SIBIU

BRASOV

Capital city of the Brasov county; located in the Barsa Depression, at the food of the Tampa Mount, 650 m high; Kronstadt's (Germ.) fortifcations were raised by the Saxons between the 14th-17th centuries in order to defend it against the Turks' and Tartars' raids; the 17th c. saw the unprecedented development of crafts (43 guilds and 1300 workshops) and trade as favoured by the town's position at the crossroads between western Europe and the Orient; 322.977 inhabitants (1995); at present, the 2nd industrial centre after Bucharest and one of the main university, historic and tourist cities in Romania; at 13 km away, the renowned mountain and holiday resort Poiana Brasov.

Medieval fortifications: Weavers' Bastion (15th-16th centuries): the largest medieval bastion in Romania and the best preserved among Brasov's 7 bastions; at present, it houses the Museum of the Brasov Citadel and of the Fortifications in the Barsa country

Religious monuments: Black Church; Ortodox church 'St Nicholas' of Schei (13th-16th centuries): valuable collection of icons from the 16th c.; 'St Bartholomew Church' (13th-15th centuries): the oldest edifice in Brasov; early Gothic style, Its building started in 1260; altarpiece in the classical baroque style (18th c.); The Romanian Orthodox Cathedral "Sfanta Adormire a Maicii Domnului" 3, Sfatului Square. Built in a glaring Byzantine style, this church sticks out between the subdued merchants' houses on Piata Sfatului.

The Orthodox Cathedral was built in 1896, and is worth entering for its frescoes and impressive decorations.; Romano-Catholic Church "Sf. Petru si Pavel" - Brasov's only Baroque church was built in 1782 with financial hekp from Maria Theresia. Peek at the impressive interior. Synagogue - jews have been in Brasov since 1807 when Aron Ben Jehuda was given permission by the Saxons to live in the city. The Jewish Community of Brasov was officially founded 19 years later, followed by the first jewish school in 1864 and building of the synagogue in 1901. The Jewish population of Brasov expanded rapidly to 1280 'souls' in 1910 and 4000 in 1940.

Historic places:

Stately buildings: Town Hall (15th c.) - at present, Museum of History and Archaeology: built in the late Renaissance style combined with Transylvanian baroque elements; front side displays the town's heraldic bearings; 48 m high clock-tower erected in the 16th c.; Hirscher's / Merchants' House (16th c.): former residence of mayor Lukes Hirscher; Renaissance style; at present, the Cerbul Carpatin restaurant. Cultural tourism interest events: The Young Men's Feast, Schei District, 1 st Sunday of May.

First Romanian School Museum Housed on the grounds of the Str. Nicolai church, the First Romanian School Museum is an important milestone for Romanians. For centuries this was a centre of Romanian teaching and book printing. Caretaker Vasile Oltean will proudly guide you through this small museum, showing you countless Romanian 'firsts': the oldest bible (printed on goast skin), the oldest letter written in Romanian using the the Latin alphabet (previously, Romanian was written with cyrillic letters), a page from an 11th-century schoolbook and much more. The printing press itself only printed 39 books, taking 20 workers and eight translators months to finish just one book. No wonder a book was worth 12 oxen in those days. Mr Olteanu can also guide you through the tiny museum of the Junii, showing the seven different traditional costumes the Schei men had. Schei womend had only one.

Casa Sfatului in 15th century a tower from the fortress of Brasov 100 years old was transformed, adding another close building, in the Council's House, used also for trials. Now is a museum. Brasov's showpiece Council Square, known to the Saxon population as Marktplatz, is one the most beautiful pedestrianised main squares of Romania. All around the square are sturdy houses with high lofts for storing goods. In the middle of square is the old city hall, dating from 1420.

Brasov Citadel (Cetate) - Strategically overlooking the town and the plains to north,, the citadel is part of the outer fortification system of Brasov. In 1524 the first wooden defence walls were erected and replaced between 1554 and 1690 by the four massive stone bastions you see now. The citadel was abandoned in the 17th century after technological innovations made cannons stronger than the building.

Ethnographic Museum - Step back into the past and and vhite photographs which illustrate exactly how they were worn and by whom. The museum also shows the evolution of weaving from an old spinning wheel to a mechanised loom which is still operational. Authentic Romanian crafts such as hand-carved crosses and embroidered shirts are on sale in the lobby.

Brasov Fortress Museum - The best exhibit of the museum is the Weavers' bastion, with wooden galleries (unfortunately off limits for visitors) surrounding a small central square. The small museum (with only a few English captions) shows photographs of long-gone bastions, impressive weapons decorated with Arabic inscriptions once used by the Turks to bash Saxons, and some huge guns. Best of all is the large model of Brasov in 1600, painstakingly made by architect Friedrich Herman in 1896 for the Millennium Exhibition in Budapest. When Ceausescu visited the museum in 1968, a bright and shiny model of the Schei district (the most important Romanian district) was put next to the old one. The gap between the two models symbolises 250 years, as the Schei model represents the year 1850.