Transylvania

Transylvania is the largest region of Romania and probably the best known one. When you visit Transylvania you dive into a mix of cultures, nature and history. Transylvania is a diverse region: it is worth trying to observe the differences that exist within the region, both culturally and naturally. This region is a place with abundant history and multicultural convergence. All over Transylvania the cohabitation of Romanians, Hungarians, Saxons and Roma is the leading theme. Transylvania is rich in myth and misty medieval sites: there about 100 castles and fortresses and about 70 fortified churches. Romania's greatest and best preserved castles and fortresses are to be found here. But for the more curious traveler, there are many small villages with old houses and fortified churches. As Transylvania is circled by the Carpathian mountains there are a lot of mountain forests and hiking or climbing possibilities. All over the Carpathians there are great national parks. In the center of Transylvania there are green hills and rivers. Most big cities are very western Europe like, and the infrastructure is generally good, making it easy for travelers.

444m

Turda

Turda is a city on the Aries River in Cluj County, Transylvania.

36km

Câlnic

Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania: , , Dârjiu, Prejmer, Saschiz, Viscri

68km

Sibiu

city in Sibiu County, Romania

97km

Hunedoara (city)

city in Hunedoara County, Romania

108km

Sighișoara

city in Mureș County, Romania

140km

Brașov

city in Brașov County, Romania

241km

Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania

410m

Bob Church, Cluj

It is the first Greek-Catholic church that was built in the city of Cluj, while it was part of the Austrian Empire.

489m

Matthias Corvinus House

561m

Cluj-Napoca Franciscan Church

Built between 1260 and 1290.

625m

Cluj-Napoca Central Park

A welcome break from the rush of the city. The middle of the park hosts a small lake and the Chios Casino, from the terrace of which you can rent rowboats and hydrobicycles to circle the small island in the centre of the lake.

671m

St. Michael's Church, Cluj-Napoca

This Gothic architecture piece is one of the most valuable in Transylvania. Its murals date from the 15th century, and the 50 m neogothic tower was built in 1860. The church is closed for renovation starting from 2018 that will take about 3 years.

757m

Matthias Corvinus Monument

The statue is always climbed by tourists, although officially this practise is not allowed.

757m

Unirii Square, Cluj-Napoca

Where you can find St. Michael's Church, the National Art Museum, the Statue of Matthias Corvinus and the roman ruins.

770m

Cluj-Napoca Piarists' Church

Completed in 1724, it was the province's first baroque church.

793m

Cluj-Napoca Bánffy Palace

Built between 1774 and 1775, it houses the National Art Museum

850m

Iuliu Maniu Street, Cluj-Napoca

858m

Art Museum of Cluj-Napoca

885m

Eroilor Avenue, Cluj-Napoca

Is linking the two main squares - Union Square and Avram Iancu Square.

956m

Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral, Cluj-Napoca

1.5km

Cluj-Napoca Tailors' Bastion

It is very well preserved, alongside with the corresponding section of the medieval wall

1.6km

Palace of Justice, Cluj-Napoca

courthouse in Cluj-Napoca, Romania

1.7km

Cluj-Mănăștur Calvaria Church

A small Benedictine abbey surrounded by defensive walls, Calvaria Church was built starting in the 9th-10th centuries.

2.9km

Turda Gorge

gorge and protected area in Romania

18km

Potaissa (castra)

