A Night Walk Around the Old Town of Sighisoara

July 13, 2022October 5, 2023 Koen 2 Comments

In this destination guide we take a night walk through the old town and citadel of Sighisoara, a city in the Romanian region of Transylvania.

From Viscri to Sighisoara

After my enjoyable visit to Viscri it was time to continue my Transylvanian road trip.

While admiring the views out over the countryside from the tower of the fortified church of Viscri I however noticed that it was getting quite late and the sun already started to set.

I decided it was time to drive on to the city of Sighișoara, where I had booked a room for the night.

It’s an easy 45-minute drive from Viscri to Sighisoara, although I made a slight detour through the towns of Dacia and Rupea as I couldn’t resist snapping a picture of my Dacia Sandero with the Dacia town sign.

The sunset views on the road to Sighisoara were absolutely superb and it turned out to be lovely drive.

viscri saxon fortified church — *View from the fortified church in Viscri over the village and countryside. ©Paliparan*

dacia sandero — *My Dacia Sandero rental car in the village of Dacia. ©Paliparan*

dacia village — *Time to leave the village of Dacia again. ©Paliparan*

transylvania scenery — *Typical Transylvanian scenery on the road between Viscri and Sighisoara. ©Paliparan*

romania road — *The sun was slowly setting during my drive to Sighisoara. ©Paliparan*

sunset transylvania — *Beautiful sunset skies. ©Paliparan*

Into the citadel

Sighisoara, founded by Saxon settlers in the 12th century, is your quintessential Transylvanian city and is one of Romania’s loveliest places to visit.

The German name for Transylvania is Siebenbürgen, which literally translates as ‘Seven Castles’.

Sighisoara (German: Schässburg) is one of the seven fortified cities after which Siebenbürgen was named, the others being Sibiu (Hermannstadt), Brasov (Kronstadt), Cluj (Klausenburg), Bistrița (Bistritz), Sebeș (Mühlbach) and Orăștie (Broos).

Although I’ve visited Sighisoara many times before, I’m always happy to return to the city even though this time it was just for a relatively short night.

When I entered Sighisoara’s walled old town centre (better known as the citadel) from the west through the Tailors’ Tower, dusk had already fallen.

schassburg — *Walking towards the Tailors’ Tower. ©Paliparan*

sighisoara tailors towers — *The Tailors’ Tower – called the Turnul Croitorilor in Romanian or Schneiderturm in German – is one of the gate towers that give access to the citadel. ©Paliparan*

tailors tower sighisoara citadel — *Entering the citadel of Sighisoara through the Tailors’ Tower. ©Paliparan*

sighisoara old town night — *The old town streets inside the citadel of Sighisoara. ©Paliparan*

Cobblestoned streets

One of the biggest delights of Sighisoara is simply walking the cobblestoned old town streets.

With its pastel-coloured houses and low-key vibe, Sighisoara feels especially delightful in the late evening or early morning hours.

At these hours, the wee bit of daylight reflects beautifully on the cobbles and the façades, creating a gorgeous glow.

Besides, the city is bereft of day trippers, making it even more sedated than it normally already is.

sighisoara night citadel — *Streets inside the citadel of Sighisoara. ©Paliparan*

clock tower sighisoara — *The iconic clock tower used to be the main entrance gate to the citadel of Sighisoara. ©Paliparan*

sighisoara old town dusk — *The old town centre of Sighisoara. ©Paliparan*

*Cute cat in one of the old town streets. ©Paliparan*

Check-in

For my one-night-stay in Sighisoara I had booked a room at Casa Wagner right in the heart of the old town.

I will review Casa Wagner in full in the next chapter of this trip report.

After dropping off my bag in my room and grabbing some dinner at the hotel, I decided to explore more of the city by night.

casa wagner sighisoara — *My room at Casa Wagner. ©Paliparan*

Night walk

Even when you have already explored the old town of Sighisoara in daylight hours, I would still highly recommend you take another walk at night.

In darkness, the city has a entirely different charm than during the day.

