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SighisoaraRomania Sighisoara (Hungarian: Segesvár, German: Schäßburg, Latin: Castrum Sex) is a city and municipality on the Târnava river in Transylvania, Romania. It is in Mures county and has a population of 32,287 (2002). History A Dacian settlement near Sighisoara known as Sandova dates as far back as the 3rd century BC. The Roman Empire built a castle there in the 2nd century and used it as a base for their legions. During the 12th century, German craftsmen and merchants known as the Transylvanian Saxons were invited to Transylvania by the King of Hungary to settle and defend the frontier of his realm. The chronicler Krauss lists a Saxon settlement at Sighisoara by 1191. By 1280 it was known by the Latin Castrum Sex, and by 1298 by the German Schespurch. By 1337 Sighisoara had become a royal center for the kings, who conferred upon the settlement in 1367 status of a town with the title Civitas de Segusvar. The town played an important strategic and commercial role at the edges of Central Europe for several centuries. Sighisoara became one of the most important towns of Transylvania, with artisans from throughout the Holy Roman Empire visiting the settlement. The German artisans and craftsmen led the town economonically, as well as building the fortifications protecting it. It is estimated that during the 16th-17th centuries Sighisoara had as many as 15 guilds and 20 handicraft branches. The Baroque sculptor Elias Nicolai lived in the town. The Wallachian prince Vlad Tepes, born in Sighisoara in 1431, minted coin in the town and issued the first document listing the town's Romanian name Sighisoara. The town was the setting for George I Rákóczi's election as Prince of Transylvania and King of Hungary in 1631. Sighisoara suffered from occupation, fire, and plagues during the 17th and 18th centuries. The nearby plain of Albesti was the site of the Battle of Segesvár, where the revolutionary Hungarian army led by Józef Bem was defeated by the Russian army led by Luders on 31 July 1849. A monument was constructed in 1852 to the Russian general Scariatin, who died in the battle. The Hungarian poet Sándor Petofi is generally believed to have been killed in the battle, and a monument was constructed in his honor at Albesti in 1897. After World War I Sighisoara passed with Transylvania from the Kingdom of Hungary to the Kingdom of Romania. Because the historic centre of Sighisoara has preserved in an exemplary way the features of a small medieval fortified town, it has been listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Each year, a Medieval Festival takes place in the old citadel in July. Owing to its connection to the myth of Dracula through Vlad Tepes, the construction of a Dracula theme park in Sighisoara was considered but ultimately rejected as it would have detracted from the medieval style of the town. Sights Sighisoara is perhaps the most enchanting medieval town in Transylvania, due to its well preserved walled old town. The landmark of the town is the old Clock tower, a 64m high tower built in 1556. It is today a museum of history of the town. Other interesting sights are: The 14th century medieval citadel The House of Vlad Tepes, close to the Clock Tower, today a restaurant. External links
This page was retrieved and condensed from
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sighisoara)
November 2005
Unfortunately I do not have any of my photos of this place left, although we had four cameras between us and we have taken many, many photos wherever we went, two of my most favoured cameras: a JVC video camera I favoured because of the quality of photos it produced, ease of use and its excellent compression rate, and my Panasonic camera for its miniature size. Both had large, 512 MB SD Cards and many thousands of photos on them were stolen from my bag, later into our trip, by some 'lowlife', with my wallet and money. You'll see this message a few times, because my JVC and Panasonic cameras' cards had many-many pictures stored on them. Site Index Back to Top Photos Index Thanks for coming, I hope you
have enjoyed it, will recommend
it to your friends, and will come
back later to see my site developing
and expanding.
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