Roman fort in Dacia

25km

Salina Turda

heritage site in Cluj County, Romania

26km

Câlnic Citadel

heritage site in Alba County, Romania

67km

Ocna Sibiului

town in Sibiu County, Romania

87km

Merry Cemetery

cemetery

91km

Hunedoara

city in Hunedoara County, Romania

106km

Corvin Castle

Hunyad Castle is believed to be the place where Vlad III of Wallachia (commonly known as Vlad the Impaler) was held prisoner for 7 years after he was deposed in 1462. The castle is a relic of the Hunyadi dynasty. In the 14th century, the castle was given to John Hunyadi Serb, or Sorb by Sigismund King of Hungary as severance. The castle was restored between 1446 and 1453 by his grandson John Hunyadi. It was built mainly in Gothic style, but has Renaissance architectural elements. It features tall and strong defense towers, an interior yard and a drawbridge. Built over the site of an older fortification and on a rock above the small river Zlasti, the castle is a large and imposing building with tall and diversely colored roofs, towers and myriad windows and balconies adorned with stone carvings. As one of the most important properties of John Hunyadi, the castle was transformed during his reign. It became a sumptuous home, not only a strategically enforced point. With the passing of the years, the masters of the castle had modified its look, adding towers, halls and guest rooms. The gallery and the keep - the last defense tower (called Ne boisa = Do not be afraid), which remained unchanged from Iancu de Hunedoara's time, and the Capistrano Tower (named after the Franciscan monk from the castle court) are some of the most significant parts of the construction. Other significant parts of the building are the Knights' Hall (a great reception hall), the Club Tower, the White bastion, which served as a food storage room, and the Diet Hall, on whose walls medallions are painted (among them there are the portraits of Matei Basarab, ruler from Wallachia, and Vasile Lupu, ruler of Moldavia). In the wing of the castle called the Mantle, a painting can be seen which portrays the legend of the raven from which the name of the descendants of John Hunyadi, Corvinus came. In the castle yard, near the chapel built also during Vlad The Third's ruling, is a well 30 meters deep. The legend says that this fountain was dug by twelve Turkish prisoners to whom liberty was promised if they reached water. After 15 years they completed the well, but their captors did not keep their promise. It is said that the inscription on a wall of the well means "you have water, but not soul". Specialists, however, have translated the inscription as "he who wrote this inscription is Hasan, who lives as slave of the giaours, in the fortress near the church".

109km

Transalpina (DN67C)

110km

Biertan fortified church

A UNESCO world heritage site.

114km

Govăjdia Blast Furnace

It was the second industrial blast furnace in the world used for the extraction of iron. It was built in 1806. The first was built close to Hunedoara, in Toplița (1750). Both ovens can be visited today. It was the most modern melting furnace of iron ore in Europe of that time. Metal works from the iron melted here are standing today at the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was the first furnace in the world with a continuous production process. Until its appearance, the technological process of producing iron supposed to stop for some periods of time for loading and unloading furnaces.It was the first furnace in which the two operations could be performed simultaneously. The furnace worked until the end of the 19th century when there were iron plants in Hunedoara. The old furnace was declared a monument of industrial architecture.

118km

Horezu

town in Vâlcea County, Romania

133km

Retezat National Park

national park of Romania, Biosphere reserve in Romania

138km

Church on the Hill (Sighișoara)

The Church on the Hill is an architecturally significant church located in Sighişoara, Mureș County in Romania.This church is the most important monument of religious architecture in Sighisoara and is one of the great churches of Transylvania, being the third largest. Located at an altitude of 429 meters, on the Hilltop School, the church dominates by its massiveness the entire city and it is visible from a great distance almost from all directions. Most researchers believe that a number of architectural details such as slightly misaligned position of the bell-tower and choir demonstrate an evolution in stages, over several centuries, in the construction of this church.

140km

Vlad Dracul House

Vlad Dracul House of Sighișoara is located in Tin Street No.1, between the Citadel square and the Clock Tower. It's the place were Vlad the Impaler, the historical character who inspired the Bram Stoker's Dracula, is supposed to be born, in 1431. His father, Vlad Dracul, the ruler of Wallachia, and his pregnant wife were hosted in this house by the mayor of Sighișoara between 1431 and 1435, during the Turkish invasion of Wallachia. It appears to be the oldest stone structure in the city, judging cylindrical vault river stone from the ground floor. Today Vlad Dracul house hosts a medieval -style restaurant on the ground floor and a tiny weapon museum on the first floor.

140km

Tinsmiths' Tower

The Tinsmiths' Tower is one of the nine towers located in the citadel of Sighișoara, belonging to Mureș County in Romania.Tinsmith’s Tower has the most expressive architecture: 25 meters high, the tower starts with a square base, right after the brick trunk stands in pentagonal shape and above suddenly widens and becomes octagonal. The roof, slightly unbalanced, has a hexagonal plan and the woodwork inside is a veritable masterpiece of carpenters of Sighisoara. The Tin Tower, together with the Clock Tower, has an exceptional defensive position.

140km

Historic Centre of Sighișoara

old town

140km

Sighișoara Clock Tower

tower

140km

Holy Trinity Church, Sighișoara

church in Sighişoara, Romania

141km

Transfăgărășan

mountain pass

145km