584
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp596–7 and pp598–9
SOUTH EASTERN EUROPESibiu 6
273 km (170 miles) NW of
Bucharest. * 170,000. k £ @
n Str S. Brukental 2, (0269) 208
Founded in the 1190s, Sibiu
is one of Romania’s most
charm ing cities. Its historic
cen tre is filled with medieval,
steep-roofed houses with attic
windows and the narrow
streets lead into wide open
squares surrounded by the
colourful façades of renovated
man sions and churches.
The first recorded mention
of the city dates back to the
12th cen tury, when the region
received two waves of Saxon
settlers who had obtained pri-
vileges from the Hungarian
rulers controlling
Transylvania at the
time. In 1241, invad-
ing Tatars prompted
Sibiu’s residents to
raise fortifications.
Successive cen turies
saw the city walls
enlarged and
strength ened, even-
tually transforming it
into an impenetrable
citadel. In the 15th
cen tury, Sibiu’s craftsmen
for med some of Europe’s
first guilds and the city
developed into a pros perous
trading centre.
In recent years, the Old
Town has benefited enor-
mously from European Union
(EU) funding, and Sibiu ser-
ved as European capital of
Culture in 2007. Dominating
the vast Large Square (Piața
Mare) is an imposing Baroque
palace built for Samuel von
Brukenthal, who
governed Transylvania
between 1774 and- The grand
façade bears
Brukenthal’s medieval
coat of arms above the
ornate entrance. The
interior, with plush
halls, stucco ceilings
and embossed wall-
paper, now houses
Romania’s oldest
museum – the
National Brukenthal
Museum. This holds
Transylvania’s finest
art col lection as well
as Romanian and
Western works, includ-
ing some by Romanian
artists such as Nicolae
Grigorescu (see p576),
Theodor Pallady and
the Abstrac tionist
Hans Mattis Teutsch.
The palace library
holds over 280,000
volumes as well as
a priceless col lection
of manu scripts.
The nearby History
Museum is housed
in an elegant 15th-
cen tury Gothic
build ing that served
as Sibiu’s Town Hall for
500 years until 1948. The
collection was moved here
from the Brukenthal Palace
in 1984 after the Town Hall’s
restoration. A secluded gate-
way leads into its cobbled
courtyard overlooked by bal-
conies festooned with colour-
ful flowers. The ancient doors
at the museum entrance open
on to a surpris ingly mod ern
interior with original vaulted
ceilings. Smartly lit glass
cases display an absorb ing
collection of old coins, medi-
eval weaponry and archaeo-
logical finds. Just a few streets
away on Huet Square (Piața
Huet) is the five-towered
Evangelical Cathedral, whose
exquisitely tiled spire can be
seen from all over town.
Constructed over an ori ginal
14th-century Roman church,
the cathedral has a regal
Gothic interior and con tains
the tombs of local nobles.
Situated in a dense
forest just outside Sibiu is
the Museum of Traditional
Folk Civilization, Romania’s
largest outdoor museum.
Over 300 replicas of tradi-
tional dwell ings are scattered
throughout the 101-ha
(250-acre) com plex, which
can be explored either on
foot or in the comfort of
a horse-drawn carriage.
Buildings include Dutch-
style windmills, farm houses,
wooden churches and
traditional inns.E National Brukenthal
Museum
Piața Mare 4-5. Tel (269) 217 691.
# 10am–6pm Tue–Sun. & 8 =
http://www.brukenthalmuseum.ro
E History Museum
Str Mitropoliei nr 2. Tel (269) 218
10am–6pm Tue–Sun. =
http://www.brukenthalmuseum.ro
R Evangelical Cathedral
Piața Huet 1. # 9am–5pm Mon–
Sat, 11am–5pm Sun.
E Museum of Traditional
Folk Civilization
Calea Rasinari. Tel (0269) 242 599.
May–Oct: 10am–6pm Tue–Sun.
Tiles, Evangelical
CathedralHouses and shops lining a street in SibiuThe cobbled courtyard of the National Brukenthal Museum, Sibiu