Romania (5): Rupea and Brașov

A Fortress on a Hill and a Major City

Where are we Going Today?

Romania

Vlad appeared after we had breakfasted, ready to drive us south from Sighișoara to Brașov via, Rupea, a small town overlooked by a castle. Brașov (in German, Kronstadt) is Vlad’s home town and the third - after Sighișoara (Schäßburg) and Sibiu (Hermannstadt) - of the Siebenbürgen, the seven great fortresses cities of the Transylvanian Saxons, that we would visit on this tour.

Romania with Sighişoara, Rupea and Braşov underlined

Saschiz

Mureş County

20 minutes from Sighișoara and just before we left Mureș County, we passed through the small town of Saschiz. Once a town of the Transylvanian Saxons - who still make up 5% of the population - its Romanesque Basilica was replaced by a late Gothic fortified church (built 1493-6). The large hall-style church was dedicated to St Stephen of Hungary (Transylvania was part of Hungary until the end of World War I) and surrounded by a curtain wall with several towers. Originally Roman Catholic, it became an Evangelical Lutheran Church during the Reformation.

Only one of the towers remains. It acquired an impressive spire in 1677 and was presumably further refurbished in 1832 as the date is prominently displayed. The angle of the photograph makes it look like the tower is part of the church, but it is actually 10 metres in front of it.

Saschiz Evangelical Lutheran Fortified Church

In 1999 Saschiz joined Biertan and its surrounding villages as part of the ‘Transylvanian Villages with Fortified Churches’ UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rupea

Braşov County

From Saschiz we continued in a general southerly direction and some 7km later crossed into Brașov County. The county has largely the same boundaries as the Brassó County of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but underwent many changes after being incorporated into Romania in 1920. For a time after World War II, it was part of a larger area known as Stalin Region (0 out of 10 for originality, 10 out 10 for toadying), but Brașov County was restored in 1968 when newly anointed leader Nicolae Ceaușescu wanted to show his independence from the Soviet Union.

The county's population is about half a million, some 60% of whom live in and around the city of Brașov. The north of the county is thinly populated and we drove through a large green plain where cereals swayed in the breeze.

The fields of northern Braşov County

Rupea is only 20km south east of the county boundary, and it was not long before we could see a rocky outcrop in the distance. The outline slowly resolved itself into the shape of Rupea Fortress.

Rupea Fortress on its rocky outcrop

The Fortress

The strategic importance of a rocky outcrop with extensive views in all directions was obvious to the earliest humans. Stone tools and pottery from the palaeolithic and neolithic eras have been found here and in the first century CE the Dacians built a settlement on the summit. According to legend, Decebalus, the last Dacian king, committed suicide here in 106CE to avoid capture by the Romans.

Later people felt safe enough to moved down to the flat land beside their fields, provided there was a refuge in times of trouble. The Transylvanian Saxons built the first fortress on the summit in the 13th century, and expanded downward over the next 500 years, their tiered walls exploiting the natural contours of the hill.

Unlike the builders, we had to start at the bottom. The lowest level was added in the 18th century and was mainly used for living quarters and storage.

Rupea fortress - starting at the bottom

From there we worked our way upwards following the curve of the walls.

Inside Rupea fortress

From the middle level, a 15th century downward extension, we had a good view over the town of Rupea. Vlad pointed out that the houses are built ‘sideways on’ to the road with gaps between the buildings. When a hoard of Tartars, Mongols or Ottomans (depending on era) hove into view, the residents could quickly retreat through the town and take refuge in the fortress.

Rupea - for most houses along the main two streets, the gable end faces on to the road

Building at the top of the hill started in the 13th century, but development continued throughout the life of the fort. Of a hundred 16th and 17th century dwellings, one group of three remains intact. Only the upper floor was residential, the ground floor was used for workshops and warehouses.

Dwellings, Rupea fort

At the very top is the Peak House. From here the garrison could communicate with nearby towns...

