulia Street.

Situated at the corner of Bastionului street with Alba Iulia street, is the newest of the bastions. Smaller than the Haller bastion, it has the edges of 36 x 54 m, but the smaller perimeter of all bastions. In 1903 a shelter for children was arranged here.

The old coat of arms of Sibiu is placed on it toward the Alba Iulia street.

CHURCHES

The outlines of Sibiu's many churches have dominated her sky line since early times. ome of Sibiu's finest architecture is reflected in the churches. The great era of church building was the medieval period, but examples survive from all ages.

Any churches have superb interiors with fine paintings and sculptures. The first wooden church in Sibiu was on the site where today stands the Asylum Church. In 1234 is attested the first monastery.

In the 12-th and 13-th centuries the district of Sibiu was populated with various Romanic basilicas, like the ones in Gusterita and Turnisor. The parochial church was erected starting with 1350 on the Hill (Huet Square) and was encircled with a fortification wall. Around the church was the cemetery and a chapel, St. Jacob Chapel, was erected nearby in 1415.

In the first half of the 15-th century a church is raised for the Clarisse nuns (the Franciscan Order) and in 1479 the Dominican monks raised a church on the place of today Ursuline church. Nowadays, Sibiu has 12 historic churches.

ASTRA – Open Air Museum

In the forest of Sibiu, Romania, there is a dreamlike landscape that is the setting for the ASTRA Traditional Folk Civilization Museum. Even in 1966, Bernet Kempers, the reputed Dutch museum curator, considered it the most beautiful open-air museum in Europe with cool woodlands and sunny glades and little spring running through it to move the wheels of water mills. In the middle of the museum, there is a lake of 6 ha (15 acres) that mirrors its surrounding windmills from Dobrogea and the fishermen’s building from the Danube Delta. Floating bridges are also part of the scenery. This beautiful environment holds the largest open-air museum in Romania with the richest patrimony and the most original thematic concept. It has become one of the most representative institutions of this type in Europe.