25 April 2025 – Sighisoara
Miles driven today = 89
Total Miles to date = 4,179
This morning’s drive was an absolute joy. Once we had freed ourselves from the last of the roundabouts in the urbanisation around Brasov, Google Maps instructed us to “continue for 102 kilometres”, so we sat back and enjoyed the ride. There was a real mix of scenery from heavily forested hillsides to Alpine meadows to quaint and rustic red roofed villages and a couple of great looking castles. The road was fabulous as well with a surface which would put many trunk roads in the UK to shame.
We pulled into a large carpark in Sighisoara and once we had got grips with the payment app and had a bite of lunch we headed for the medieval citadel at the top of the hill.
The citadel is a UNESCO listed complex of buildings within a protective wall, complete with many of its original watchtowers.
The most imposing building is the Clock Tower, which also serves as one of the Citadel’s pedestrian gateways. It was built in the 14th Century and then expanded a couple of centuries later.
You can climb the tower for views across the town. We didn’t feel the urge. There is also a small museum inside.
All the watchtowers are given the names of various trades which presumably used to take place in and around them. The first one we came across was the Blacksmith’s Tower with exhibits of how a Smithy used to operate inside.
The Church of the Dominican Monastery was recorded as being here as early as 1298 but has been rebuilt several times since, most recently after a great fire in 1676.
The City Hall enjoys great views across the area.
This house was owned by a chap called Vlad Dracul. Dracul means Dragon or Devil. His son Vlad III was born here in 1431. Vlad Junior became Lord of the province of Wallachia on three separate occasions. He was a horrible piece of work. His favourite way of executing his enemies was by shoving a sharpened pole where the sun don’t shine and allowing gravity to do the rest. Hence his more widely known nickname, Vlad the Impaler or Vlad Tepes.
Vlad also used to sign himself off as Dracula, meaning son of Dracul, but also thereby Son of the Devil, so you can see now where Bram Stoker got his inspiration from when writing his book about the undead Count. I’m not sure how happy Vlad would have been with this representation of him but it does show off his famous 70s porno moustache to good effect.
We ambled on along the cobbled streets and had a quick look at a couple of galleries.
I was really quite taken by these painted chairs but they were closing for their lunch break so we were ushered out the door without ceremony.
Two more watchtowers to admire. The Butcher’s Tower on the left and the Furrier’s Tower on the right.
The Pupils’ Stairway was built in 1647 to allow students to get to their school at the top of the hill.
Its 176 steps are completely covered from top to bottom.
The school at the top of the staircase is still a centre of learning to this day.
The Church on The Hill was originally built in the 13th Century but adapted over the following centuries to give it a more Gothic appearance. I had shorts on today so we didn’t bother trying to go into either of the Churches in case I got told off for being inappropriately attired.
The Ropemaker’s Tower appears to have been converted into a private residence. A pretty cool place to call home.
Finally the top heavy Tinsmith’s Tower still bears the scars from a siege on the town in 1704.
Once we were done we backtracked about 5km out of town to a fairly new facility called Camping Moon View. Just as I pulled on the handbrake our phones flashed up a general alarm advising that a bear had been spotted in Sighisoara and warning people not to approach or try to feed it.
Moon View is really more of an aire than a campsite. There’s not a blade of grass to be seen but they do have some very new and sparkling facilities including barbecues with free wood provided, which is something we hadn’t seen on our travels before. There's just us and one other van on a site with more than 30 pitches. The owner told us that lots more people will be here in May. That's why we're heading for home mate. We don't actually like people all that much.
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