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NeverStopTraveling

Romania, Still Medieval Europe

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Last Updated on October 28, 2022 by Jim Ferri

Travelers walking about Sighisoara, one of the best places to go in Romania

Want to experience medieval Europe? Head for Romania…

storks standing in a nest on a house  -- seeing them is one of the things to do in Romania
Storks nesting on houses near Sibiu

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

By Jim Ferri

You’ll find plenty of places to visit in Romania, especially if you want to visit authentic Medieval Europe.

You’ll find many medieval walled towns and cities all around Europe – Rothenburg, Mont Saint Michel, Edinburgh, Dubrovnik, Èze, Siena, and numerous others.

All of these ancient, and oftentimes medieval, towns are very appealing and interesting to visit, but many are actually just tourist towns.

Most of their old towns have been given over to tourist shops and restaurants, and their streets are filled with tour groups and backpackers. Their medieval areas are no longer a living part of the actual old city.

Table of contents

  • A Top Place to Visit in Romania – Visit Medieval Transylvania
  • Fairy Tale-Looking Sibiu
  • Be Entranced by the Sights on the Drive to Sighisoara
  • Colorful Biertan and the Fortified Church
  • Sighisoara, Another Must-See Place to Visit in Romania
  • If You Go:
people on a tour of Dracula's Castle, one of the things to do in Romania
A tour of Dracula’s Castle in Bran

A Top Place to Visit in Romania – Visit Medieval Transylvania

But in the Transylvania region of Romania I found a places that are authentic vestiges of Medieval Europe. It’s an area many travelers relate only to the 19th-century novel Dracula. But to tell you the truth, the only talk of Dracula was from tour operators in Bucharest. He was also promoted by tourist shops near the castle where the fictional Count was supposed to have lived.

In Romania’s Transylvania, I found places with medieval walled towns where people still live and work in medieval buildings built by their ancestors in the Middle Ages. The only thing missing are the legions of tourist shops and legions of tourists.

It’s an eye-opening place to visit in Romania. But, for the most part, it’s a window into authentic-Medieval Europe, something you’ll find in very few places.

cars on a street in a modern city
Modern-day Bucharest

Bargain Bucharest

Bucharest is the best city in Eastern Europe for getting bargain rates on luxury hotels. 

women sitting on a sidewalk selling flowers
Selling flowers in Bucharest

I hadn’t been to Romania in years, and I was interested in seeing how the country had changed, especially Transylvania. 

After sailing on the Viking Cruise Passage to Eastern Europe, a cruise on the Danube from Budapest, I arrived in Bucharest. An 11-day sail through five countries was the perfect way to get a taste of several different countries without having to pack and unpack every day or two.

In Bucharest, all passengers stay at the Bucharest Intercontinental, the hotel included in the Viking package. It’s a good place to stay if you only want to wander about for a day or two.

An added benefit of Bucharest is that it’s a bargain for luxury hotels. For example, at this writing, the five-star Intercontinental is $107 per night for two on Booking.com. The Athenee Palace Hilton Bucharest is $100, the Sheraton Bucharest $95, the Radisson Blue $127. You’ll find plenty of bargains.

people walking about a large colorful town square, one of the things to do in Romania
Piata Mara in Sibiu
rooftops in a medieval city
Rooftops in Sibiu

Fairy Tale-Looking Sibiu

I rented a car from an agency in the hotel and set off on a four-hour drive to Sibiu, a fairy tale-looking city in a fairytale-looking area of the country.

It’s a pretty little town, one of the places in Romania that are very medieval and colorful. It was once a European Capital of Culture so you’ll find many places of interest in this Romanian city.

Sibiu was founded by Saxons, who were invited by the region’s Hungarian rulers to colonize the area and help defend its borders. Over time, the colony became a city citadel and a prosperous center of trade.

people in a cafe near a clock tower, , one of the things to do in Romania
A cafe in Sibiu

You can still see that prosperity in Piata Mara, its main square that is as beautiful as vast. At one end is the Baroque palace of Samuel von Brukenthal, the Governor of Transylvania, in the late 1700s. It now houses the Brukenthal Art Museum, Romanian’s oldest museum, home to a collection of Romanian and Western art.

