Perhaps more than any of the other medieval cities in Transylvania, traveling to Sighișoara is like walking into a living history book. Like Sibiu and Brașov, Sighișoara is one of Transylvania’s seven walled cities or citadels. Built during medieval times, these cities were built along the Carpathian mountains which formed a natural barrier between Europe and the Ottoman Empire to the East. Sighișoara is unique in that much of the old town is intact and serves as a wonderful example of how a medieval town would have functioned. For this reason, it has been Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site,

The medieval city of Sighișoara was founded and built in the thirteenth century by Géza II, King of Hungary who invited a large number of Saxon craftsmen and merchants to settle and defend the territory. Sighișoara soon became a successful frontier community and trading center. It was a bustling place of industry and business and became home to fifteen flourishing trade guilds.

These craftsmen were organized into guilds with each occupation gathered into the same section of the city with each guild being responsible for the financing of one of the defense towers of the city which is why the towers bear names such as the Bootmaker’s Tower, the Tailor’s Tower, or the Furrier’s Tower to name just a few of Sighișoara’s nine towers.

Indeed as you explore Sighișoara’s winding cobblestone streets, secluded squares, covered stairways, towers, turrets, and enchantingly preserved citadel, you will feel as though you have been magically transported back in time.