Editing Sighișoara

{{For|the river in Arad County|Sighișoara (river)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox Romanian subdivision
|type               = municipality
|county             = Mureș
|official_name      = Sighișoara
|other_name         = {{langx|de|Schäßburg}}<br /> [[Transylvanian Saxon dialect|Transylvanian Saxon]]: ''Scheeßprich''
|image_flag         =
|image_shield       = ROU MS Sighisoara CoA1.jpg
|image_skyline      = {{multiple image
| border                   = infobox
| total_width              = 250
| image_style              = border
| perrow                   = 1/2/2
| image1 = Casa cu cerbi.JPG
|alt1 =
|caption1 = Piața cetății
| image2 = Transylvania Sighisoara 2011.jpg
|alt2 =
|caption2 = Hill church 
| image3 = Romania 2008-08-19 (3086488325).jpg
|alt3 =
|caption3 = Streets of Old town
| image4 = MonasteryChurch.jpg|thumb|Monastery Church inside Sighisoara Citadel
|alt4 =
|caption4 = Church monastery
| image5 = Sighisoara - Strada Turnului.jpg
|alt5 =
|caption5 = Clock tower
}}
|image_map          = Sighisoara jud Mures.svg
|map_caption        = Location in Mureș County
|leader_name        = Ioan-Iulian Sîrbu<ref>{{cite web |url=https://primariasighisoara.ro/portal/mures/sighisoara/portal.nsf/pagini/primar-00000E36 |title=Primar |language=ro |publisher=Sighișoara city hall|website= primariasighisoara.ro|access-date=28 April 2025 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|leader_party       = [[Force of the Right|FD]]
|term               = 2024&ndash;2028
|coordinates        = {{coord|46|13|1|N|24|47|28|E|region:RO|display=inline,title}}
|elevation          = 380
|elevation_min      = 
|elevation_max      = 
|area_total         = 113.47
|area_footnotes     = 
|population_as_of   = 
|population_total   = auto
|population_footnotes = 
|postal_code        = 545400
|area_code          = (+40) 0265
|website            = {{URL|https://primariasighisoara.ro/}}
{{designation list | embed=yes
| designation1 = WHS
| designation1_offname = Historic Centre of Sighișoara
| designation1_date = 1999 <small>(23rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
| designation1_type = Cultural
| designation1_criteria = iii, v
| designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/902 902]
| designation1_free1name = Region
| designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in Europe|Europe]]
}}
}}

'''Sighișoara''' ({{IPA|ro|siɡiˈʃo̯ara|lang}}; {{langx|hu|Segesvár}} {{IPA|hu|ˈʃɛɡɛʃvaːr||Segesvár.ogg}}; {{langx|de|Schäßburg}} {{IPA|de|ˈʃɛsbʊʁk|}}; [[Transylvanian Saxon dialect|Transylvanian Saxon]]: ''Schäsbrich'', ''Šesburχ'', or ''Scheeßprich'';<ref>{{cite web|lang=de|url=https://www.siebenbuerger.de/ortschaften/schaessburg|title=Schäßburg|work=Siebenbuerger.de|author=Verband der Siebenbürger Sachsen in Deutschland e.V. (i.e. [[Association of Transylvanian Saxons in Germany]])|access-date=6 March 2023|archive-date=6 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306132924/https://www.siebenbuerger.de/ortschaften/schaessburg/|url-status=live}}</ref> {{langx|yi|שעסבורג|Shesburg}}; {{langx|la|Castrum Sex}} or {{lang|la|Saxoburgum}}) is a [[Municipiu|city]] on the [[Târnava Mare|Târnava Mare River]] in [[Mureș County]], central [[Romania]]. Located in the historic region of [[Transylvania]], Sighișoara had a population of 23,927 according to the [[2021 Romanian census|2021 census]]. It is a popular tourist destination for its well-preserved [[Historic Centre of Sighișoara|old town]], which is listed by [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]] since 1999. The town administers seven villages: Angofa, Aurel Vlaicu, Hetiur, Rora, Șoromiclea, Venchi, and Viilor.

