With a soar and a sigh(t): Sighisoara, Romania

Fairyland

We are headed towards Sighisoara, a citadel on a hill top. Our tour leader has thoughtfully arranged  to take us to the top on a little red train. Passing by pastel hued houses along inclined, windy,cobblestoned streets on which we go bump-bump, and medieval towers and then a red walled white trimmed house is like a child's dream of fairyland come true.

Imbued with Dracula 

Lunch has been arranged for us at a creepy looking, bright yellow, medieval building Marked by a black iron dragon, with narrow, dark staircases. We are served food on platters that evoke gore but are aesthetically plated, nevertheless.  We are right in the building where Vlad the Impaler, also known as Vlad Dracula,was born sometime between 1428 and 1431.gained notoriety for his brutal method of impaling his enemies  A room within has been turned into a horror museum which fans can enter for a fee. We didn’t bother to go in, but there was a long queue. 

A few metres away is the torture chamber! We simply walk by. Entrance is near the  (shudder)Passage of the Old Ladies, a rustic covered walkway!

A spectacular introduction

Just opposite is the clock tower, an imposing edifice lording over the dramatic old town. A 17th century Swiss clock with faces on two sides of the tower is its defining feature. On the side facing the city are seven wooden figures, one for each day of the week, stored inside. The figure representing the particular day appears outside. A brilliant mechanism changes the figures each day. On the other side of the tower, facing the citadel, are various other figures. A climb within the three storeyed tower would have taken us to the floors dedicated to the Roman, Medieval  and Saxon history of Romania and of course the innards of the unique clock.The multi-colored roof tiles glitter in the sun.

You can't play truant

One of the buildings we pass by is the German cultural centre which is now a museum with plenty of handicraft for sale. Very close to it is a covered wooden staircase consisting of 176 steps called Scholars’ Stairs. It was built as a passage connecting  the lower citadel with the upper. The roof ensured that the passage remained navigable during the harsh winter weather and its heavy snowfall. On the top stands the Church on the Hill. Besides, this staircase helped students reach the school near the church throughout the year. It’s still here to this day and you can walk up the dark stairs to get to the top of the hill! Now buskers make good use of the walkway.

We skip the stairs and therefore deprive ourselves of being  awed by the historic webbed ceiling and frescoes within the church as also the historic cemetery.

Where is  the monastery?

As we wander around we see the Monastery Church. The Monastery that was beside the church was demolished in the late 19th century. In its place stands the present town hall.the church with its Gothic architecture is spooky. Again we just walk around it knowing fully well about the valuable bronze artifacts it houses. 

Tower spotting

Defensive towers, of which only nine towers have survived, were built into the walls surrounding the old town, of which the Clock Tower is one. Each one is designed differently depending on the finances of the guild that took responsibility for it. The only other one we can identify clearly is the Tailors tower with its double archway, just opposite the clock Tower. 

Unknowingly we walk along the citadel walls and find ourselves in what we now know to be the tower walk. We should have spotted the blacksmith's tower, which was also close to the clock tower,and the water tower but then we really did not know what we were looking for. Turning a corner and passing through yet another archway takes us to a blue building. That is called the Blue House citadel. We might have found all of them had the walk not involve steep inclines and had the cobblestones been kinder to our feet.

We are back at citadel square to start our walk downhill towards our bus. But not before another look at the colourful ancient buildings and glimpses  of the stalls selling trinkets, and souvenirs. 

An unmistakable Saxon built citadel indeed, with the guilds, the school and the fortification!