Peak House, Rupea Fort

and keep watch for trouble approaching across the green hills and valleys of Transylvania.

The hills and valleys of Transylvania, My apologies for blocking out so many of them

The fortress was abandoned in 1790 after a storm destroyed the roof. It was never rebuilt and the fortress gradually fell into disrepair. Restoration started early in the 21st century. With the authorities keen to develop a tourist circuit, Rupea neatly filled a gap between Sighișoara and Brașov. Digi24.ro claims (in Romanian) that there were 150,000 visitors in 2015, but I can find no later figures. Presumably the promoters of Transylvanian tourism would be pleased we did exactly what they planned, but less happy that we (almost) had the fortress to ourselves.

Brașov

From Rupea it took an hour to drive the 65 km to Brașov.

A Little History

Braşov City

Once one of the great fortress cities of the Transylvanian Saxons, the walled city of Brașov, tucked into a valley below Mount Tâmpa in the Southern Carpathian Mountains, was destroyed by fire in 1685. Rebuilding was a long project but by 1859 the city had 20,000 inhabitants, 40% of them German, 40% Romanian and the rest mostly Hungarian. By 1910 the population had doubled, but the greatest increase came in the years after World War Two as Romania’s communist leadership oversaw rapid industrialisation. The metropolitan area is now home to some 350,000, making Brașov Romania’s 6th largest city.

The factories and new residential areas grew on the flat land north of the old centre. Many of these factories closed in the economic crash that followed the demise of the Soviet Union in 1989, but the city has slowly worked its way back to some level of prosperity.

The old centre may now be on the edge of town, but it still conducts itself like a city centre, with the large Council Square fringed with the tables and umbrellas of umpteen restaurants and cafés. To help the lost and bewildered, the city fathers have erected a large sign on Tâmpa Mountain, letting us know where we are. I don't think Hollywood need feel threatened.

Council Square, Restaurants below the Braşov sign

Șcheii Brașovului

But we did not start in Council Square, Vlad first drove us a kilometre south to Șcheii Brașovului. Romanians have been the largest ethnic group in Transylvania since before records were kept, but despite providing a couple of Hungarian kings (see Part 3: Hunedoara and Alba Iulia) Romanians were (prior to the First World War) the poor relations of the ruling Hungarians and prosperous Transylvanian Saxons. From the 13th to the 17th century, Romanians were not allowed to live within the city walls and so settled in the Șchei district.

Saint Nicholas is Braşov's oldest Romanian Orthodox Church, or at least, the wooden original was. Built sometime after 1292 it it was replaced by a Gothic style stone church in 1495 which has since enjoyed a Baroque makeove.

St Nicholas Church, Braşov

The first school teaching in Romanian was founded here when the stone church was constructed. A new school building beside the church was opened in 1760.

Romanian School, Brașov, 1760

It is now a museum showing the old classrooms,…

Old Romanian School, Braşov

…an early printing press and various books, manuscripts and icons.

Printing Press, Old School Museum, Braşov

In front of the church, in Union Square, is The Unknown Soldier. Commissioned by the local authority in collaboration with veterans' associations the statue commemorates those who died in WW1 and have no known grave. Ironically it was unveiled in 1939, just in time for another round of blood-letting. The internet has many photos of this statue, and the apparent vigour of the bayonet thrust varies enormously depending on the photographer’s angle.

The Unknown Soldier, Union Square, Braşov

Council Square

Back in Council Square we checked into our hotel and then ate lunch in the square. In this land of soups and ciorbe that was what we had, though I cannot remember which. Then we set off on a walking tour.

Soup, or possibly ciorba

The Old Town Hall

The square gets its name from the old Town Hall.

The Old Town Hall, Braşov

In 1420, the Farriers Guild permitted the County Council to build a room for public meetings and trials on top of their guild house. The ‘Trumpet Tower; was added in the late 16th century. From here watchmen surveyed the whole town and warned of fire, invasion or any other problem by blowing a trumpet.