== History ==

{{See also|Voivodeship of Transylvania}}
{{more citations needed section|date=September 2013}}
[[File:Rumänien. Landschaft, Bauten, Volksleben Sighișoara, piață.jpg|thumb|left|Central Sighișoara as photographed by Kurt Hielscher in 1933.]]
[[File:Strada Turnului, Cetatea Sighisoara.JPG|left|thumb|180px|A street in central Sighișoara, very close to the Clock Tower.]]
[[File:Segesvár.jpg|left|thumb|180px|The town centre of Sighișoara, as seen from the Clock Tower during the summer.]]
[[File:Sighisoara IMG 5624.jpg|left|thumb|180px|The town centre of Sighișoara, as seen from the Clock Tower in winter time.]]
[[File:sighisoara2.JPG|thumb|left|180px|View from Villa Franka]]

Starting with the mid 12th century, [[Germans|German]] [[Artisan|craftsmen]] and [[merchants]] known as the [[Transylvanian Saxons]] ({{langx|de|Siebenbürger Sachsen}}) were invited to Transylvania by the then [[Kingdom of Hungary|King of Hungary]], [[Géza II of Hungary|Géza II]], to settle and defend the frontier of his realm and improve the region's economy. The [[chronicle]]r Krauss lists a Saxon settlement in present-day Sighișoara by 1191.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} A document of 1280 records a town built on the site of a Roman fort as ''Castrum Sex'' or "six-sided camp", referring to the fort's shape of an irregular hexagon.<ref name="room">Adrian Room, ''Placenames of the World'', p.347. McFarland, 2006, {{ISBN|0-7864-2248-3}}.</ref> Other names recorded include ''Schaäsburg'' (1282), ''Schespurg'' (1298) and ''Segusvar'' (1300).<ref name="talanga">Cristian Tălângă (ed.), ''Transilvania, Maramureș, Bucovina'', p.27. Editura Semne, Bucharest, 2007.</ref> By 1337 Sighișoara had become a royal center for the kings, who awarded the settlement urban status in 1367 as the ''Civitas de Segusvar''.

The town played an important strategic and commercial role at the edges of [[Central Europe]] for several centuries. Sighișoara became one of the most important urban centres of Transylvania, with artisans from throughout the [[Holy Roman Empire]] visiting the settlement. The German artisans and craftsmen dominated the urban economy, as well as building the fortifications protecting it. It is estimated that during the 16th and 17th centuries Sighișoara had as many as 15 [[guild]]s and 20 [[handicraft]] branches. The [[Baroque]] sculptor Elias Nicolai lived in the town. The [[Wallachia]]n ''[[voivode]]'' [[Vlad Dracul]] (father of [[Vlad the Impaler]]), who lived in exile in the town, had coins minted in the town (otherwise coinage was the monopoly of the [[Hungarian kings]] in the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]) and issued the first document listing the city's [[Romanian language|Romanian]] name, ''Sighișoara''.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}} The Romanian name is first attested in 1435, and derives from the Hungarian ''Segesvár'', where ''vár'' is "fort".<ref name="room"/><ref name="talanga"/>

[[File:Old picture of Piata Hermann Oberth .jpg|right|thumb|252x252px|Hermann Oberth Square during the 20th century]]

The town was the setting for [[George I Rákóczi]]'s election as [[List of Transylvanian rulers|Prince of Transylvania]] and [[King of Hungary]] in 1631. Sighișoara suffered military occupation, fires, and plagues during the 17th and 18th centuries. An important source for the history of 17th-century Transylvania, for the period of 1606–1666, are the records of Georg Kraus, the town's notary.<ref>[http://bookline.hu/product/home!execute.action?id=77551&type=22&_v=Kraus_Georg_Erdelyi_kronika_1608_1666 Erdélyi krónika 1608-1666] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221026151819/https://bookline.hu/product/home!execute.action?id=77551&type=22&_v=Kraus_Georg_Erdelyi_kronika_1608_1666 |date=26 October 2022 }} (in Hungarian)</ref>

The nearby plain of [[Albești, Mureș|Albești]] was the site of the [[Battle of Segesvár]], where the [[Revolution of 1848|revolutionary]] Hungarian army led by [[Józef Bem]] was defeated by the [[Russian Empire|Russian]] army led by [[Alexander von Lüders|Lüders]] on 31 July 1849. A monument was constructed in 1852 to the Russian general Skariatin, who died in the battle. The Hungarian poet [[Sándor Petőfi]] is generally believed to have been killed in the battle, and a monument was constructed in his honor at Albești in 1897. After [[World War I]] Sighișoara passed with Transylvania from [[Austria-Hungary]] to the [[Kingdom of Romania]].

