Sighisoara, Transylvania

We rode in the bus for over two hours to the town of Sighisoara (pronounced Sig-hi-shwy-ra).  Along the way we learned a bit more of the history of the area which was settled by Hungarians, then they were pushed out and the Germans settled here until the mid 19th century.  The land lends itself to fairy tales, magic, and castles.  You remember the Pied Piper of Hamlin?  He brought the kidnapped children to Transylvania.

Bram Stoker made this area more famous with his stories of Dracula.  The real story is that Vlad the Impaler was born in Sighisoara in 1461. Vlad’s father was also Vlad with the last name of Dracul, meaning the devil. Vlad as a youth was shipped to Istanbul for political reasons and when he came back home he hated the Turks so he fought against the Ottoman Empire on the side of Constantine and the Protestant Reformation. When one adds the letter ‘a’ to the end of Dracul it means “The son of Dracul” or Dracula.  Bram Stoker picked up on that and used it in his book.  The whole region has built on that notoriety.

The city itself was originally a fortified citadel with a wall completely surrounding it and 12 city gates through which you could enter.  The main gate was the tallest and called the Clock Tower. The firgues on the tower are called puppets and moved at one time but today the mechanism is not working. The other gates were built by the various trade guilds in the city. Today 9 gates remain standing.

The church on the hill overlooking the city was built as the last defense to keep the villagers safe.  They could go up to the church when invaders arrived and be behind tall, strong walls.