Growing prosperity led to the addition of a spire, a clock, many more chambers and eventually a new building elsewhere. The Old Council House was retired in 1950 and is now a museum.

The Catherine and Schei Gates

To the east of the square are two city gates. The Catherine Gate was built by the Tailors’ Guild, in 1559, replacing a gate destroyed by a flood thirty years earlier. The tower is 16th century but the rest is later. The gate was the only access point for Romanians, who could enter the city at permitted times but had to pay a toll to sell their wares.

Catherine Gate, Braşov

Later the Șchei Gate, built in 1828, gave free access for all.

The Şhei Gate, Braşov

Beth Israel Synagogue

Brașov’s Jewish community settled here in the early 19th century. It grew steadily and was flourishing when the Neo-Moorish Beth Israel Synagogue was built in 1901. ChatGPT informs me the community faced periods of hardship, especially during World War II – an epic understatement, I suspect. There is however still a Jewish community, it is small but sufficient for Beth Israel to remain a functioning synagogue.

Beth Israel Synagogue, Braşov

The Black Church

At the south end of Council Square, hemmed in by other buildings is the Lutheran Cathedral of St Mary. Built 1383-1476 by the Transylvanian Saxons, it started as a Catholic Church and became Lutheran during the Reformation. Its walls were blackened during the great fire of 1698, hence it is known as the Black Church, though all signs of charring are long gone.

The Black Church, Braşov

The statue outside is of Johannes Honter (1498–1549) a cartographer and one of the founders of Lutheranism in Romania.

The building is 89m long and tower 42m tall making this the largest Late Gothic church in south eastern Europe. The clock is worth a closer look.

Clock, the Black Church, Braşov

The surrounding buildings make the church difficult to photograph. Wikipedia have a drone picture, which I won’t borrow, you can click this link, or make do with my efforts.

Inside, like most Lutheran Cathedral, it is not overly ornate.

Inside the Black Church, Braşov

The 4,000 pipe organ was built by Carl August Buchholz in 1839.

Organ, Black Church, Braşov

There is a fresco of the Nativity, with the emblems of King Matthias Corvinus (ruled 1458-90) and his wife Beatrix of Aragon in the corners (see Hunedoara). Corvinus was a Romanian King of Hungary, and definitively not a Transylvanian Saxon ...

Nativity, Black Church Braşov

... and a couple of carved memorials to large men with huge beards, both apparently preparing to sneak out of their stone imprisonment.

Big men, big beards, Black Church Braşov

1848 was the Year of Revolutions in Europe, with nationalist pressures within both the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires. The bullet holes in a pillar, the consequence of an 1848 skirmish have been carefully preserved as a reminder of the turbulence from which Romania emerged.

Bullet holes, Black Church Braşov

The building work was done by Bulgarian masons. Like the Romanians they were not the sort of people the Saxons wished to mix with and, so, like the Romanians, their accommodation was outside the city walls in Schlei. There is a story that a Saxon boy was annoying the Bulgarians workers, so they threw him off the roof and then immured his body in the cathedral walls. Or, the best apprentice was showing so much promise he threatened to eclipse his master, and in a fit of jealousy, the older man pushed him to his death. Or a young man working on the roof observed by chance some technique the master masons wished to keep secret leaving them no choice but to kill him.

Looking up from beside the building, you see a stone effigy of the victim fearfully confronting his fate.

The unfortunate, if mythical victim confronts his fate, Black Church Braşov

Without evidence, I imagine it was once a nasty little story spread to denigrate the Bulgarians – ‘well you know what they’re like’ as people too often say of those they don’t know. But even today workers die on major construction projects, so is there a grain of truth somewhere? Maybe somebody fell without obvious cause and the rumour mill decided they were pushed. Nobody will ever know.

