“Romania 🇷🇴 ~Evangelical Fortified Church and Beautiful Sibiu”
After leaving Fagaras, we decided to take on another location in the same day. We had just enough time, or so we thought!
I had a destination in mind, which was a fortified church, outside of Fagaras, by a more northward direction aways. It was along the way we wanted to go; (to Sibiu). BUT, the “lady in the maps” kept trying to take us back the direction of Fagaras, and with construction going on over a bridge, narrowing the access to one lane, this got to be a bother. In order to override the “map lady,” I put in a different location (nearby town name) so we could continue on our way, without drama, and then after awhile, when further away from Fagaras, I could enter the location again. It finally worked, but we lost precious daylight. How I wished we had a paper map! I love the computer era, but it does has its pitfalls.
In the end, we did not make the fortified church in time to view it, since it had closed, or maybe it isn’t even open for viewing, ever, now. BUT we walked around and took photos. It was not in the best shape, so I think we saw the best of it, anyway. Come to find out, this fortified church and another fortified church in a completely different location have the same name; or very close to similar, it would seem. Perhaps this is what confused the map Lady.
After we made it to Sibiu, as the sun was going down, we got a really great room, at a bit of a steep price, but by dark, it would have been harder to look around in this town with many one-way streets. We were also too tired to keep going. It worked out, and and we had a view of the Great Square of Sibiu which is the best place to be in the old part, with the clock tower view from our room. As it would turn out, the clock sounded off, every quarter hour until 2AM! I thought for sure by midnight it would go silent till the morning, but noooooo. I am way too light of a sleeper for this kind of thing. I just worked away on my photos, until the clock finally quit chiming, then I was able to sleep. We have stayed near clock towers before, on other European trips, but this has never happened, before.
Daryl never noticed the clanging bells, which is normal, so he woke up bright-eyed and bushy tailed! Later, though, we were both surprised by a storm that came in. I think between being tired and the rain, the one-way streets, and having to pay for parking (overnight, plus every time we actually found a place TO park), we said heck with it, lets go. I had been to this old town before, so it was Daryl’s call. He was good. It really is a beautiful place to visit, but it required more time to walk and walk and walk; preferably with sunnier skies. In this case, when I was here before, I came in by train. So no rental vehicle to pay parking for. I did the walking back then.
At this point in our road tripping, as we left Sibiu, we became quite remote; the most remote both of us have been in Romania. We had an amazing day, again, and found villages with only gypsies living in them. Their way of life fascinates me, and we even saw traditional dress by young girls and ladies. What a treat!
Sometimes the road less traveled is the better option. But before that blog post and photos, lets enjoy what we did, yesterday.
Evangelical Fortified Church; Biserica Evanghelica Fortificata and Sibiu
Note: We will go to another Fortified Church, after this one. Now that one was open and in the area of the gypsy villages. Best experience, EVER!
We came into Sibiu at a beautiful time of night. No rain yet, and we drove around taking some photos, as we looked for a hotel for the night.
Transylvania is a multicultural region where Romanians, Hungarians and German settlers, called Saxons, whom lived together for centuries. The Saxons, invited by the Hungarian kings to settle in Transylvania in the 12th and 13th centuries, to protect the southern border of that time’s kingdom, erected seven citadels and around 300 fortified churches scattered in the Transylvanian villages.
Sibiu or Hermannstadt; what it was called in ancient times, was one of the citadels that gave Transylvania its German name, Siebenburger (the seven citadels). Strong walls and monumental towers were built to protect the city face from foreign invaders and some can be seen even today.
If interested in more historical dates and what took place in those times, here is a great source. If ind it very fascinating!
https://www.sibiuturist.ro/history.html
Small Square, 1859
Considered to be a forged iron gem, The Bridge of Lies is one of the most important symbols of the city. Rebuilt in 1859 by Friedrich Hütte in the former location of a wooden bridge, The Bridge of Lies is the first forged iron bridge in Romania. Due to the fact that it was the first bridge not built on pillars, it was called “The Lying Bridge.” In German the word “lying” (lugenmarchen) was homonymous to the word “lie” and thus the locals began calling it the Bridge of Lies, which is why the legends around its name appeared.
The legend says that the bridge will collapse if someone sitting, tells a lie. In the local oral tradition circulates various legends about this bridge, legends about the lovers lies or those of the merchants that sold in the area.
The bridge stands out, due to its resistance pieces decorated with rosettes and a belt of elements placed in circles with decreasing sizes and adorned with vegetal and neo-Gothic geometric motifs. These bear on the southern side the coat of arms of Sibiu and on the northern side the inscriptions “1859” and “Friedrich Hütte.” The four pedestals at the extremity of the bridge, are robust and made of stone. These, sustain the installed lighting devices made of cast iron. The metallic rail of the bridge consists of eight panels with circles in a gothic radial décor.
Starting with 1496, for a period of over 300 years, this Evangelical Church served as a resting place for the city’s mayors, nobles or other personalities. In 1796 the burials in the church were forbidden and the only exception was the one of Samuel von Brukenthal, which was buried in the crypt next to the pulpit. In 1853, 67 funerary stones were exposed in the church, forming a unique gallery.
The former residence of Samuel Von Brukenthal, ruler of Transylvania. Today the palace houses the Brukenthal Museum
This square has existed since 1366, when the third fortification belt was completed.
It was mentioned in 1408 by Mathias Baldi who bought and repaired a stone house in the Large Square.
In 1411, Mathia Tromenauer sold a stone house situated in this square to Nicolaus Jenkowitz. That same year, the Square is mentioned in a document as a cereal market.
The northern flank was first formed by a construction belonging to the Guild of Tailors, erected in 1466 (one of its wings looking onto the Small Square) and other medieval houses.
During the Middle Ages, the square was the stage of the most important events of the city’s daily life, such as public gatherings but also executions.
The guards’ house was placed in front of the Haller House, until 1775, when the Guard was moved in Schmelius’s house, the residence of the commanding general.
The square has a maximum length of 466 feet, and a maximum width of just over 305 feet; making it one of the largest squares in Transylvania.
All the photos below are from my first visit to Sibiu in 2013
The Lesser Square Dates back to at least the 1300’s, Piata Mica originally served as a hub for the city’s craftsmen and their tools. Buildings in this Square hosted craftsmen workshops and the merchandise were displayed within these spaces, such as housing the guilds of the goldsmiths, mercers, blacksmiths, and others who worked in Sibiu and formed the backbone of its economy.
The buildings are tall and include those lens-shaped skylights known as the “The Eyes of Sibiu.” The buildings in the Small Square date from the 14th to the 16th centuries, with subsequent modifications.
Piata Mica is Sibiu’s Lesser Square are divided into two parts separated by Ocnei Street, which slopes under the Bridge of Lies towards the Lower Town.
The northern and eastern sides of the Square follow the contour of the second fortification belt, forming a circular shape. The buildings situated left of Ocnei Street have a concave shape and follow the contour of the first fortification belt, these buildings separating the Small Square from the Huet Square.
The buildings existing in the Small Square date from the 14th to the 16th
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Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More
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