[[Historic Centre of Sighișoara|Central Sighișoara]] has preserved in an exemplary way the features of a small [[Middle Ages|medieval]] fortified town. It has been listed by [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]]. Each year, a [[Sighișoara Medieval Festival|medieval Festival]] takes place in the old citadel in July.

In Eastern Europe and Southeastern Europe, Sighișoara is one of the few fortified towns that are still inhabited. The town is made up of two parts. The medieval stronghold was built on top of a hill and is known as the Citadel ({{lang|ro|Cetatea}}). The lower town lies in the valley of Târnava Mare river.

The houses inside Sighișoara Citadel show the main features of a craftsmen's town. However, there are some houses that belonged to the former patriciate, like the Venetian House and the House with Antlers.

Between 2001 and 2003, the construction of a [[Dracula]] theme park in the ''[[Breite Oak Tree Reserve|Braite]]'' nature preserve near Sighișoara was considered but ultimately rejected, owing to the strong opposition of local civil society groups and national and international media as well as politically influential persons, as the theme park would have detracted from the medieval style of the city and would have destroyed the nature preserve.

== Demographics and name ==

{{Historical populations
|source = Official Romanian census data
|1910 |10913
|1930 |13033
|1948 |18284
|1956 |20363
|1966 |25109
|1977 |33208
|1992 |36170
|2002 |32287
|2011 |28102
|2021 |23927
}}

At the [[2011 Romanian census|2011 census]], the city had a population of 28,102, of which 75% were 
[[Romanians]], 17.6% [[Hungarians in Romania|Hungarians]], 5.3% [[Romani people in Romania|Roma]], and 1.5% 
[[Germans of Romania|Germans]] (more specifically [[Transylvanian Saxons]]).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mures.insse.ro/phpfiles/COMUNICAT_DATE_PROVIZORII_RPL_2011_judetul_MURES.pdf |title=2011 census data |access-date=24 March 2012 |archive-date=26 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126095021/http://www.mures.insse.ro/phpfiles/COMUNICAT_DATE_PROVIZORII_RPL_2011_judetul_MURES.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the [[2021 Romanian census|2021 census]], Sighișoara had a population of 23,927; of those, 65.69% were Romanians, 12.57% Hungarians, and 2.93% Roma.<ref name="RPL2021">{{cite web|url=https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Tabel-1.03_1.3.1-si-1.03.2.xls|title=Populaţia rezidentă după grupa de vârstă, pe județe și municipii, orașe, comune, la 1 decembrie 2021|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Romania)|INSSE]]|language=ro|date=31 May 2023}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! In [[Romanian language|Romanian]] 
! In [[German language|German]]
! In [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
|-
| Sighișoara 
| Schäßburg
| Segesvár
|-
| Angofa 
| Ungefug
| Angofa
|-
| Aurel Vlaicu 
| {{N/A}}
| Haufan
|-
| Hetiur 
| Marienburg bei<br />Schäßburg
| Hétúr
|-
| Rora 
| Rohrau
| Róra
|-
| Șoromiclea 
| {{N/A}}
| {{N/A}}
|-
| Venchi 
| Wench
| Venk
|-
| Viilor 
| Kulturberg
| Szőlőskert
|}

== Sights ==
<div style="background-color:white" width="100%">
<gallery mode=packed widths=1000px heights=250px>
Sighisoara de pe lunca postii by blackasmodeus.jpg|View of Sighișoara from Lunca Poștei
</gallery>
</div>

Sighișoara is a popular [[Tourist attraction|tourist destination]] for its well-preserved walled old town, which is also listed by [[UNESCO]] as a [[World Heritage Site]]. The main Citadel's attractions are certainly the towers. The city is also an attraction on the [[Via Transilvanica]] [[long-distance trail]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Terra Saxonum {{!}} Via Transilvanica |url=https://www.viatransilvanica.com/ro/tinuturi/terra-saxonum/ |access-date=2023-08-14 |website=www.viatransilvanica.com |language=ro |archive-date=14 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814133413/https://www.viatransilvanica.com/ro/tinuturi/terra-saxonum/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Towers ===

[[File:Sighisoara - Turnul cu Ceas - iarna 1.jpg|alt=Sighișoara clock tower by night|thumb|The Clock Tower ({{langx|de|Der Stundturm}}, {{langx|ro|Turnul cu ceas}}), as seen by night.]]

