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          The Saxon colonists, brought to Transylvania in 12th century to guard the mountain passes against the Tartars, settled in the fertile land to the north of the Southern Carpathians, along the routes from Bras ov to Sibiu and Sighis oara. Although many have recently returned to Germany, their villages remain throughout this area, with their regimented layouts and their massive fortified churches. The mountains in this region, home to bears, chamois and eagles provide most of the best hicking in Romania, with easy day walks in the Bucegi Mountains and the Piatra Craiului as well as longer expeditions through the Fagaras , Parâng or Retezat ranges.
          Most striking of all are the Siebenburgen (the Seven German Citadels), the former seats of Saxon power, with their medieval streets, defensive towers and fortified churches.
          Sighisoara, the most picturesque, is the Saxon`s greatest legacy, followed by the citadels and churches of Bras ov and Sibiu as well as smaller Saxon settlements like Cisnadioara, Harman and Prejmer. Travelling west towards the Banat we encounter a region of mountains peppered with citadels of the Dacians, rulers of much of Romania before the Roman conquest. To the north and east,Transylvania has a more Hungarian flavour: cities such as Cluj and Târgu Mures have a strongly Hungarian influence, while Miercurea Ciuc and Sfântu Gheorghe are the cultural centres of the Szekely, an ethnic group closely related to the Magyars.
          When considering the itinerary, one must bear in mind the festivals which take place across Transylvania throughout the year (May and June offer the most choice).
          SINAIA is only 130 km from Bucharest and has been dubbed "the Pearl of the Carpathians Mountains" for its magnificent mountain scenery and royal castle. It was the Sinaia Monastery that caused this tiny settlement to change its name to Sinaia - an ensemble of little churches and courtyards founded by the noble Michael Cantacuzino in 1695 and so called because it contain a stone he had brought from Mount Sinai.
          Peles Castle, the former royal summer residence was completed in 1883. It`s an imposing building displaying a fine choice of styles - English and Italian renaissance, baroque, rococo and Hispano-Moorish, with German renaissance predominant. The result is suprisingly pleasing. Terraces on each side of the castle are laid out like an amphitheatre, with an English-style garden. They make a fine setting.
          Pelisor, the "little Peles" built between 1899 and 1903 was intended for the heir to the throne. Foisor, the palace`s 40 roomed hunting lodge, stands close by.
          Sinaia is a well-placed as a centre for both winter and summer holidays. The slopes of the Bucegi Massif rise steeply west of the town, continuing to a whole series of peaks well over 2000 m. The ski runs`s altitudes vary between 1000 and 2000 m.
          Five excellent hotels are spread out along the main road and one, the Alpin Hotel, stands at the first cable car`s upper station at Cota 1400, 600 m above the resort and 1400 m above the sea. A second cable car, with chair lift parallel with it continues from Cota 1400 to Cota 2000. Chairlifts serve a number of other points, ski tows are available on the slopes and there are strategically-located chalets with restaurants and bars.
          The ski-runs are popular with ordinary and advanced skiers. One 8 km track, from Miorita chalet to the Babele also has been laid out for cross-country skiers. A bobsleigh track with a fall of 300 m winds down from the Hotel Alpin towards the valley.
          Brasov today is not only a county capital, but is also regarded as the chief city of modern Transylvania. Inside the town, however you feel it`s dominated by massive mountains to the south, with lower but still impressive hills immediately north, inside the present city`s boundaries.
          Brasov`s main tourist sights are well known. The lofty Black Church, so called because of a 1689 fire, it`s famous for its excellent organ and its collection of oriental carpets. Its building began in 1389 and was completed in 1477. A statue of Johann Honterus (the 15th century musician and man of letters) stands outside the church. The Old Council Hall, rebuilt after the 1689 fire, holds the modern county museum. The Hirschner House, built as a merchant`s home in 1545, serves as a tourist restaurant today under the name "Cerbul Carpatin". Remains of the town walls still stand. The Weavers` Bastion (Bastionul Tesãtorilor), best preserved of the city`s towers, today houses a museum devoted to the fortifications of the town and of the Tara Bârsei - the plain north of Bras ov. The Schei Gate and the Ecaterina Gate lie south of the old town centre. The Schei district was for centuries the area occupied by Romanians, who were allowed into the town only at certain times of the day. The Schei had its own fortifications,its own school and of course, its own Orthodox church, St. Nicholas`s, originally built in 1399. Bras ov`s oldest church, however, St. Bartholomew`s, lies well northwest of the town centre. It dates from 1260.
          POIANA BRASOV is Brasov`s own ski and mountain resort. It lies in a wonderful, sheltered hollow at the foot of Mount Postavaru, 12 km from Bras ov and 1021 m above sea level. Hotels, chalets, restaurants, bars, riding centre and everything else lie well spaced out around a central lake which forms an ideal skating-ring in winter.
          Cable cars take winter skiers and summer sightseers from the hollow`s southern side to the Postavarul and Cristianul Mare peaks 1799 and 1690 m up. There are chalets at the cableways` upper station. The ski runs are designated for all kind of skiers advanced or ordinary.
          Setting out from Poiana Brasov, after some 20 km we come to Râsnov and the Râsnov citadel and if we continue on this road, a further 12 km brings us to Bran Castle, perched on a low saddle directly above the road. It`s shown to tourists as "Dracula`s Castle". Bran was built at the beginning of the 13th century by a member of the Teutonic Knights. It was originally called Dietrichstein after its founder. He was driven out with the rest of the order in 1225. In 1377 the burghers of Bras ov built a new citadel here to protect their trade route with Wallachia. Regardless of any Dracula connection, which supposedly existed, Bran`s a pleasantly whimsical spot. It gives you fine views into the "Bran corridor", with its mountain peaks on either side. It was taken over by the Royal family late last century and became a museum in 1958, which displays a collection of armour, weapons, furniture and handicrafts.