Other museums are located in even older buildings: the Museum of History is in a Medieval building built in 1549, the Museum of Pharmacy in one dating from 1569.

Sibiu’s historic center is exceptionally charming, with medieval steep-roofed houses with attic windows looking almost like eyes peering out at you. A plethora of narrow streets and lanes tumble out into open squares rimmed with the colorful façades of buildings and churches.

Walk across Liars Bridge, just a block from the main square, and you’ll find yourself at the bottom of another plaza filled with people sitting in tree-shaded cafes at lunchtime. The whole place is incredibly charming.

a farmer in a field with a horse and cow
A common sight on the drive to Sighisoara

Be Entranced by the Sights on the Drive to Sighisoara

I left Sibiu after a few hours to drive to Sighisoara, another place in Romania that’s a cornucopia of Medievalism. Again, it was a beautiful day for a ride, with an azure sky highlighting wisps of cirrus clouds as I drove across the countryside. Taking this drive was one of the best things I did in Romania.

a shepherd with a flock of sheep
A shepherd and his flock near Sighisoara

The beautiful countryside rewarded me with the feeling that I was gazing out the car window into another century. The hills are rich with flocks of grazing sheep, their bleating occasionally carried towards me by the breeze as I stopped to take a photo. No fences interrupt my view now, since as in Medieval times, the pastureland is community property.

Also, there are no tractors in these fields. The farmers still cultivate the land with horse-drawn plows, and people tend their crops by hand. Along the highway, I passed farmers on horse carts as I sped past the tops of countless vegetables pushing their way up through the loamy, near-black topsoil.

Passing through little towns, it was almost as if I was looking at a child’s drawing of a brightly painted block-like house set up right along the edge of narrow sidewalks.

Many houses are painted vividly with colors that range from earth tones to near-atrocious neon. I soon began to wonder if such color choices had been a result of Romanians having lived under a Communist regime for decades. Without any freedom of expression for so long, perhaps painting one’s house in vivid colors was one of the few allowable freedoms to enjoy?

Colorful Biertan and the Fortified Church

colorful buildings around a church on a hill
A fortified church above the village of Biertan

I turned off the road when I saw a sign for Biertan, one of the places I wanted to see in this area of Romania. 

I immediately entered a small village where people were dressed in a mix of traditional costumes and jeans. A group of teenagers playing soccer in the street paused just long enough to let me through. Further along, a half-dozen men stood in the street talking. Once through the village, I was in a countryside as green as I had seen anywhere.

I didn’t reach Biertan for another 10 minutes or so. And I was shocked that it appeared to have been plucked from the German countryside. It was beautiful, with a fortified church overlooking a little village beneath a small, terraced mountain. 

The church is one of seven fortified churches in Romania that are UNESCO World Heritage sites. The Biertan church has three 35-foot tall walls, which is why it was unconquerable in medieval times.

People were out on the street in the village, standing in little groups chatting with one another, reminiscent of the passeggiata in little Italian towns.

Unfortunately, since I needed to get to Sighisoara, I only had time to roam about for a half-hour, and on my way back out of town had to slow down for a shepherd grazing his two cows along the roadside.


You may also enjoy: River Cruising Through Eastern Europe / Best Cities of Eastern Europe for a Day Tour / 26 Great European Day Trips by Rail / Bus


people walking along a colorful medeieval street, one of the things to do in Romania
A street in Sighisoara

Sighisoara, Another Must-See Place to Visit in Romania

Like Sibiu, Sighisoara was also founded by Germans, invited by the Hungarian king. And like Sibiu, it is a living medieval town with centuries-old houses still inhabited by residents, not tourists. Despite few hotels, it’s a must-see place to visit in Romania.

One of the few places tourists can stay in Sighisoara is the seven-room Residence Fronius. It claims to have been welcoming guests since 1609. 

a dog sleeping in the road
Cafes in Sighisoara

I had gone online and had booked a room there for €95, and it turned out to be very comfortable. I had a large room with a modern bath, and a good breakfast. It was the perfect location to wander about the old town. I was also glad that I could drive up the cobblestone street to it and not have to drag my luggage.

Around the corner was the city’s most famous sight, the 13th-century clock tower in the old city walls, renowned for its wooden figures on the clock symbolizing day and night. Near it was the house where Vlad the Impaler is alleged to have been born in the mid-1400s.

