Sensational Sighisoara

Birthplace of Dracula

November 1, 2024

We are getting ever closer to finding Dracula! We've made it to Sighisoara (pronounced See-ghee-Swar'ah), the birthplace of old Drac himself. He was born in a house in the citadel (Old Town) in 1431 and lived there with his father, Vlad Dracul until 1935 when they moved to Targoviste. For more on the history of Vlad III (aka Vlad the Impaler, aka Dracula) see my post "Searching for Dracula".

Understandably there is much more of a playful Dracula vibe here than at Sibiu which seemingly wants nothing to do with the Prince of Darkness and the tourists who come to Translyvania looking for him. In contrast, this small city of 28,000 people has a vibrant tourist industry with a Dracula restaurant and a Dracula room (in the location of his supposed birth home), a statue of Vlad III, a Dracula museum in addition to countless souvenir shops selling countless Dracula/Vlad the Impaler kitschware.

We decided to spice up our visit to the Citadel by playing a game from Questo called "Medieval Sighisoara: Defend the Fortress". It's like an outdoor escape room where it guides you around the city and you answer questions and riddles with hints hidden in the buildings. It helped keep our young kids engaged in what they might otherwise consider a boring history lesson of a place they have never heard of nor are likley to return to.

Sighisoara "new town" (featuring the Holy Trinity Orthodox Chuch) from the Citadel

There are still a LOT of horse drawn carriages throughou the Romanian countryside.

Pretty umbrella art over a street at the foot of the citadel.

Sighisoara was founded by Saxons who settled in Transylvania, on a plateau crossed by Târnava river. The name of the citadel was first mentioned in an official document issued by the Wallachian prince Vlad Dracul (father of Vlad the Impaler), who was forced to live here in exile. This small fortified medieval city had a strategic and commercial role of great importance, which knew a flourishing commercial development due to the strong guilds of craftsmen within the area. In 1280, Sighişoara was attested under the name of Castrum Sex (meaning the sixth castle), reaching almost 15 guilds during the 16th and 17th centuries. Being one of the most significant cities in the Transylvania region, this place was frequently visited by artisans from the entire Roman Empire. (Book Tours Romania)

Citadel at night.

In the "story" in the Questo game we play citizens of medieval Sighisoara trying to defend our beloved city from the evil Stefan Bathory, a Hungarian noble who had his eyes on expansion. In the game, as in real life, Stefan's army laid siege to the Sighisoara Citadel, but it is unsuccessful as the people of the city hold strong.

However, in the game, UNLIKE in real life, we uncover a betrayal in time to save the city and thwart Stefan's evil plan. In real life, Stefan agrees to leave Sighisoara alone if they hand over the 1,988 barrels of delicious wine they have stored in the Citadel. They agree, but when they open the gates to deliver the wine barrels, Stefan is lying in wait and gains entry to the city with his army and sacks it, thereby becoming a ruling Prince of Translyvania. He was allegedly tipped off by a traitor inside the Citadel as to when and where the wine barrels would be moved outside the fortress walls.

Below are some highlights from our Questo Defense of the city!

The Clock Tower and main gate to the Citadel

The kids answering a Questo question while looking out over Sighisoara's new town.

The symbol of this city is the Clock Tower as here the local council held its gatherings till 1556. Built in two phases, first in the second half of the 14th century and second in the 16th century, it presents 4 turrets placed in the corners of the top, a symbol of the town’s judicial autonomy, elements of Baroque style created after the fire from 1676 when the gunpowder deposits located in the Tailors’ Tower exploded and also colorful tiles added in 1894. Since 1899, this building serves a the History Museum but visitors can also climb up to the top to experience the belvedere point over Sighișoara. (Book Tours Romania)

Town of Sighisoara and Holy Trinity Orthodox Chuch from the Citadel

The current Sighisoara City Hall building and an answer to one of the Questo riddles where we learned about the 1,988 wine barrels.

St Joseph's Church

Inside St Joseph's Church

Colorful buildings of the Citadel with the Shoemaker's Tower at the far end.

