Why this ride
From Copşa Mică it runs 329 km to Copşa Mică; allow about 6 h 22 of riding. On the way it passes Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy, Village of Viscri, Village of Dârjiu and back through Village of Viscri.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Village of Valea Viilor and Village of Dârjiu
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 329 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 22
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Village of Valea Viilor
Valea Viilor means Valley of the Vineyards, and the name is honest: the slopes around the village were planted with vines long before anyone thought of mapping them. The Saxons called it Wurmloch, and its fortified church, a tall Gothic hall with a defensive storey built over the choir and a ring wall around it, is one of the seven on the World Heritage list.
Read the complete Village of Valea Viilor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Village of Valea Viilor is where the day begins. Next is Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy.
2. Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy
South of Sighișoara the hills fold into long, grassy valleys, and almost every one of them hides a village built around a church that was also a castle. This marker sits among them, close to Șaeș and Apold, two of the old Saxon settlements whose German names, Schaas and Trappold, still turn up on church plaques and in the memories of the few families who stayed.
Read the complete Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy comes up about 61 km into the recorded legs. Next is Village of Viscri.
3. Village of Viscri
Viscri is the village people picture when they think of Transylvania's Saxon heritage, and it more or less lives up to it. A single long street of pastel houses, blue, ochre and white, stands gable end to the road, with geese in the ditch, horse carts at dusk and, at the top of the slope, a fortified church wrapped in thick white walls. It is part of the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania listed by UNESCO, and it is one of the best preserved.
Read the complete Village of Viscri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 115 km into the recorded legs you reach Village of Viscri. Next is Village of Dârjiu.
4. Village of Dârjiu
Dârjiu is a Székely village of around eleven hundred people in Harghita county, and at its heart stands one of the fortified churches that UNESCO lists among the Villages with Fortified Churches in Transylvania. Most of those villages are Saxon and Lutheran; Dârjiu is Hungarian-speaking and Unitarian, which makes it something of an odd one out and all the more interesting. A ring of thick walls and towers encloses the church, built so that villagers could shelter from raiders, and the tradition of storing smoked bacon and grain in the fortress towers lasted here long into modern times.
Read the complete Village of Dârjiu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Village of Dârjiu, about halfway. Next is back through Village of Viscri.
5. back through Village of Viscri
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Village of Viscri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Village of Viscri sits at 150 km, about halfway. Next is back through Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy.
6. back through Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy comes up about 268 km into the recorded legs. Next is Village of Valea Viilor.
7. Village of Valea Viilor
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Village of Valea Viilor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Village of Valea Viilor closes the day.
Leg by leg
Village of Valea Viilor to Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy
Village of Valea Viilor → Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy is 61 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy to Village of Viscri
Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy → Village of Viscri is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Village of Viscri to Village of Dârjiu
Village of Viscri → Village of Dârjiu is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Village of Dârjiu to back through Village of Viscri
Village of Dârjiu → back through Village of Viscri is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Village of Viscri to back through Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy
back through Village of Viscri → back through Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy to Village of Valea Viilor
back through Villages with Fortified Churches in Transy → Village of Valea Viilor is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.