Sighișoara is a medieval citadel that people still live in, and that is what sets it apart. Founded by German settlers, the Transylvanian Saxons, who were invited by the Hungarian kings in the twelfth century to colonise and defend the region, it grew into a prosperous town of craftsmen's guilds, each of which built and defended its own tower in the walls. Nine towers survive out of the original fourteen, named after the tailors, shoemakers, tinsmiths, butchers, furriers and others, and the old town on its hill above the Târnava Mare river was listed by UNESCO in 1999.
The symbol of the town is the Clock Tower, which guards the main gate and holds a clock with carved figures that change with the days of the week. Climb it for the view over the steep, colourful roofs. A covered wooden staircase, the Scholars' Stairs, leads up from the main square to the Church on the Hill and the old Saxon cemetery, a peaceful place among the trees at the top of the town. Near the clock tower, a house is said to be the birthplace of Vlad III, the prince remembered as Vlad the Impaler and the inspiration for the name of Dracula; the town plays up the connection with enthusiasm.
The citadel's cobbled lanes are steep and narrow, and riding in is neither necessary nor pleasant. Park in the lower town and walk up. Arrive early in the morning or stay for the evening, when the day visitors have left and the streets are quiet. In summer, the town hosts a medieval festival that fills the streets with costumes, music and crowds.
The surrounding countryside is the land of the Saxon fortified churches, villages where the church was enclosed in strong walls and towers to protect the community from raids. The DN13 runs south-east toward Brașov through rolling hills, and from it, side roads lead to Saschiz, with its fortified church and tower on the hill, and to Viscri, Biertan and other villages, several of them also UNESCO sites. The main road carries a lot of trucks; the side roads are quiet but sometimes rough.
Sighișoara, a town of over thirty thousand people, has fuel, shops and plenty of restaurants. Try a hearty Transylvanian meal of sarmale, cabbage rolls with polenta and sour cream, or a pork stew, and toast the day with a glass of wine from the Târnave vineyards, the white wine region that surrounds the town.