Dinner and Manoeuvres

During the afternoon soldiers gathered on Council Square, areas were marked out and there were preparations for some sort of display.

Going out for dinner, we found the tables and chairs outside may of the restaurants, including the one we had earmarked earlier, stacked up out of the way of the soldiers. The day had been warm, but overcast, and there was room inside, so we stuck to plan A.

We were pleased our aperitif țuică (Romanian plum ‘brandy’) was served in a tumbler rather that the strange conical flasks favoured elsewhere, but there was little else to recommend the meal. My duck and pickled cabbage was alright, but could have done with something else on the plate and ,,,

Duck and Cabbage, Braşov

…Lynne’s pork with stuffed cabbage and sauerkraut disappointed her. The pork she described as ‘bits of ham,’ and she disliked both the stuffed cabbage and the accompanying yellow dome of polenta, though she enjoyed the sauerkraut and sour cream. You win some, you lose some, but we eaten sufficient, drunk a good bottle of local red and not paid much, so we were happy enough as we left.

Pork and Sauerkraut,Braşov

Outside (sunset in June is well after 9 o’clock) we found soldiers getting into position. I wondered briefly if they were forming a firing squad for the chef, but I should not be so mean. June the 9th is the feast of St Peter and St Paul – hardly an excuse for a military display – and, I have learned, the Day of the Romanian Military Police. All over the country there are ceremonies, and events showcasing their skills and celebrating their service at home and abroad.

The army forms up, Council Square, Braşov

We returned to our hotel, not quite interested enough to find out what they were doing. Whatever it was, they did it reasonably quietly and had it all packed away by morning.

Epilogue

Our sojourn in the land of the Transylvanian Saxons was nearly complete and we would soon return to Wallachia. We have seen the works of these industrious people everywhere, but we have not met a single Transylvanian Saxon.

What Happened to the Transylvanian Saxons?

Since the 12th century, Hungarian kings periodically invited Germanic settlers to help defend their southeastern border against the Cumans and later the Ottomans. These people became known as ‘Transylvanian Saxons,’ though few were actually Saxon.

They performed their defensive duties, as Rupea’s fortress and Biertan’s fortified church testify, while interpolating themselves as a middle class of artisans and merchants between the Hungarians landowners and the Romanians peasants.

In 1800 Transylvanian Saxons living in self-governing communities comprised 10-12% of Transylvania’s population

Despite political upheavals – the creation of Romania in 1856, the First World War destroying the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Transylvania becoming part of that Romania in 1920 - the Transylvanian Saxons lost some of their autonomy, but little else changed.

Romania kept out of WWII until 1941 when the Germans marched through to attack the USSR, conscripting many Transylvanian Saxons on the way. In 1944 they retreated chased by the Red Army. The Russians rewarded many surviving Saxons with a few years in Siberia. Not all returned. By 1950 Transylvanian Saxons made up only 4% of the population

Romania under Communism was no fun, but getting in and out was difficult. In 1989 everything changed,

Given freedom of movement, almost all remaining Saxons, some of whom had been in Transylvania for 30+ generations, returned to Germany where the constitution granted immediate citizenship. Their dialect, an old-fashioned German with abundant Hungarian and Slavic loan words, was indecipherable to other Germans, but they adapted quickly. At first, they spoke the old dialect among themselves, but now Transylvanian Saxon is considered endangered.

Romania

Romania: An Introduction
Part 1 Bucharest
Part 2 Cozia Monastery and Sibiu
Part 3 Hunedoara and Alba Iulia
Part 4 Biertan and Sighișoara
Part 5 Rupea and Brașov

Romania (4): Biertan and Sighișoara

A Fortified Church and a Medieval City Centre

Where are we Going Today?

Romania

Sibiu (county)

Our plan for Wednesday was that Vlad would drive us the 75km from Sibiu to Biertan in the north of Sibiu County. There we would visit the fortified church before driving a further 30km north and east to Sighișoara in the south of Mureș County.