Unfortunately, I had to leave early the following day to continue my travels back towards 21st-century Bucharest. Once there I needed to catch my flight to London and then onto the U.S.

On this trip I had traveled only a few hours west. But I found myself centuries away from the sometimes frenetic, capital of Bucharest. And I discovered some of the best places to visit in medieval in Romania.

The three-day trip, however, was too short and too rushed. Still, it was an excellent three days of travel that allowed me to step back into another century. And I was able to experience authentic Medieval Europe more closely than ever before.

Obviously, sans Dracula and Vlad.

If You Go:

Romanian National Tourist Office

355 Lexington Avenue, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10017-6603
Tel: 212-545-8484
http://romaniatourism.com

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Comments

  1. George Vick says

    May 27, 2015 at 11:26 am

    Great article !
    Glad to learn that unspoiled towns and countryside still exist in Europe.

    Reply
    • Jim Ferri says

      May 27, 2015 at 11:41 am

      Glad you enjoyed it George, it’s a great adventure. Just beware of the gypsies!

      Reply
      • George Vick says

        May 28, 2015 at 9:36 am

        There are gypsies everywhere in Europe but they are not necessarily criminals.

        Reply
  2. Donna Manz says

    May 27, 2015 at 5:22 pm

    How I LOVE medieval towns and cities in Europe! Thank you, Jim, for bringing Romania to life ….

    Reply
  3. Jim Ferri says

    May 27, 2015 at 5:24 pm

    Glad you liked it Donna. This is Medieval Europe as you’ve never seen it before.

    Reply
    • Donna Manz says

      May 27, 2015 at 6:40 pm

      Jim, you got my attention … I know you drove …. what about rail around Romania? Thanks, Donna

      Reply
      • Jim Ferri says

        May 27, 2015 at 10:50 pm

        From Bucharest you can reach both Sibiu (4+ hours) and Sighişoara (5+ hours via Brasov) but they are separate rail lines. There is only a bus connection (no rail) between Sibiu and Sighişoara. Since I drove and never took the train, I can’t vouch for the rail service. Any way one goes it will be an adventure!

        Reply
  4. Carole Hinshaw says

    May 27, 2015 at 9:56 pm

    I like the stork photo.

    Reply
  5. Jim Ferri says

    May 27, 2015 at 10:32 pm

    Hi Carole,
    there are actually two storks in the nest. When I came around a turn and saw this nest on the rooftop I nearly ran off the road.

    Reply
  6. Jim Ferri says

    May 28, 2015 at 7:01 am

    Hi Cariole,

    That’s an incredible sight you see in so many places in Romania and Bukgaria.

    Reply
  7. Donna Manz says

    May 31, 2015 at 11:45 am

    I will look into a guided vacation (formerly known as “escorted tours”) for the convenience of traveling in comfort and safety to these outlying towns. Will let you know what I find …. Donna ….

    Reply
  8. Stefan says

    June 1, 2015 at 12:09 pm

    What a great post Jim. I’m heading to Romania this September and you just made me a lot more excited! I can’t wait to head to Sighisoara now, your photos of it are wonderful.

    Reply
    • Jim Ferri says

      June 10, 2015 at 1:25 pm

      I’m glad you enjoyed it Stefan. Singhisoara is beautiful and Romania is really inexpensive — almost on par with all of Europe decades ago. Have a great trip.

      Reply
  9. Alen a says

    January 7, 2016 at 5:23 pm

    Jim, thank you so much for this wonderful article and photos. You make Romania so attractive. Best wishes in all you do!

    Reply
    • Jim Ferri says

      January 7, 2016 at 5:35 pm

      Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed the medieval countryside of Romania very much.
      Jim

      Reply
  10. Alex says

    January 10, 2016 at 6:27 am

    Jim,

    Great post. In September, I was in the Bucegi mountain area of Transylvania. It was amazing scenery and I really liked seeing the hand made hay bales. Outside of Bran Castle I was shocked how few tourists there were. I need to go back to Romania

    Reply
    • Jim Ferri says

      January 10, 2016 at 8:24 am

      I’d like to get back also – it’s a unique country, especially in Transylvania.

      Reply

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