Sighișoara Citadel

Sighișoara, Mureș County, Romania

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Sighișoara Citadel is the fortified medieval core of the town of Sighișoara in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania, built in the 12th–16th centuries by Transylvanian Saxons who settled there as craftsmen and merchants.

Enclosed by old stone walls with nine surviving defensive towers, each linked historically to a specific guild, the citadel is one of the few still‑inhabited medieval fortified towns in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside the walls, narrow cobbled streets, colorful houses with steep roofs, stepped lanes, and Gothic or Renaissance churches create a compact and picturesque historic center that feels like a living museum of Saxon architecture and culture.

The citadel is also famous as the birthplace of Vlad III the Impaler, often associated with the Dracula legend, and hosts an annual medieval festival that mixes history, music, and markets, drawing visitors who come to stroll its ramparts and viewpoints overlooking the surrounding town and countryside.