Highlights:
Medieval town Sibiu
Romanian old traditions in Marginimea Sibiului region
Saxon fortified citadels :
Slimnic Biertan
Prejmer
Harman
Medieval citadel Sighisoara
Saxon city Brasov

Day 1
BUCHAREST- OLTULUI VALLEY – SIBIU

Arrival at Henri Coanda International Airport in Bucharest.

Accomodation in Bucharest , Le Boutique Hotel Moxa 4 *

Short Bucharest city tour.

Day 2
BUCHAREST- OLTULUI VALLEY – SIBIU

We visit the Cozia Monastery.
We visit Turnu Monastery which is situated on the left bank of the river Olt, 2 km away from the Monastery Cozia and dates back to XVth – XVIth century.

Arrival in Sibiu and accommodation in Hotel Continental Forum 4 *

THE LARGE SQUARE:

The Large Square is the historic center of Sibiu, first time mentioned in 1411. In 1538 the documents mention a fountain here, and in the 1550 the infamy pillar was erected, to be removed only in 1783.

The monuments to admire in The Large Square are :

The Brukenthal Palace
The Brukenthal Palace is one of the most remarkable monuments in late baroque style in Romania, erected between 1778-1788 as an official residence for Samuel von Brukenthal .

The Blue House,
A building in Baroque style, during the second World War it was the headquarters of the Gestapo , today it is a part of the Brukenthal Museum .

The Hecht House
The House Hecht is one of the ancient buildings in the Large Square, well preserving Gothic and Renaissance details .

The Haller House
Built in Renaissance style, it preserves from the old edifice built in 15-16th century the arches, decorations, door frames, and the portal.

THE SMALL SQUARE

The Small Square is the second largest historic place of Sibiu and one of the most beautiful squares in the town.
This square is connected to the large Square through a series of narrow passages.

The Council Tower
The Council Tower was built in the 13th century and is first mentioned in a document dated 1370.

The Liars Bridge
The first cast iron bridge in Romania was built in 1859 to connects the upper town to the lower town.

The Arts House
The Arts House is one of the most beautiful buildings in Sibiu and one of city’s symbols. It is founded on the site of the Old Butcher’s house built in 14th century and designed for shops, It dominates the square with its silhouette with eight arches at the ground floor.

THE HUET SQUARE
The Huet Square is surrounded by historic buildings built in Gothic style, the square being dominated by the Evangelic Cathedral.
Before the steps on the right-hand side is a 17C courtyard of private houses that is untouched by the 20C.

The Stairs Tower
The tower, one of the oldest building in Sibiu, dates from 1542 with some changes from 1863.

THE HISTORIC CHURCHES

The Evanghelic Church- built in 1520 on the place of an old Romanic basilica from the 12th century. A gigantic fresco (over 9m high), painted in 1445, covers much of the north wall of the chancelry.

The Catholic Church – built between 1726 and 1733 in a baroque style with classic decorations.

The Ursuline Church – built in 1474, the church was a Dominican Monastery until 1543 when the Lutherans took over. The monastery, known under German name of Klosterkirche, was taken over in 1755 by Ursulines nuns.

3. THE MUSEUMS

The Bruckenthal National Museum –Samuel Von Brukenthal worked his way up at the Viennese Imperial Court and finally he became “aulic” chancellor of Transylvania.
Brukenthal got back to Sibiu and built up a palace in a late Baroque style .
In an enlightened gesture, Brukenthal generously gave the Palace to the public as a museum in his will.

The Pharmacy Museum, is located in an historical building dated 1569 amd was one of the oldest pharmacies in country.
Samuel Hohnemann (1755-1843) invented homeopathy and developed his treatment in the basement of this house.
The exhibition is organized on the structure of a classical pharmacy that includes two laboratories, one homeopathic sector and a documentation sector. It contains over 6000 ancient medical instruments and dispensing tools from the time when Sibiu had more chemists’ than anywhere else in Transylvania.
After a such day , full of history, we have a fantastic dinner in the restaurant “ Butoiul de Aur”, the oldest restaurant in Romania, situated in the same building on the “Pasajul Scarilor” – the “Stairs Passage” which has existed since the XVth century.

Accomodation in the Hotel Continental Forum 4 *

Day 3
DISCOVER THE ROMANIAN TRADITIONS IN MARGINIMEA SIBIULUI AREA SIBIU- SALISTE – TILISCA – SIBIEL – GURA RAULUI- SIBIU

Marginimea Sibiului is an ethnographical area unique in Romania, situated to the West of Sibiu. All the villages of this area have a unique ethnological, architectural and historical heritage. Painting icons on glass is an old tradition preserved in Marginea for 200 years.

The traditional folk costume of Marginea is unique and easy to recognize from its striking combination of black and white. In some parts of the village country people still wear the costume.

The oldest painted church is situated in Saliste and dates back to 1674.

The Glass Icons Museum is the largest collection of its kind in the world and contains icons on glass from almost all the areas of Romania. It was founded in 1969. Along with icons on glass, the museum also presents icons on wood, traditional ceramics, traditional furniture, household textiles and old Romanian books.

Visit the Gura Raului a traditional village in Marginimea Sibiului .

We will visit a few unique workshops including a forge that is more than 100 years old and that is still working.

An old oil making machine – “piva”, which is still working and produces oil from pumpkin seeds in the lent period. The pressing machine and the installations are more than 200 years old.

A felting machine with the hammers, used for felting the wool and for washing the clothes.

