The city of Sibiu and Hermann's legend

Our city, Sibiu, is a city founded on traditions and history and we are proud to be its inhabitants. The city is located in central Romania, the Sibiu County covering a surface of about 5432 square kilometres. It  was founded in the 12th-13th century by German colonists on the ruins of Cedonia, which draws its name from the Cibin river on whose borders it was built. The colonists brought with them a new town planning system. When the need came it was fortified never to be conquered.

        It is said that Sibiu is the best preserved medieval town in Romania. The city has beautiful, inspiring buildings and turistic sites some of which of great historical importance. Our opinion is that if you come to Sibiu a definite must is the Brukenthal Palace Museum. It's named after the Transylvanian Governor Samuel von Brukenthal who created the museum from his personal collection of rare manuscripts, antiquities, fine arts and impressive silverware. Today it shelters a wide collection of religious artifacts, Western and Romanian art of great patrimonial and cultural value. Sibiu also hosts one of the most prestigious open-air museums in Europe, Astra Village Museum in Dumbrava Forest, which contains an insight into the culture, handicrafts and architecture of the Transylvanian people.

        Other interesting places to visit are of religious importance more specifically the 18th-century Cotholic Cathedral with its pink marble colonnades, gold-laced walls and breaf-taking ceiling frescoes; the gothic Evangelical Church built during the 14th-16th century as a Catholic basilica, containig the remains of Mihnea the Bad, the son of Vlad Tepes (a.k.a. Dracula) and last but not least the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral built in the 20th century to resemble Istanbul's Hagia Sofia, with its Byzantine style decorations and an enormous gold chandelier.

        Standing watch over all these architectural edifiques is the Council Tower, one of the city's original defenses and the first gathering place of the city elders.It also has a spectacular view of the Fagaras Mountains.

Hermann's legend

While touring the city you will cross paths with The Liars Bridge called so because of a legend which says that whosoever tells a lie while passing it will cause the bridge to shake.Since we're on the subject of myths we shall mention the legend of Hermann, after which the city gets its secondary German name, that of Hermannstadt. This legend says that a long time ago a German man called Hermann asked a landowner for a small patch of land only as big as a bull's hide. The land-owner agreed but Hermann using his cunning cut the hide in a long, thin wire-like piece which covered such a big patch of land to form the base of the city.  

        All these being said we would like to conclude with an invitation to our amazing city full of warm generous people.

Written by: Marcu Alexandru

            
                                            Calina Razvan

 Coordinator: Ana Pica

High School "C. Noica" , Sibiu - Romania