The fine weather that had been with us since we arrived in Romania deserted us, the hitherto clear skies became increasingly overcast, the temperature dropped from pushing 30° to barely 20 and we were blessed with occasional rain showers. It was a bit too much like home.

Driving from Sibiu to Sighișoara in central Romania, we continued our journey through Transylvania

Sibiu to Biertan

North of Sibiu we found ourselves in a largely flat, green countryside. The road was not wide, but more than adequate for the quantity of traffic.

North of Sibiu

The few villages we encountered were linear and long. Almost all the houses faced the main road – and most buildings were in better repair than the one front left of my photograph. Storks' nests are a feature of every village.

Long, linear village north of Sibiu

Further north, among a few low hills, the weather became more overcast.

Approaching Biertan

Biertan

Seven villages in Sibiu and the surrounding counties make up the Transylvanian Villages with Fortified Churches UNESCO world Heritage Site. Biertan is one such village, and it is dominated by its huge church which sits on a low hill right in the centre. All seven churches were built by Transylvanian Saxons.

Fortified Church, Biertan

Transylvanian Saxons

Transylvanian Saxons are (or rather were) Germanic people, though not necessarily Saxons, who migrated to Transylvania at the invitation of King Géza II of Hungary (ruled 1141–1162). Further waves of migrants arrived in the following centuries. Their role was to defend Hungary’s southern and eastern borders, against marauders from Central Asia. Some marauders, like the Mongols and Tartars, are well known, while the fame of others, like the Cumans and Pechenegs did not spread to western Europe. The Hungarians also hoped the Saxons would introduce some Central European culture to a backward and rural province.

The Saxons prospered as a merchant and artisan middle class between the Hungarians who owned the land and the Romanians who worked on it. Romanian speakers were in the majority, but there was no Romania until the mid-19th century and Transylvania was part of Hungary until 1919.

Biertan Church

We climbed a covered walkway up to the church.

Walkway up to the church, Biertan

UNESCO's seven fortified churches were built at various times, but they were all fortified in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Biertan church was built between 1486 and 1524 in late Gothic style over an earlier Romanesque church.

By this time marauding bands had given way to the Ottoman Empire. They were a much more serious threat and Transylvania became an autonomous vassal state of the Empire from 1541 to 1699.

The church interior is largely plain, maybe because it is disused, or perhaps because the Saxons changed from Catholicism to being Lutheran in the 16th century.

Pulpit, Biertan Church

The ceiling, though, is quite elaborate…

Ceiling, Biertan Church

…and the carved altarpiece, dating from about the time the church was built, is one of the finest in the region.

Carved altarpiece, Biertan Church

Late Gothic/Early Renaissance in style, the detail of the carving, the gilding and rich colours (now gone) displayed the wealth and sophistication of the Transylvanian Saxons.

Close-up of central panel, Biertan Church altarpiece

We popped into the vestry, which has what looks like an old but efficient heater…

Vestry, Biertan Church

…and a wonderfully convoluted lock on the door, so this was probably where they kept their communion silver.

Lock on the vestry door, Biertan Church

Outside the church building, but within the fortification, we strolled round to check that the bastions were still fulfilling their purpose…

Bastion, Biertan fortified church

…and look across the village they were protecting to the hills over which the marauders might have approached.

Biertan and the hills behind

In peacetime the priest transformed the Eastern bastion into a ‘Prison for Unhappy couples.’

'Prison' for quarreling couples, Biertan Church

The couple were locked into the room with a single bed, table, chair, plate and spoon. They had to share until they learned to get along with each other.

Inside the prison for quarreling couples, Biertan

How often and in what periods of history this unique form of marriage guidance counselling was carried out, they do not relate, nor do they divulge the success rate.

