England

City Views from Black Tower
Around the Town
Town Center
Old Town Hall
Black Church

Ecaterinas Gate
St. Nicholas Orthodox Church
White Orthodox Church
Graft Bastion
Stream

Views by the Old Walls
Old Walls Park
Food
Brasov Art Museum
Buildings

Brasov / Ecaterinas Gate / St. Nicholas Orthodox Church

Brasov is located by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and resplendent with gothic, baroque and renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historical attractions, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania.

Founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1211 on an ancient Dacian site and settled by the Saxons as one of the seven walled citadels, Brasov exudes a distinct medieval ambiance.

The location of the city at the intersection of trade routes linking the Ottoman Empire and western Europe, together with certain tax exemptions, allowed Saxon merchants to obtain considerable wealth and exert a strong political influence in the region. This was reflected in the city’s German name, Kronstadt, as well as in its Latin name, Corona, meaning Crown City (hence, the coat of arms of the city which is a crown with oak roots).

Fortifications were erected around the city and continually expanded, with several towers maintained by different craft guilds, according to medieval custom.

Our hotel was nice and we would recommend it to anyone visiting Brasov. The hotel is approximately an 800 meter walk to the old medieval part of the city. We recommend taking a taxi from the train to reach the hotel. A good taxi rate should be about 10 Lei.

Hotel
Pensiunea Italiana	Telephone:	+40741 994 010
70, Lunga Street	Fax:	+40268476001
Brasov	E-mail:	accommodation@pensiunea-italiana.ro

City View from Black Tower: The squared Black Tower built in 1494, stands atop a rock on Starja Hill near the Blacksmiths' Bastion. The tower received its name from a severe fire in 1559 when it was struck by lightning. Recently renovated and boasting a pyramid-shaped glass roof, the Black Tower houses a small war-related artifacts museum. There are four floors inside, each reached by a narrow wooden ladder.

Around the Town: Various photos around the town.

Town Center: The Saxons built massive stone walls and seven bastions around the city that are still visible today, as well as ornate churches, elaborately trimmed buildings and one of the finest central squares in the country, said to be the spot to which the legendary Pied Piper led the children of Hamlin. Located at the heart of old medieval Brasov and lined with beautiful red-roofed merchant houses, the Council Square, known to the Saxon population as the Marktplatz.

Old Town Hall: In the center of the square stands the Old Town Hall (1420), now home to Brasov's History Museum, while the southeast corner is dominated by the town's most famous landmark, the Black Church.

Built in the 13th century, the house served as meeting place for the town councilors, known as centurions. On top of the building sits the Trumpeter's Tower, used during the Middle Ages as a watchtower for warning the citadel inhabitants of approaching danger. Today, the old city hall houses the Brasov History Museum.

Black Church: Brasov's famous landmark and Romania’s leading gothic church, the Black Church towers over the Council Square and the old town.

Built between 1385 and 1477 on the site of an earlier church (destroyed by Mongol invasions in 1242), the construction of the Marienkirche, as it was known in German, was hampered by extensive damage caused by Turkish raids in 1421. The church was given its new name after disaster struck again in 1689, when the Great Fire leveled most of the town, blackening the walls of the church. Restoration took almost 100 years. Of two towers planned, only one was finished.

The original gothic interior got a makeover during restorations, and the lofty, light space you see today is mostly baroque. The interior is beautiful, with balconies, stained glass windows, an enormous organ, stone columns and walls adorned with fabulous Turkish carpets. The church windows have recently been fitted out with special UV-filtering glass to protect the 119 Anatolian carpets. Thankful to have survived their trips into the “barbaric” lands south and east of the Carpathians, German merchants donated the carpets to the church in the 17th and 18th centuries. The collection is the largest of its kind in Europe.

Ecaterinas Gate: Ecaterinas Gate or Catherine's Gate was erected in 1559 by the Tailors’ Guild, is the only original gate to have survived from medieval times. The fairy-tale tower we see today was part of a bigger structure, which unfortunately, was demolished in 1827. The original structure can be seen at the Weavers’ Bastion Museum where a large model of 16th century Brasov is displayed. The four small corner turrets (as seen in other Saxon citadels) symbolized the judicial autonomy of the Town Council which could apply, if necessary, the death penalty. Above the entrance, the tower bears the city's coat of arms: a crown on a tree trunk.

St. Nicholas Orthodox Church: Saint Nicholas’ Church dominates the Schei District. First built in wood in 1392, replaced with a stone structure in 1495 and considerably expanded in the 18th century, the church is a true architectural masterpiece. With a mix of Byzantine, baroque and gothic styles, it features a slender tower and four corner towers.

Like other medieval churches, it is surrounded by protective walls with large wooden gates. The enclosure shelters a small old cemetery where several *prominent people of Romania are buried.

Cemetery by St. Nicholas Church

White Orthodox Church

Graft Bastion: Of the original seven bastions, only a few have survived, including the newly renovated Graft Bastion is located in the middle of the citadel’s northwest wing. On the west side of the wall.

Stream: Stream running by the Graft Bastion.

Views by Old Walls: Taken by the Graft Bastion.

Old Walls: By the Graft Bastion.

Park

Food: This is actually at a Hungarian restaurant in Brasov. The appetizer consisted of cooked mushrooms with a cornmeal paste / dumpling like thing? Anyway it was delicious.

Brasov Art Museum

Buildings: Various building around town.

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