Some of the buildings in the town are beautifully illuminated, while darker corners of Sighisoara’s citadel have a mysterious vibe.

Of course, Sighisoara is the place where Vlad Țepeș was born.

Vlad Țepeș – better known as Vlad the Impaler – was a 15th century Wallachian ruler who formed the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s character Dracula.

central square sighisoara — *Sighisoara’s central square at night. ©Paliparan*

old town — *Old town houses. ©Paliparan*

sighisoara old town — *Some of the old town streets are beautifully illuminated while others are a bit more dark. ©Paliparan*

Up the stairs

For the darkest and most mysterious corners of Sighisoara you have to walk up the hill to the highest point of the citadel.

From the old town centre you can take the covered wooden staircase (called the Scholars’ Stairs) which links the lower and upper parts of the citadel.

The stairway is named after the School on the Hill, a high school which dates back to the early 17th century.

However, the 15th century Church on the Hill (German: Bergkirche) is the main building in the upper part of the citadel.

Especially when you walk across the hillside graveyard behind the church you don’t need much fantasy to imagine a couple of vampires lurking in the dark behind the tombstones or trees.

school sighisoara — *School building on top of the hill. ©Paliparan*

church on the hill — *The Church on the Hill. ©Paliparan*

sighisoara city wall — *View from the hill over the Sighisoara city walls and defensive towers. ©Paliparan*

Lower town

Fortunately, there were no vampires to be seen in the upper part of the citadel.

Having escaped a fatal bite in my neck I headed back down towards the heart of the citadel where I began my walk.

However, this time I headed even further down, walking underneath the clock tower out of the citadel towards the lower town.

The lower town, which is located in the Târnava Mare river valley, also has a number of historic buildings and charming streets.

At night, you are much more likely to find open restaurants and pubs in this part of town than you would inside the citadel, as the places inside the walled old town tend to close soon after dinnertime.

Moreover, from the lower town you have some fabulous views of the hilltop citadel.

clock tower path — *Walking underneath the clock tower towards the lower town. ©Paliparan*

lower town sighisoara — *The lower town. ©Paliparan*

sighisoara citadel — *The citadel of Sighisoara as seen from the lower town. ©Paliparan*

Back up again

After a quick beer in one of the lower town cafés, I headed back up into the citadel.

Before I returned to the hotel, I stopped at a viewpoint next to the Monastery Church and Ironsmiths’ Tower to admire the fine views over the lower town and the valley.

clock tower sighisoara citadel — *The passage underneath the clock tower links the lower town with Sighisoara’s citadel. ©Paliparan*

sighisoara viewpoint night — *The modern-day town of Sighisoara and main Orthodox church as seen from the viewpoint. ©Paliparan*

street citadel — *Empty streets at night inside the citadel. ©Paliparan*

main square — *Main square inside the citadel. ©Paliparan*

square — *Some last night-time impressions . ©Paliparan*

Conclusion

The small city of Sighisoara is a must-see destination on any trip through Transylvania.

This city – originally founded by the Transylvanian Saxons – is full of charm and history and has maintained its original character.

When you walk through the walled old town streets of Sighisoara’s citadel you are warped centuries back in time.

Besides, there aren’t many towns and cities in the world that are so special as Sighisoara when it comes to night-time walks.

Partly thanks to its links with Bram Stoker’s fictitious character Dracula, there is just something mysterious about this town.

Whatever the reason is behind your visit, Sighisoara’s special charm and character will certainly amaze you!

Trip report index

This article is part of the ‘Visiting the Saxon Fortified Churches of Transylvania‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:

2 thoughts on “A Night Walk Around the Old Town of Sighisoara”

John
July 26, 2022 at 7:37 pm

Another fab report as always, Sighisoara looks even more beautiful then I expected! I’ve booked myself a cheap flight to Cluj and can’t wait to visit Romania again and I’ll be going through all your articles for ideas!
Cristina
March 14, 2024 at 5:37 pm

Thank you! I loved to walk with you at night through the streets of my hometown. Really miss it!

Koen

2 thoughts on “A Night Walk Around the Old Town of Sighisoara”

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