Back to Sibiu and accomodation in Hotel Continental Forum 4 *(or overnight in the village Gura Raului in a GuestHouse 4* )

Day 4
DISCOVER THE SAXON HERITAGE

The fortresses and the fortified villages of Transylvania were built in the XIIth century by the Saxon immigrants who settled in the Mosele Valey. They were brought here by the king of Hungary and received many advantages and rights in exchange for helping to defend this area against Turks and Tartars.

SIBIU–SLIMNIC –SEICA MARE – MEDIAS – BIERTAN – SIGHISOARA

The Peasant Citadel in Slimnic

Slimnic was mentioned for the first time in documents dating back to 1282 and 1309 and hosts one of the main tourist attractions of Sibiu county, the peasant citadel, which was built before the XVth century.

Medias
Where we will visit the Saint Margareta Church, dating from 1488 , and built in the Gothic style .

Biertan
Is one of the first German settlements in Transylvania dating from 1224.
The attestation of its name has been certified since 1283.
As any other Transylvanian Saxon Community, it featured careful urban planning, still visible today in the Franconic style of the rows of houses around the central square overlooked by the grandiose fortress-church.

The Fortified Church from Biertan

The fortified church from Biertan, placed on a hillock in the middle of the locality, is a typical example of the fortress-church family found around the localities of the Tarnave area, in the so-called ‘Country of the Wine’ from Transylvania.

Arrival in the beautiful Sighisoara Citadel .

Accomodation in the GuestHouse “ The House with Stag” 3 *

Day 5
SIGHISOARA- PREJMER – HARMAN – BRASOV

Visit Sighisoara and its marvels

Sighisoara: This is the birthplace of Vlad Tepes – The Impaler , better known as Dracula. The town is on the UNESCO world Heritage List . It was originally a Saxon town known as Castrum sex (Fort Six).

Sighisoara is the most beautiful and well kept fortified town in Transylvania and dates from the 13th century when it was known as the City of Schassburg. It is the only medieval citadel whose old buildings are still in a functional state and well kept. The town dates from around 1190. The inhabitants of the town were from the very beginning artisans, organized in guilds ( the oldest guild in Sighisoara dates from 1376).

The Sighisoara citadel has a very rich story, written in stone by its celebrated guild towers – the Leather Dresser’s Tower, the Tinker’s Tower, the Goldsmith’s Tower, the Rope Maker’s Tower, The Butcher’s Tower ,The Furriers’ Tower, the Tailor’s Tower and The Lockmith’s Tower. Alongside these are the vast Church on the Hill ( from 1345), the Monastery Church( built in 13th century), the Venetian House and the House of the Stag , called after the stag head fixed to the corner of the building, which dates from the 17th century. As a living embodiment of the renaissance Transylvanian Style, these are only a few of the SIGHISOARA’s marvels

Prejmer

First documented in 1240, Prejmer preserves the strongest village fortress in Southern Transylvania (the 15th-16th centuries), built around an evangelical church in early Gothic style (1241-1250), then transformed into late Gothic style (the 16th century) and renovated several times

Harman

The Evangelic fortified church of Harman was built in the Romanic style in the XIIth century and at the beginning of the XIIIth century. A strong fortress surrounds the church.

Arrival in Brasov, accomodation in the Hotel Bella Muzica 3 *

DAY 6
BRASOV – PRAHOVA VALLEY – BUCHAREST

Visit Brasov one of the most prosperous Saxon cities of its time.

The Black Church was built in Gothic style between 1385 and 1477 on the site of an earlier church .
The church was given its new name after disaster struck in 1689, when the ‘Great Fire, set by Hapsburg invaders, leveled most of the town and heavily damaged the church, blackening its walls.
Restoration took almost 100 years. The year 1477 is written in Gothic letters on the front gate, the only piece made in wood that resisted the fire.
The original Gothic interior has changed under the restorations, and the space you see nowadays is mostly Baroque.
Most of the objects inside the church date from the reconstruction time except for the baptismal font which was cast in bronze by a local craftsman in 1450.

The Saint Nicholas Church – built in the 14th century.

Rope Street is considered the narrowest street in Europe. It was mentioned in official documents starting with the 17th century. It was first meant to facilitate easier access to the city for firefighters. The street was renovated in 2003 .

The Hirscher House is an imposing house which borders the Council Square. Apollonia Hirscher, the widow of Brasov’s mayor, erected it during 1541-1547.

After seeing the marvels of this town, we will end the tour in Bucharest , in the evening , with a stop in the Royal Cellars in Azuga , located on the Prahova Valley for a tasting of the famous sparkling wine and lunch as a compliment from Medieval Tours.

Arrival in Bucharest and accommodation in the Hotel Venezia 4 *

Day 7
Transfer to the airport and departure

PRICE: 1.980 EURO
This is a private tour, for one family
990 euro /1 person / in double occupancy
Price for single room occupancy: supplied on request

The price includes:
Transfer from / to the airport
6 nights accommodation in double room occupancy , breakfast included, in 3***, 4**** hotels and rural guest houses, according to the scheduled
All vehicle expenses included (transport, driver, fuel)

Guide-driver’s accommodation and meals included
Guide and translation services included
All entrance fees included, where applicable
Dinner in Sibiu in the Restaurant “ The Golden Barrel”
Lunch and testing sparkling wine in Azuga Cellars
Price does not include:
Lunch and dinner, except mentioned
Fees for video camera in all museums and locations
Flight tickets
Other services
* Upon request, this tour may be considered for more than two persons
* Individual tour may be chosen upon request