I know it's been exactly 10 weeks since I started my journey on posting various sightseeing attractions from Sighisoara, having my first post made on Nov 27, 2021 with some of the towers that resisted during the passage of time, but just like I said, it's been a weekend full of journeys, discoverings and things to see around this little city which at first people tend to remember about it only because of Scara Acoperita or Turnul cu Ceas which do have their own beauty, but as I like saying, every single place out there has a lot more to offer than the iconic attractions everyone heard about.
Anyway, we are very close to the end of the journey I, my sister and my boyfriend had at Sighisoara back in November, but even though we got through different stages of having the history shared along with papers, documents, clothes, and other elements used back then, today we are going to see a different side of history which is being shared through powerful weapons which is impossible not to fall in love with as soon as you get surrounded by tens of guns in a single room.
Reaching The Medieval Weapons Collection from Sighisoara wasn't too hard as we noticed it as soon as we got into the center of the city, and by the way, this one wasn't even on our list with what to visit in the city, but I'm really happy we've seen it. However, the most challenging part was to actually visit this one, because even though we had attempts trying to visit it while the internet showed it should be open, there were 3 tries with no success. So we simply skipped Colectia de Arme Medievale on that day and we thought that we will give it another try in the next day before going to the train.
Happily, the next day we had a lot more luck and the door opened when we pressed the doorknob, also meeting the owner of the mini-museum which explained to us that the other day he was caught up with other things to take care of and that's why the door was closed.
As a little note here, the visiting ticket is 6 RON / 1.21 EUR per person, which is (almost) just one third from the price we paid on other monuments with historical information and exhibition.
And now after I presented all of them I can easily say that The Medieval Weapons Collection is my favourite out of everything seen in Sighisoara, but also a good lesson that if you decide to spend a little bit more paying for a visiting ticket, it doesn't come with the guarantee that it's worth being visited more than the cheaper ones. I think this also says a lot about the people who are truly dedicated to the history and especially what Transylvania and Romania have been through rather than getting rich based on tourism.
Anyway, Colectia de Arme Medievale is not just an impressive place where to get lost through tens of powerful weapons, but the building itself where the museum is located represents the house in which Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracula) was born and so you won't miss finding out some important news about this one while exploring the weapons.
Even though the whole collection is being held on a single floor, there are four rooms where each of them has its own theme and period when those weapons were used.
The first room you will get into is also the place where you are paying the tax for visiting the exhibition which is focused on the route taken by the white weapons starting with the heavy swords of the 13th century to swords and rapiers from the 15th-18th century, from cavalry swords of the 18th century to the parade swords of the 19th century.
Every single weapon you will see on this place was used in and around the town throughout the ages so if they look imposing being displayed under the powerful glass, just try to think on the moments when those were used or covered in blood. But in the end I think everyone is aware of how much blood the world have seen back in those times.
I don't know how many of you are watching, or ever heard of the American TV show entitled "Pawn Shop" which can be seen on History TV, that presents the diary of the Harrison family's non-stop pawn shop's where they get to buy and sell various pieces of history.
A first thought when I got into the The Medieval Weapons Collection was to think what Rick or Corey would say when seeing so many guns because it's not a rare thing to see them buying swords, pistols, or other medieval weapons and not for a few times they end up paying a few thousands of dollars for a single gun. So just think of the efforts made by the person who's owning this collection of weapons which should be twice appreciated looking again at the tax he asks to visitors which is very cheap for what it has to offer.
The 2nd room includes parts of military equipment such as armours, chest, back, armrests, helmets, chain shirts, harness elements, crossbows from the 15th century, Transylvanian shields, battle axes and spears.
Also in this room, you will meet Oriental and African weapons whose story is still partially unknown but which represents some of the first weapons gathered for the collection of guns.
But as a little information which could have a connection to these weapons, is that there was this man called Franz Binder who lived close to Sighisoara and who for 10 years he lived in Africa.
As soon as he returned to Transylvania, he came with an impressive collection of objects such as weapons, ornaments and household items from Africa, Palestine, Egypt and Ethiopia.
There are no documents showing off the exact weapons he had in his collection, but those you can see on Colectia de Arme Medievale are the African javelin, daggers and arrows which perhaps has been brought by Mr. Franz Binder even if there is no proof with this purpose.
Since Sighisoara had no guild which could create weapons, most of the guns you will see in this collection have been made in German and Austrian workshops which is a little bit ironic thinking for how many times Transylvania has been under Austrian or German domination, huh. 😕
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While history doesn't come only with swords and blood but also with fire and powerful guns, it's time to move on to a different stage from the past which can be discovered in the 3rd room of the mini-museum from Sighisoara.
Over here, we will also discover some documents which are sharing important parts of history but also the genealogy of Vlad Tepes where we found out that Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracula) was his father.
I know that maybe these details say nothing to those who haven't heard of these names before but I often say that the history I learned in school and which is still being presented nowadays in this part of the world has nothing to do with reality because there are always missed out important details such this one.
We get to learn about who led the country, how some of these died and a few wars that were going on these lands, but without making a proper connection between all these details.
That's how even though I learned about both Vlad Dracul and Vlad Tepes which are some powerful names for the history of Romania, there was never presented the connection between these two.
Actually, we can call this 3rd room also as being a little biography of Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracul) that was born perhaps in this room and where everything had an important meaning since the beginnings.
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Along with the documents presented and discussed before, there are these heavy stones and cannonballs which were used as ammunition for cannons and other firearms, but also some interesting rings that were used to start a fire.
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Though, a more powerful and scary weapon was considered the harquebus and artillery pieces from 16th century also known as The Death Organ.
Even though its name is sort of giving us shivers down the spine, it used to be a gun with no precision that could fire up to a few hundred meters in the distance where people would find out how terrifying they were only by the sound they were making or on the damage created once they hit the target.
The 4th and last room of The Medieval Weapons Collection from Sighisoara comes with perhaps the most guns out of all four rooms, but which this time are fire weapons such as shotguns, pistols and various rifles having the mechanism of firing with wick, flint or striker dating from the 18-19th centuries.
The most eye-catching fire guns most likely everyone will observe first, are the revolver with 6 shooting pipes as well as the bayonet gun that do create a different energy than the rest of the exposed weapons.
I don't know how many of you have ever seen a weapon so close or even been able to touch one, but there were riffles even longer than half of my body and I am 1,72 meters in height.
I'm pretty sure they are also pretty heavy so I can't imagine those times when not only that you were holding a weapon perhaps bigger than some of the owners, but to also shoot with one while feeling the adrenaline pumping the blood in your veins making you aware that your life depends on that gun and how you shoot with it, as well as the way you can protect your loved ones or country by using it.
Only thinking about all these aspects and it makes me feel less excited than I was when I first entered The Medieval Weapons Collection and I was surrounded by so many powerful guns, even though I am a fan of this kind of "toys".
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Opening hours for visiting Colectia de Arme Medievale (The Medieval Weapons Collection from Sighisoara):
From 15th September to 15th May:
- Monday: closed ;
- Tuesday - Friday: 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM ;
- Saturday - Sunday: 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM ;
From 15th May to 15th September:
- Monday: closed ;
- Tuesday - Sunday: 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM ;
The address where you can find The Medieval Weapons Collection from Sighisoara is Cetatea Sighișoara, Sighișoara 545400, but as a better landmark you can look out for Turnul cu Ceas which is located very close to the little exhibition with the evolution of guns during the time, starting with the first swords from the 13th century until the fire weapons of the 19th century. It's a thing that you don't get to see every day so it's totally worth it. 😊
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT TRIP! 🗾
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