England

City Views
Our Hotel
Plaza by our Hotel
Evangelical Cathedral
Transylvanian Bank
Ursuline Church

Food
Around the Town
Large Plaza
December 1989
Small Plaza
Old Walls

Orthodox Cathedral
Passage 1
Passage 2
Pedestrian Mall
Church by the Bus Station

City View of Sibu / Transylvanian Bank / Old City Walls / Casino

Sibiu was one of our favorite towns on this trip. The city is large enough to have things to do, but small enough to not lose it's old town charm. There city was fun to walk and explore. There are many bars and restaurants serving various types of food. The town reminded us of Krakow Poland with it's large plazas and shops. We would definitely recommend visiting Sibiu if you tour Transylvania.

Our hotel was located on one of the main plazas in Sibiu. It was a great location in the center of everything. It's easy to find from the train station as you walk directly down the main street towards the tower, then turn right underneath the tower and you arrive at the main plaza where the hotel is located. It's directly in front of the Evangelical Cathedral.

Hotel
Hotel Luxemburg	Telephone:	0040-269/216 854
Piata Mica No. 16	Alt Phone:	0040-729/887 478
Sibiu	Fax:	0040-369/101 836

City Views: A nice view of the city. Ok, I stole this photo off some other internet site, but it's such a nice photo of the city.

Our Hotel: Our hotel located on one of the main plazas.

Plaza by our Hotel

Evangelical Cathedral: The first photo shows the view from our hotel room. Unfortunately the church was being restored inside and many sections were blocked off. There was scaffolding inside much of the main section blocking the windows and other items, so there was not much that could be seen. It was very dark and you were not allowed access to anything but a small area in the entry way.

This Gothic cathedral was built in the XIVth century. The tower of the church is exactly 73 meters tall and its building started in 1371. In 1424 the height of the nave walls had been raised with 2.6 meters. It again suffered modifications in 1520. Even though many of the aurous decorations can not be seen, the church is full with artifacts. Here is one of the country’s perhaps most beautiful bronze laver recipient. It was made, in 1438, by Leonhardus. Supposedly it was made out of the canons that were captured from the Turks in 1437. On its side Cyrillic writings can be seen. The pipe-organ was made in 1672.

One of the altars was made between 1480-1545, and probably it’s from the old evangelical church. The rostrum was made in the XVth century. The church had a cemetery, were many well known, especially from Sibiu, persons are laid at rest here. In 1853 the gravestones had been taken from their place and built in the church walls. The blood-red and grey marble stones were carved by two great sculptor, Elias Nicolai and Sigismund Moss, in the XVIth century. Mihnea Voivode the Evils gravestone can also be found here. In 1796 the burying is prohibited, one exception is made in 1803 when Baron Samuel von Brukenthal is laid to rest here. The church walls are ornamented with Johannes de Rosenow Georgamvon paintings, dating from between 1645-1665.

Transylvanian Bank: Just a photo of a bank in Transylvania to prove we were really there.

Ursuline Church: Built in 1474 the church was a Dominican Monastery until 1543 when the Lutherans took over. The monastery, known under German name of Klosterkirche, was in 1755 taken by the Ursulines nuns. The Ursulines changed the gothic interior in baroque style. Outside, the building still keep many gothic details, like the portal and the piles. In inside, the church has three altars and beautiful paintings representing various saints and protectors of the church. The elegant wooden balcony with its wrought iron lattice is also remarkable on the southern wall of the choir.

Food: This is the restaurant where we had dinner. Facing the Evangelical Church, walk around to the right and to the back and find the steps for the passage leading to the lower level plaza. You will see the sign as you start down the step. The food was excellent and the atmosphere was very romantic as shown in one of the photos.

This was actually a Germany restaurant and below are some of the dishes they served: sausage and potato soup, bread, steak with horseradish sauce and cabbage stuffed with pork. The desert however was the Romanian doughnuts with sour cream and jam.

Around the Town: Various photos from around the town.

A Casino

There are many statues throughout the city; these are a few.

Large Plaza (Piata Mare): The large main plaza in Sibiu.

December 1989: Plaque on the ground of the plaza commemorating the revolution on December of 1989: The Romanian Revolution of 1989 was a week-long series of increasingly violent riots and fighting in late December 1989 that overthrew the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu, and after a summary trial, the execution of Ceauşescu and his wife Elena by firing squad. Romania was the only Eastern Bloc country to violently overthrow its Communist regime or to execute its leaders.

Small Plaza (Piata Mica): Once of the smaller plazas close to our hotel accessible through Passage 2 (below).

Old Walls: Three of the remaining medieval towers and connecting walls of the city. The Arquebusier Tower (15th century), Potter Tower (15th century) and Carpenter Tower (15th century) still remain. They were all fitted for using firearms and holes had been made in the walls for throwing the tar.

Orthodox Cathedral: The Orthodox Cathedral, in the new section of town, is modeled after the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. It was built in 1902-1906.

Passage 1: The Stairs Passage is one of the most picturesque places in Sibiu. It makes the connection between the lower-town and the upper-town and was built in 13th century.

Passage 2: This is another passage leading from the lower level plazas up to the main plazas close to the Evangelical Church. This passage was directly opposite our hotel.

Pedestrian Mall: Sibiu has a nice pedestrian mall with many shops and restrauants.

Church by the Bus Station

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