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Guilds, Towers and Dracula Self Guided Tour of Sighisoara

4.8

( 26 reviews )

$6.99

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Step into Sighișoara on a short self-guided walk through colorful medieval streets, ancient towers, and one of Europe’s best-preserved fortified towns.

Highlights


  • Stand before the yellow house where Vlad the Impaler was supposedly born and the name Dracula was forged

  • Climb a covered wooden staircase built so children could reach their school through deep winter snow

  • Decode a centuries-old clock whose two faces hide Roman gods, alchemical metals, and a midnight ritual

  • Trace the guild towers whose stored gunpowder turned one fire into the disaster that remade the town

  • Read the German graves of the Saxon community that built this citadel over thirty generations and then vanished

Preview Stop

Shoemakers' Tower
00:00 / 01:04
This pentagonal tower is the Turnul Cizmarilor, the Shoemakers' Tower. And it is time for me to finally tell you about the Great Fire of sixteen hundred and seventy-six which I have already mentioned so many times. Here is what happened. In late April that year, a widow in the lower town left a fire burning unattended while she was doing the laundry. The fire spread to her house, jumped to the neighbours, and very quickly began moving up towards the citadel. Most of the houses at that point were made of timber and so the fire spread and raged on.By the time it was finally put out, much of the lower town was in ashes, and many of the guild towers were damaged or ruined. It is said that almost seventy percent of Sighișoara burned that day. Houses were rebuilt afterwards in brick and stone instead of wood, which is the reason the lower town today looks the way it does. Now, the Shoemakers' guild had stored gunpowder inside this tower. When the fire reached here, it ignited, and this tower was so badly damaged that it had to be completely rebuilt. The shoemakers, by the way, were one of the substantial guilds in Sighișoara. Footwear in the medieval and early modern town was a serious craft. Most people walked everywhere, on rough cobblestones and unpaved tracks, in all weather, year after year. A pair of well-made boots was an investment. A poorly made pair was a slow disaster for the feet. Master shoemakers passed their skills from father to son for generations, and the guild controlled who could open a shop, what materials they could use, and what they could charge. Today, this tower houses Radio Son Sighișoara, a local radio station, which is a wonderfully twenty-first-century use of a medieval defensive structure. Now, follow the map to the next guild tower, which was affected by the Great Fire.
About this activity 



Free Cancellation 

  • Cancel up to 2 hours in advance for a full refund 

Valid 365 days 

  • Tour is valid for 1 year and can be used multiple times 

Language Options  

  • English | French | German | Spanish | Italian | Dutch | Polish | Russian | Portuguese

Duration  

  • 1 hour and 30 minutes

Starting point


Tinsmiths' Tower -   Google Maps

OR

Download app for instant tour access

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Itinerary
The Tinsmiths' Tower
Commencez devant une tour dont la forme change quatre fois à mesure que votre regard s’élève, et découvrez pourquoi.
Sighisoara Clock Tower
Levez les yeux vers une horloge dotée de deux cadrans différents dont les personnages tournent au douzième coup de minuit.
Casa Vlad Dracul
Arrêtez-vous devant la maison jaune où naquit un prince et où le nom d’un vampire fut forgé pour la première fois.
Stag House
Repérez la tête de cerf fixée à l’angle du bâtiment et découvrez comment un habitant atteignit l’Amérique plusieurs siècles avant les autres.
Casa Venekiana
Observez les fenêtres inspirées du palais des Doges et découvrez le message discret qu’elles transmettaient au sujet de leur propriétaire.
Turnul Cizmarilor
Découvrez pourquoi une tour remplie de poudre à canon et l’incendie provoqué par la lessive d’une veuve transformèrent l’histoire de toute cette ville.
Tailors' Tower
Découvrez pourquoi la tour de la plus riche des corporations explosa alors que celles de ses voisins plus modestes survécurent au même incendie.
The Butchers' Tower
Apprenez pourquoi le modeste boucher occupait une fonction essentielle dans sa corporation, capable de décider du sort d’un siège militaire.
The Covered Stairway
Gravissez un escalier couvert en bois construit pour une raison particulièrement touchante liée aux enfants et aux hivers enneigés de Transylvanie.
School on the Hill
Montez jusqu’à une école en activité depuis cinq siècles et découvrez le directeur qui sauva des légendes populaires menacées de disparition.
Saxon Cemetery
Lisez les noms allemands et observez les outils sculptés sur les tombes de la communauté disparue qui bâtit chaque pierre de cette ville.
Full Description
Walk through one of Europe's last living medieval citadels, where Saxon guilds built the towers, a future Dracula was born, and the people who raised every stone have nearly all gone.
Important Information 


  • Instructions with link to app and how to access the tour will be sent to your email post checkout  

  • You can gain instant access to the tour by downloading the app and buying the tour on the app

Frequently asked questions

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