Historic Centre of Sighișoara
The Historic Centre of Sighișoara is the old historic center of the town of Sighișoara, Romania, built in the 12th century by Saxon settlers. It is an inhabited medieval citadel that, in 1999, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its 850-year-old testament to the history and culture of the Transylvanian Saxons.
Birthplace of Vlad III the Impaler, Sighișoara hosts, every year, a medieval festival where arts and crafts blend with rock music and stage plays. The city marks the upper boundary of the Land of Sachsen. Like its bigger brothers, Sibiu and Braşov, Sighișoara exhibits Medieval German architectural and cultural heritage that was preserved even during the Communist period.
Description
The fortress is surrounded by a 9.3 m high wall, originally about 4 m high. Later, the height of the wall was increased in some places to 14 m. The wall was built between the 14th and 17th centuries as protection against Turkish attacks. The wall had 14 towers, 9 of which are preserved to this day. The towers served as the headquarters of various craft guilds.- The Clock Tower
- The Rope Makers' Tower
- The Butchers' Tower
- The Furriers' Tower
- The Weavers' Tower
- The Tailors' Tower
- the Jeweler's / Goldsmiths' Tower
- The Tinsmiths' Tower
- The Tanners' Tower
- The Blacksmiths' Tower
- The Tower of the Locksmiths and the Coopers were situated between the Tower of the Shoemakers and the Blacksmiths.
- The Fishermen's Tower once stood on the banks of the Târnava, much further outside the fortress, where the mill was located at that time. It is rarely mentioned. It can only be seen on the Museum model in the Clock Tower.
- The Shoemakers' Tower.