Nearby is the grave of Lukas Unglerus (or Lucas Ungleich), who became bishop of the Transylvanian Saxon Lutheran Church in 1572. The religious Reformation that swept across northern Europe in the 16th century had little effect on the Catholic Hungarians or the Eastern Orthodox Romanians, but the Tranyslvanian Saxons were more receptive. That they maintained their unity in becoming Lutheran was largely due to Bishop Unglerus. He died in Biertan in 1600, which remained the seat of the Bishopric for another 300 years.

Bishop Lukas Unglerus - this looks like it was once on the top of his grave

Outside the Church

At its peak Biertan was home to some 5,000 people, but the growth in the 19th century of Sibiu (Hermannstadt) to the south and Sighişoara (Schäßburg) to the north led to Biertan's declined in importance and population. Then the Transylvanian Saxons left and today’s 1,600 inhabitants are 74% Romanian, 18% Roma, 5%y Transylvanian Saxons and 4% Hungarians.

Although the Germans are largely gone, the village still looks Germanic.

Biertan with a largely Germanic look

And the storks are still here, one nest built on a pole above a maze of wiring almost up to Indian standards. On the house behind, the builder has selected another stick…

Stork's nest, Biertan

…which he will soon add to the nest.

Just the right stick, I think

We left Bierton and continued towards Sighişoara. Biertan wants to be a tourist attraction, but I saw no other foreigners in town. There were plenty of stalls where locals were selling homemade honey, backscratchers and anything else they might palm off on tourists. It was, though, refreshingly uncommercial, the goods for sale were genuinely locally made and instead of the rapacious ‘fleece the tourists’ vibe of a major tourist attraction, we received a smiling welcome. It will not last, now is the sweet spot for visiting Biertan.

Sighişoara

Sighişoara

Mureş County

Sighișoara is a town in Mureș County with around 25,000 inhabitants. Originally the site of a Roman fort known as Castrum Sex (because it was hexagonal - sorry if that disappoints anybody), Transylvanian Saxons are believed to have settled here around 1190.

In the 14th century Sighișoara became a royal centre and was recognised as a ‘Civitas’ (an urban settlement) in 1367. Transylvanian Saxon artisans and craftsmen built the fortifications and dominated the economy. In the 16th and 17th centuries they had as many as 15 craft guilds regulating and promoting their activities. The Historic Centre of Sighișoara, recognised as a UNESCO world Heritage Site in 1999, sits within their fortress, one of the oldest continuously occupied fortresses in Europe. It feels very much a village within the modern town.

Lunch in the Square

The main gate is now a clock tower…

The Clock Tower, Sighişoara

… and as the day’s uncertain weather was going through a benign patch (it did not last – see the photo above) we lunched outside one of the restaurants in the square.

The opposite corner of the square, Sighişoara

Lynne went for a local speciality – as did many around us – Ciorbă se Fasole in Pită, or as the English translation rather prosaically puts it Bean Soup in Bread. Romanians and their Moldovan cousins draw a distinction between supa and ciorbă (often translated as sour soup). For more information see the end of the Bucharest post.

Bean soup in Bread, Sighişoara

Removing the top from the bread reveals the bean soup. Finding beans that first arrived from the Americas in the 16th century in a traditional dish might seem surprising, but Romanians having made polenta from millet for millennia, changed to maize almost as soon as it was off the boat. And it is not just Romanians, Southern Europe embraced the tomato, Northern Europe grasped hungrily at the potato and India and South East Asia reached for the chilli as though we had been waiting for these things all or lives.

Bean soup in bread, Sighişoara

The problem with the dish is that once you have enjoyed scraping the soup-sodden bread from the inside, there is nothing to do with the rest. As it was obviously the restaurant’s best-selling lunch, I hope they had a strategy for using the leftovers.

I chose a simpler ciorbă.

A simpler ciorbǎ, Sighişoara

Exploring Sighișoara

Our walk was interrupted by rain, but were we daunted? Yes, a bit.