          Hoghiz & Mãierus lie north of Brasov and most visited of all because they`re easily accessible to coach parties, Hãrman and Prejmer lie northeast. At Harman and Prejmer, surrounded by flat land, you get a good idea of the way the walls round these churches were built to house families and their possessions when they needed shelter from invaders. The churches inside these little fortresses are Evangelical. Many contain good organs - centuries ago the Transylvanian Germans were famous organ-builders.
          Sighisoara`s old citadel area, high on a steep bluff overlooking the Târnava Mare river, must surely count as one of Europe`s loveliest urban areas. What`s specially charming is that so little modernsation has been even attempted in the last few centuries. One perfectly ordinary-looking house, for instance, has a plaque on it saying that Vlad Dracu, Vlad Tepes`s father, lived there from 1431 to 1435 - which means that Vlad Tepes was almost certainly born in that house. The picturesque Clock Tower guards the citadel`s main entrance. It dates from the 14th century. The tower houses a history museum. The view from the tower`s lookout balcony is very striking. A mechanical devise was attached to the clock in 1648 which caused a figure a metre high representing each day of the week to appear at midnight. You can reach the "Church up on the Hill" up a long stairway with 172 steps.
          You`ll find Biertan 9 km south of the road from Sighisoara to Medias, where the church stands solidly on the top of a hill in the village`s middle, with a wall and a high tower close to it. Tower and church both have arrow slits. Another wall on the lower ground is provided with a high entrance tower. It`s quite an elaborate little fort, with the church towering above the entire complex.
          At Medias you`re in a colourful smaller town, surrounded by hills with extensive vineyards. The town itself, typically Transylvanian in its architecture, stands on a hill, topped with a church surrounded by a fortifying wall and towers, raised in the 14th century. One of the towers, 74 m high, leans a little bit. It was built in 1450 and had a clock showing the moon`s phases added in 1880. Vlad Tepes was imprisoned by Matthias Corvinus in 1476.
          Axente Sever is a village renamed in honour of a great man connected with the 1848 revolution. Its little church was built in the 13th century. In the 15th, a massive tower with a defence-lookout platform was added and the whole complex surrounded with a wall that had storerooms and living quarters built into it.
          Sibiu`s a beautiful and colourful old town. Most of what you want to see lies in or close to an open airy, hilltop area, where flower beds and flower sellers add more colour to the fine old painted houses.The old Council Tower, part of the 16th century defences, stands between what was originally the Town Hall and a Catholic church. The little square`s most visited spot however is the Gingerling Ladder, a long flight of steps connecting the upper citadel to the town`s lower area. The Brukenthal Museum is a large baroque building, which houses a superb display of paintings that include works by Rubens, van Dyck, Titian and so on. The large 14th century Evangelical church with a notable range of over sixty memorial tablets inside, recalls famous poeple buried in the church. In Strada Cetatii, we`ll find spread out a row of old bastions forming part of the former fortifications.
          There are numerous and interesting excursion points in the town`s surroundings.
          At Dumbrava Sibiului, for instance, there`s not only a magnificent oak forest but also an even more staggering Museum of Village Technology. It`s not just the country poeple`s technical skills you`ll find so admirable in the museum. It`s also their taste. Yhey took time to produce things they`d enjoy living with as well as using.
          The road to Dumbrava Sibiului continues to Rãsinari. Here there`s a famous open-air museum displaying a mass of old buildings and their furnishings, together with a school of popular art, where the old handicraft traditions are preserved. Rãsinari is also the Emil Cioran`s birthplace.
          The road goes another 20 km past Rasinari to Paltinis, a summer and winter resort. The place is an excellent starting-point for more walks in the Cibin and Lotru Mountains.
          Another out-of-the-way base for excursions is the tiny village of Sibiel. Its overpowering attraction is its tiny, madly over-crowded gallery of icons on glass. It flourished in many remote spots and the best of the work was produced mainly in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, though it was known as early as the 14th.
          Târgu Mures lies in a very fertile region, some 50 km north of Sighis oara. Its wealth of baroque architecture is typical of Transylvania`s towns. The huge Roman Catholic church wasbuilt for Jesuits in 1750. Its pulpit and altar are specially fine. The magnificent Palace of Culture forms part of this lovely town-centre ensemble. It contains a fine concert hall with a notable oran, a number of stained-glass windows illustrating scenes from history and legends. The Palace of Culture was completed in 1913. Inside the old Citadel, constructed in the 15th century, we`ll find an Evangelical church that was built for Dominicans in 1422 and later taken over by Franciscans before passing to Protestants in the late 16th century. The Governing Council (The Diet) of Transylvania met 37 times in this church at various dates.
          The most important of all Târgu Mures`s fine buildings, however, is probably the Teleki Reference Library. The building dates from 1804. Its collection was begun by Count Samuel Teleki, who was Chancellor of Transylvania from 1791 to 1822. The library`s main treasures run to books produced by famous early printers and publishers.
          Another 100 km brings us to Cluj-Napoca, stressing the town`s Roman origin by adding Napoca, which is its Roman name. The ciy`s noticeable feature is its ancient ciatdel, surrounded by parkland north of the River Somes. Here we`ll see St. Michael`s church (Roman Catholic, 14th century). A splendid equestrian statue of Iancu de Hunedoara stands in front of it. The house where Iancu de Hunedoara`s son, the great King Matthias Corvinus, was born in 1443 is now 6 strada Matei Corvin. You can visit the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania with its open-air section on Hoia Hill, northwest of the city. It`s a lovely collection of old buildings re-erected on a extremely pleasant hillside.

          The citadels of Transylvania