Colorful side street

St Joseph Roman Catholic Church

The Shoemaker's Tower

Like in the case of the other seven citadels, Sighișoara preserved till today parts of its medieval fortification, to be more specific, nine out of the 14 defensive towers (ex. The Ropemakers’ Tower, The Tailors’ Tower, The Cobblers’ Tower). (Book Tours Romania)

Steps up to the Tailor's Tower and a fun clue to the Questo game where we had to look through the keyhole and count how many windows we saw.

The Furrier's Tower

The Church on the Hill

Another Gothic style symbol is located north to the Clock Tower, placed on the School Hill at a height of 1.373 feet, the Church on the Hill. Although it was initially a Catholic church, after the Saxon inhabitants of Sighișoara shifted to Lutheranism, the church became Lutheran after the reform from 1547. The inside walls were completely painted at first but in 1776 a vast part of the murals were destroyed and never reproduced, although the murals were copied on parchment. Unfortunately, these parchments were lost and never recovered. After the visitors climb the wooden Scholars’ Stairs in front of the church, they reach the precinct of the structure dominated by the St. Martin’s gothic altar created in 1520 and painted by Johan Stoss, son of the famous sculptor Veit Stoss. (Book Tours Romania)

The Cover Stairway

We stopped for a bit to eat at the Terasa Cafe La Scara

Statue of Vlad III

Built in 1642, with initially 300 steps which were later reduced to 175, this covered stair passage connects the Citadel Square with the Church on the Hill. It was ingeniously designed to protect the children who went to school and the people on their way to the church. (Book Tours Romania)

After the Questo game was finished we strolled around the Citadel a bit more and found the Candy Fort for a well deserved jolt of sugar.

We also paid 10 RON ($2) each to visit Dracula's room - in the house that he apparently grew up in. It was kitschy, but fun with an actor playing Dracula who would pop up out of a coffin to scare people. To be honest, I thought he could have done a better job of popping up and scaring us, but I suppose his bosses told him not to be too scary to avoid any lawsuits if a kid pee's his pants or something.

The name of Dracul, which inspired the novel of Bram Stoker and other art works, has its origin in the admission to the Order of Dragons, of Vlad II, son of Mircea the Old and father of Vlad the Impaler (Vlad III Dracul). This distinguished statute was offered to him, after he distinguished himself in the battles against the Ottomans. Although in that period the dragons were a symbol of independence, strength and wisdom, in the religious domain it was associated with evil due to the snake resemblance. A symbol of a dragon carved in iron hangs above the entrance of the building. (Book Tours Romania)

After we checked into our AirBnB, in the shadow of the Citadel, I left Francesca and the kids (who were tired and refused to join me) and ventured back out in search of a cemetary to see the All Saints Day celebration in action.

Francesca had found out that while the Romanians don't celebrate Halloween on October 31st, they do celebrate All Saints Day on November 1st-3rd. This holiday, which is celebrated in many Eastern European countries, is similar to Dia de los Muertos in Spain and Latin American countries, where people piligramage to the grave sites of relatives who have passed (as opposed, I guess, to the graves of those still living??) and light candles, sing songs and eat food while paying your respects.

Google image of All Saints Day in Romania. Our cemetary was a bit...darker.

The only cemetary in Sighisoara, that I could find, was the one at the Church on the Hill. Suprisingly, there was almost no one in the Citadel when I went trudging back up there, save for the pockets of dinners and the couples smooching in dark corners. As I climbed up the Covered Stairway I couldn't help but feel like Ichabod Crane as he crossed the covered bridge at night. It was spooky as hell.

And speaking of spooky as hell, when I arrived at the cemetary, there was not a soul there (and I am assuming that all the dead people's souls have gone up to heaven....or down to that other place. :) As I strolled among the tombstones I did see a couple of candles flickering at gravesites indicating that some people had been here, but they had all departed. I was disappointed to not see this once a year cultural event, but I did take some fun and creepy photos that made the trip worthwhile.

I concluded the evening with a drink (or two, but who's counting) and a pizza at Concordia at the bottom of the hill just outside of the Citadel and did some serious people watching (both live and on Facebook). I always enjoy seeing the costumes of my friends and their kids in their Halloween posts.

Then it was off to bed as we have an early start to head to Brasov and Dracula's castle!

ADDENDUM:

As we drove the 3 hours from Sighisoara to Bran, we passed by a cemetary where multitudes were celebrating All Saints Day. Although it was not at night, I was still excited to see that the locals were actually participating in this custom.

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