Walking in a medieval city center most of the times is like a nice trip back in time. Most of the times there's no asphalt but cobblestones and houses are made of stone. That is the ideal medieval city center for me, but this time I'm going to show you a different one, which only has cobblestones around the walls, but it's still nice.
Today I'm inviting you to visit the walls and towers of the medieval city center of Mediaș, which is the second biggest city of Sibiu county.
The first signs of human communities in the area are thought to be from the middle Neolithic period. The name of the city comes from the Hungarian word meggy (sour cherry). The Romanian name originates in the German version, which comes from the Hungarian name (Medgyes). In the 13th century, the kings of Hungary invited German settlers known as Transylvanian Saxons to the area, who settled in the valley of the Târnava Mare River. According to tradition, the town was founded in 1146, thus being one of the oldest cities in Transylvania. source
The medieval city center is surrounded by the fortress wall that has a few bastions still standing. This is the round bastion.
Being a historical monument and protected as well, the wall has gone through several restoration works, but in some places, there's still need for some work. Once these walls served defense purposes and most likely those rooms were occupied by the army. Today those are living spaces. Whenever I am visiting, am wondering what it is like to live there. As the outside must be kept in the original state, there's not much you can change.
That was an observer post once, from where the army kept an eye on the territory. Unfortunately there's no possibility to go up there as those doors are closed.
Those windows are outdated, yet can't be changed with performant ones as they have to keep the original form of the wall intact. In some cases the inside windows are updated to double glazed windows.
This is a door in the wall and you can see on the photo how thick the wall really is. Needless to say, the door was closed.
Evidence, that the wall was rebuilt at some point. Those stones look original.
Another wooden door, which may not be so old, but the stone steps are definitely original.
The view must be nice from up there.
The city is not a big one, you can manage to visit most of it on foot. There are maps that can guide you as well.
This map is placed where the yellow dot is on the map and the red line marks the wall. Unfortunately the wall is not complete as over the years, during fight, some parts of the wall were demolished and as there are buildings in those places, can't be restored.
One of the six towers still standing today is the Steingässer Tower, which you can read about here. Back in those days, each guild had a dedicated tower.
The door of the tower is open these days, but it wasn't always like that.
The other tower I'd like to show you is at the opposite side of the wall and it is called the Furriers' Bastion. The bastion is not open, I don't even know if there's something inside. But that grid is amazing.
The inside of the wall is also beautiful. There's a cafe opposite the wall and after ordering, you can sit down next to the wall, take a book from the shelf and enjoy your time. That street is going down to the next tower and it's absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately this time I chose the road outside the wall, but I can tell you, that street is like a walk in the medieval times. It is paved with cobblestones.
Going along the wall, next is the Blacksmith's Tower.
It was built in the 16th century in Baroque style and was rebuilt in 1641, being one of the points of the city often under siege. source
There's a cafe here too, so you can drink something while sitting in front of the wonderful tower.
Opposite to the Blacksmith's Tower, the wall continues with some cute apartments.
These apartments look really good, although I think living there can't be very comfortable. The wall behind is going round to the next tower.
These walls, bastions and towers are the beauty of the city and attracting thousands of tourists annually, especially during summer and most from Germany as there was a numerous Saxon population living here once.