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Sibiu Travel Guide

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Introduction

by Frommers Travel Guides
wiley
Content provided by Frommers

    Sibiu is 274km (170 miles) NW of Bucharest

    Sibiu is on the verge of being discovered: In 2007, it shares the "European City of Culture" title with Luxembourg. Undergoing a thorough big-budget makeover, its large medieval squares and gorgeous buildings have been extensively rejuvenated with repairs, fresh coats of paint, and a good spring-cleaning. An excellent example of the (usually smaller) fortified Saxon towns that dot the Transylvanian landscape, Sibiu was saved from destruction during the Communist era largely because Ceausescu's son, Nicu, was the city's mayor. The medieval heart, surrounded by a sprawling city, is held together by stone-walled fortifications and the remains of the 39 guild towers that served as defensive watchtowers; within lie cobblestone streets, secret back-alleys, crumbling stairways, and elegant monuments.

    Built by the Saxons in the 12th century on the site of the Roman village of Cibinium, Sibiu is known to Germans as Hermannstadt and it remains home to Romania's largest German-speaking community, though now a meager 5,500. Originally designed to a concentric circular plan, with four walls dividing the residential zones according to class, this was Transylvania's ancient capital, with the Saxons ruling from the center and Romanians occupying the outermost ring. While it's often thought of as Romania's most welcoming and laid-back city, its worth remembering that it was here, in the second half of the 19th century, that the Romanian nationalist movement first stirred, agitating against Transylvania's Magyarization; today, vestiges of Astra (the Transylvanian Association from Romanian Literature and Culture) can still be found, particularly at the Folk Museum just outside the city.

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Sibiu Travel Experiences

Traveler Photos of Sibiu

Horses hanging out in the town center, north of Sibiu. Passing a horse cart and avoiding some poo. The wonderful family that runs Pensiunea Campean, Gura Raului. Village scene, Gura Raului.
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