Viscri is the village that made the Transylvanian Saxon countryside famous abroad. It lies at the end of a side road in the rolling hills between Rupea and Sighișoara, a single long street of pastel-painted houses with big wooden gates, a stream running down the middle, geese on the grass and a white fortified church on the hill at the top. The church, with its tower and rings of defensive walls, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it is one of the finest examples of the fortified churches that the Saxon communities built to protect themselves against Ottoman and Tatar raids.
The Saxons came here from the Rhine and Moselle regions in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, invited by the Hungarian kings to settle and defend the frontier. They built villages, farmed the land and fortified their churches, storing food in the walls so the whole community could retreat inside during a siege. After 1990, most of the Saxons emigrated to Germany, and many of their villages were left half empty. Viscri was one of the first to be revived through conservation projects, and King Charles III of the United Kingdom, a long-time admirer of the region, owns a restored house here. Local women still knit woollen socks and slippers, which are sold at the gate of the church.
The road to Viscri leaves the main road near Bunești, and for many years it was a rough track that kept most visitors away. The surface has been improved, but the last stretch can still be narrow and uneven, and you will share it with horse carts, cows and the occasional tourist minibus. The surrounding hills are a patchwork of meadows, woods and small fields, with sheep and cattle grazing and a sense of space and quiet that is rare in Europe. Spring and early summer, when the meadows are full of flowers, are especially lovely.
A few guesthouses serve home-cooked food made from what grows in the village gardens, and an unhurried hour, or a night, here does a rider good. Fuel is not available in the village, so arrive with enough to get back out; the nearest town is Rupea, about ten kilometres away, which has stations and shops. Respect the village: park sensibly, ride slowly and keep noise down, as this is a living community, not a museum.