Not all the inhabitants were Transylvanian Saxons. Vlad II, Prince of Wallachia, also know as Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Dragon) took refuge here 1431-5 and was hosted by the mayor while the Turks were bust invading Wallachia. His wife was pregnant when they arrived and soon gave birth to a son, called Vlad like his father. In time he would become Vlad III Țepeș (the Impaler) aka Vlad Dracula. He was the model for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but although he was undoubtedly a blood-thirsty sadist, there is no evidence he was blood-thirsty in Stoker’s literal sense.

Dracula's birthplace, Sighişoara

Dracula was born here…. possibly. There is little evidence this was the mayor’s house at the time but it is the oldest stone house in Sighișoara and it was here when Vlad III was born, so….

But he was, definitely born in Sighișoara, and they have a bust of him. He was not all bad – at least that is the Romanian view. A couple of hours elapsed between these last two pictures, in which time we checked into our hotel, changed our clothes and the rain stopped.

Vlad the Impaler, Sighișoara

The bust sits on a terrace from where we could look over the rest of Sighișoara….

 The rest of Sighișoara

… the most notable building being the Church of the Holy Trinity. It is a Romanian Orthodox church built in the 1930s in neo-Byzantine style. It is often referred to as a Cathedral, but it is (I read) the seat of an archpriest (never come across one of those before) not a bishop, so it is only a church.

The Church of the Holy Trinity, Sighișoara

The craft guilds that flourished in the 15th and 16th centuries built themselves towers, most of which have survived. This is the Tinsmith's Tower…

The Tinsmith's Tower, Sighișoara

…and this, the most picturesque of all, is the Shoemaker's Tower. Note the sunshine, this was taken next morning when the weather had resumed normal summer services.

The Shoemaker;s Tower, Sighișoara

Having had good look round we walked up the street to out hotel (another next-day photo)…

Up the road to our hotel, Sighișoara

Dining in Sighișoara

…and as the weather was showing signs of improvement, we ate in the garden. We started with a glass of Țuică, Romanian plum brandy, which is considered an appropriate aperitif in these parts. It is a good clean spirit, not particularly plummy, but very pleasant when chilled.

A glass of țuica, Sighișoara

It often comes in these little bottles. We felt we ought to pour it into something else, but as there was nothing else, we drank from the bottles.

The Lynne ate Cârnaț de Mistreț cu Bratkartofflen, wild boar sausages with pan fried potatoes…

Wild boar sausages with pan fried potatoes, Sighișoara

…and I chose Sarmale de porc cu mǎmǎligutǎ și ardei iuțe. Sarmale de porc is cabbage stuffed with pork, mǎmǎligutǎ, the yellow cuboid behind, is the ubiquitous Romanian polenta, ardei iuțe is a hot pepper – the chilli poking out at back. I also had a small jug of sour cream and a pile of vegetable mush – I am not entirely sure what it was, but it was pleasant enough.

Stuffed cabbage and polenta, Sighișoara

We both felt well satisfied with our choices and our bottle of Castel Huniade Fetească Neagră. Fetească Neagră is widely planted in Romania and Moldova, and largely ignored by the rest of the world. Indigene Wines describe it as having fine tannins, good acidity, medium to full body…[with]… aromas of dried plums, blackberries, and black blueberries along with nice black pepper, vanilla and coffee flavours. Neither of us claim to have found all those flavours, but we enjoyed it.

Castel Huniade Fetească Neagră, Sighișoara

After a good night’s sleep we left Sighișoara and headed south to the fortress of Rupea and Brașov, another of the Seibenburgen – the Seven Citadels of the Transylvanian Saxons.

Romania

Romania: An Introduction
Part 1 Bucharest
Part 2 Cozia Monastery and Sibiu
Part 3 Hunedoara and Alba Iulia
Part 4 Biertan and Sighișoara
Part 5 Rupea and Brașov