According to ancient military architectures writings, the defence towers had to be a fortification system for the mutual defense, and, at the same time, each tower was supposed to be an independent [[Fortification|fortress]]: a break at the base of a tower did not mean entering into the city, capturing a tower did not have to lead to the conquest of the city. Most of these towers were hollow and equipped with elevators and underground galleries.
* [[Sighișoara Clock Tower]] (''Turnul cu Ceas'') – the landmark of the city is a 64 m-high tower built in the 13th century. Today it is a museum of history.
* The [[Tinsmiths' Tower]] (''Turnul Cositorarilor)''
* The [[Butchers' Tower]] (''Turnul Măcelarilor)''
* The [[Bootmakers' Tower]]
* The [[Tailors' Tower]] (''Turnul Croitorilor'') 
* The [[Furriers' Tower]] (''Turnul Cojocarilor'')
* The [[Ironsmiths' Tower]] (''Turnul Fierarilor'') 
* The [[Ropemakers' Tower]] (''Turnul Frânghierilor'')
* The [[Tanners' Tower]] (''Turnul Tăbăcarilor'') 
* The Face Tower – tower on the route to Târgu Mureș, out of the citadel, but still worth visiting thanks to its story.

=== Churches ===

[[File:Biserica Manastirii din Sighisoara3.JPG|thumb|right|The Monastery Church in the town centre]]

* [[Church on the Hill (Sighișoara)|The church on the hill (''Biserica din Deal'')]] – is undoubtedly one of the most valuable architectural monuments of the city and has been one of the most representative buildings of the gothic site of Romania. 
* The [[Monastery Church, Sighișoara|Monastery Church]] (''[[Monastery Church, Sighișoara|Biserica Mânăstirii Dominicane]]'') –  is a gothic style architectural monument which is placed in the neighbourhood of the Clock tower and it was built at the beginning of the 13th century. It is the only church without a bell: the reason is basically that the Saxons weren't great spenders and thought that one bell, the one of the Church on the hill, was enough for the whole city.
* [[St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church (Sighișoara)|The Saint Joseph Roman Catholic church]]
* [[Lepers' Church|Leprosy Church (''Biserica Leproșilor'')]]
* [[Holy Trinity Church, Sighișoara|The Orthodox Cathedral of Sighișoara (Catedrala Ortodoxă)]]
* [[Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple Church, Sighișoara|The old Orthodox church]]

=== Civil architecture ===

[[File:Strada 1 decembrie 1918.jpg|thumb|282x282px|1 Decembrie 1918 street as seen during the 20th century.]]

Most of the 164 houses in the town having at least 300 years are considered historical monuments, as follows: those in the Town Square (or Citadel Square), with its rectangular plan, was once inhabited by noble families of the town, though it has undergone too many transformations over time. The best houses are the ones that have kept their original shape.

* [[House on the Rock (Casa de pe stâncă)]]  
* House with shingles (Evert) – is dedicated to craftsmen for Educational Interethnic Centre for Youth.
* [[Venetian House or Green House (Casa Venețiană)|Venetian House or Green House (''Casa Venețiană'')]] 
* [[Vlad Dracul House|Vlad Dracul's House]] 
* [[Sighișoara City Hall]] 
* Sighișoara hotel complex – built between 1886 and 1889 was the seat of city hall.
* Indoor wooden staircase or the [[Scholar's Stairs]]
* [[School on the Hill]] 
* [[The Stag House (Casa cu Cerb)|The Stag House (''Casa cu Cerb'')]]
* The Citadel Square (''Piața Cetăți'')
* [[Guilders' Association House]] (La Perla)
* [[Joseph B. Teusch Building]] (Hotel Central Park)

== Natives ==

[[File:Josephinische Landaufnahme pg175.jpg|right|thumb|Sighișoara in the Grand Duchy of Transylvania, 1769–1773. Josephinische Landesaufnahme]]
[[File:Josephinische Landaufnahme pg191.jpg|thumb|Sighișoara in the Grand Duchy of Transylvania, 1769–1773. Josephinische Landesaufnahme]]

* [[Johann Michael Ackner]], Transylvanian Saxon archaeologist
* [[Doina Cojocaru]], handball player
* [[Friedrich Grünanger]], architect
* [[Ralph Gunesch]], former professional German football player
* [[Adrian Ivanițchi]], folk guitarist
* [[Johannes Kelpius]], a German intellectual, musician, and mystic who founded a religious community when he immigrated to the American colony of Pennsylvania in the late seventeenth century
* [[Gabriel Mureșan]], footballer
* [[Marie Stritt]], German feminist and suffragist
* [[Georg Daniel Teutsch]], Lutheran bishop
* [[Vlad the Impaler|Vlad III the Impaler]], prince of Wallachia, inspiration for fictional [[vampire]] [[Count Dracula]]
* [[Radu Voina]], former handball player, currently coach

