Why this ride
A slower scenic corridor linking historic towns and cultural landmarks. It also links naturally to Historic Centre of Sighisoara and fortified churches.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Saxon Villages and Sighisoara Loop
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 220 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 54
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. 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.
Access context
High passes are seasonal. Verify surface, weather and construction status. Specific flag: local-road surface.
Seasonal context
Apr-Oct
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Braşov
Brașov is a city built against a mountain. The wooded slope of Tâmpa rises straight from the old town, topped by a giant white sign in the style of Hollywood, and a cable car takes you to the summit for the view over red tiled roofs and the Carpathian foothills. Behind the city the high peaks of the Postăvarul and Piatra Mare ranges ring the horizon, and winter snow lies on them from late autumn.
Read the complete Braşov write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Braşov sits at 0 km, early in the day. Next is Viscri.
2. Viscri
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.
Read the complete Viscri write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Viscri comes up 40 km in. Next is Sighișoara.
3. Sighișoara
Sighișoara is one of those Transylvanian towns where the Middle Ages seem to have paused and never quite restarted. The citadel sits on a steep hill above the Târnava Mare river, with its walls, nine surviving towers and a covered wooden stairway of 175 steps climbing to the church on the hill. It was settled by Transylvanian Saxons, German-speaking merchants and craftsmen invited by the Hungarian kings in the twelfth century, and the guilds each looked after one of the towers. The clock tower, with its painted figures, is the symbol of the town.
Read the complete Sighisoara write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 90 km in you reach Sighișoara. Next is Biertan.
4. Biertan
Biertan's fortified church is the grandest of them all, a late Gothic hall church on a hill, wrapped in three rings of walls with towers and bastions, rising above a village of Saxon houses in a valley of vineyards. For almost three centuries it was the seat of the Lutheran bishops of Transylvania, which explains its size and splendour, and it is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site that covers several of the region's fortified churches. Walking up the covered wooden stairway to the church, past the old walls and towers, is one of the great experiences of Transylvania.
Read the complete Biertan write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Biertan, late in the day. Next is Sibiu.
5. Sibiu
Sibiu, Hermannstadt to its founders, is the most beautiful city in Transylvania, and it knows it. The Saxon settlers who came here in the twelfth century built a walled town on a terrace above the Cibin river, with a Lower Town of crafts and markets and an Upper Town of churches, guild halls and merchants' houses, and much of it survives. The Large Square, the Small Square and Huet Square are lined with colourful houses, Gothic and baroque churches, and towers from the old walls. The houses have small dormer windows in their roofs that look like eyes, and locals will tell you the city is always watching.
Read the complete Sibiu write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sibiu sits at 220 km, late in the day.