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Romania}}

===Twin towns – sister cities===
Sighișoara is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
{|class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Dinkelsbühl]], [[Germany]]
*{{flagicon|HUN}} [[Kiskunfélegyháza]], [[Hungary]]
*{{flagicon|SUI}} [[Baden, Switzerland|Baden]], [[Switzerland]]
*{{flagicon|FRA}} [[Blois]], [[France]]
||
*{{flagicon|ITA}} [[Città di Castello]], [[Italy]] 
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Zamość]], [[Poland]]<ref name="Zamość twinnings">{{cite web|url=http://www.zamosc.pl/page/4/miasta-partnerskie.html|title=Miasta partnerskie – Zamość|access-date=26 July 2013|work=Urząd Miasta Zamość|language=pl|archive-date=28 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128091559/http://www.zamosc.pl/page/4/miasta-partnerskie.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|POL}} [[Lublin]], [[Poland]]
|}

== Gallery ==

<gallery class="center">
File:Sighișoara, Romania (Unsplash).jpg|Downtown Sighișoara
File:Colegiul National Mircea Eliade - panoramio.jpg|[[Mircea Eliade National College (Sighișoara)|Mircea Eliade National College]]
File:Sighisoara festivala medivala.jpg|Sighișoara medieval festival
File:Sighisoara vedere spre cetate de pe podul peste Tarnava.jpg|Downtown Sighișoara by night in winter
File:Sighisoara - panoramio.jpg|Downtown Sighișoara by day
File:Sighisoara IMG 4711.jpg|The Stag House ({{langx|ro|Casa cu Cerb}}) in Sighișoara
File:Sighisoara, piazza cetatii 01.JPG|The citadel square by night
File:Sighisoara, municipio 01.JPG|Sighișoara town hall
File:SighisoaraTowerNight.JPG|Tailors' Tower by night
File:Sighisoara Liceul J.Haltrich (1).JPG|Joseph Haltrich high school
File:Sighisoara._Biserica_din_deal.jpg|Central Sighișoara in the winter
File:Sighisoara 1740 reconstituire.PNG|19th century reenacted drawing of Sighișoara
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[List of Hungarian exonyms (Mureș County)]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Sighișoara}}
{{wikivoyage|Sighișoara}}
* 360° Panoramic Images of Sighișoara - [http://www.csvd.ro/panoblog/360-romania/sighisoara/the-15th-medieval-festival-of-sighisoara-part-1/ Part 1] and [http://www.csvd.ro/panoblog/360-romania/sighisoara/the-15th-medieval-festival-of-sighisoara-part-2/ Part 2]
* {{Official website|https://primariasighisoara.ro/|The City of Sighișoara – official website}}
* [https://archive.today/20120402161945/http://www.romania-vacations.ning.com/profiles/blogs/sighisoara-travel-romania TOP 10 Guides: Best of Sighișoara]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20091025084509/http://letsgotoromania.com/Sighisoara/Sighisoara.htm Lets Go To Romania]}}
* [http://www.sighisoara360.ro/ Sighișoara 360 Virtual Tour & Medieval Festival photo gallery]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120128132625/http://www.descopera.net/foto_sighisoara.html Sighișoara Pictures]
* [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/31/sighosoar-romania-the-pur_n_776039.html Sighișoara, Romania: The Purported Home Of Dracula] – slideshow by ''[[The Huffington Post]]''
* [https://careynash.com/sighiosaora-taking-a-bite-out-of-transylvania-backpacking-with-children-eastern-europe-with-children/ Images from Sighișoara by Canadian Photographer Carey Nash ]
* [http://www.brinzan.com/2012/12/a-september-day-in-sighisoara-romania-hdr/ (2012) HDR Photos of Sighișoara by Moldavian Photographer Dumitru Brinzan]
* [http://sighisoaraonline.com/english/ Tourist informations, photo gallery and webcam from Sighisoara]

{{Mureș County}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sighisoara}}
[[Category:Sighișoara| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Romania]]
[[Category:Populated places in Mureș County]]
[[Category:Localities in Transylvania]]
[[Category:Capitals of former Romanian counties]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 12th century]]
[[Category:Roman auxiliary forts in Romania]]