Tururi in Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara

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Discovery Transylvania

Tour : Transylvania and Bucovina (4 days / 3 nights)

Day 1: Bucharest – Sinaia (Peles Castle) – Bran (Bran Castle) – Brasov

departure from Bucharest at 9 am
visit Peles Castle
visit Bran Castle
overnight in Brasov – Vlad Tepes House

We start the journey by traveling to Sinaia - the pearl of the Carpathians, where we visit Peles Castle. Peles Castle is a Neo-Renaissance castle placed in an idyllic setting in the Carpathian Mountains. Built between 1873 and 1914; its inauguration was held in 1883. Peles Castleis still one of the best preserved royal residences, and was the first in Europe to be equipped with electricity and centralized heat. Electricity was produced by an independent system that used the water power of the Peles stream. Its 170 rooms, spreading out in a labyrinth of stairways and corridors, were decorated by artists brought in specially from every corner of Europe in a mixture of styles that range from t6he inspiration of Turkish and Moorish places to German and Italian neo-Renaissance style. The collection of paintings in the building, which boasts over 2000 works, is one of the most important in Europe.

For next destination we go to Predeal ,then Paraul Rece, Rasnov, then to Bran were we visit Bran Castle, otherwise known as Castle Dracula, Vlad Tepes aka Vlad the Impaler and the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula set up residence here for a while. The Castle was founded by german knight Dietrich, from where comes the name of Dietrichstein, which held a castle in time. At first, the Castle was built of wood, but after the chase of Teutonic Knights from Barsei County, it was rebuilt in stone. This stage was carried out between 1377-1382, the time of King Louis. Bran Castle, situated on a stone of 60 m height, was conceived as a complex role with the military but also by acting as a customs house.

After that we go to Moeciu de Sus Village and take lunch to Gradistea Gorges Resort.

Then return to Brasov, check-in to Vlad Tepes House then a short tour of the medieval center of Brasov.

Day 2: Brasov – Viscri – Sighisoara – Biertan – Brasov

departure from Brasov
visit Viscri Fortified Churches
visit Medieval Sighisoara(1191) - The Clock Tower, The Weapons Museum, The Torture Room, Church from the Hill, the "House with Stag"
visit Biertan fortified church
overnight in Brasov

We begin our day with Viscri village, to visit Viscri Fortified Church. The little white church of Viscri was built in 1230 and fortified – as almost all Saxon churches – a few centuries later. Its size leaves the impression of a miniature copy of the similar structure in Prejmer. Similar to almost all Saxon churches, the one in Viscri was fortified more than 400 years ago, concealing heated lodgings where villagers could hide during sieges. Every house in the village owned one lodging area within the fortification, the door of which was marked with the house number of the owner. Until the 1960s, the upper level of the east tower served as storage room for bacon. The oldest piece from the church is found in the baptistery, a piece of a stone column that was part of the Roman basilica, on the grounds of which the Evangelical church was built. The prayer books on the benches of the church are opened now only twice a month for Sunday mass. At present, the ground floor of the east tower houses a small museum founded through the efforts of the 24 Saxons who still live here.

From here we travel to Sighisoara. Built by the Saxon colonists living in Transylvania who had to watch over the frontiers of the Hungarian kingdom in the 12th and 13th centuries A.C., the fortress gathered inside its walls Saxon, Romanian and Hungarian craftsmen. For 15 years, on summer there is organized the three days Medieval Art Festival. The most important tourist attraction points of the town are considered to be Turnul cu Ceas (the Clock Tower) – the entrance gate in the citadel – which is also a symbol of Sighisoara, Turnul Cositorarilor (the Tin Coaters Tower), Turnul Macelarilor (the Butcher’s Tower), Turnul Cizmarilor (the Shoemaker’s Tower), Turnul Croitorilor (the Taylor’s Tower), Turnul Cojocarilor (the Furrier’s Tower), Turnul Fierarilor (the Blacksmith’s Tower), Turnul Franghierilor (the Rope Makers’ Tower), Turnul Tabacarilor (the Tanner’s Tower), Biserica Manastirii (the Church of the Monastery), Biserica din Deal (the Church on the Hill), Casa Venetiana (the Venetian House), Casa cu Cerb (the House with Antlers), Casa de pe Stanca (the Cliff House), Casa cu Sindrila (the House with Shingle), Casa Vlad Dracul (the house attributed to Vlad Tepes).

We continue to Biertan, to visit fortified church from the village. The Evangelical Church of Biertan. Built between the 15th and 16th century, in Gothic style and with Renaissance influences, this monument is the one that keeps best its initial aspect. The total surface of the complex covers almost 1 hectare. The church is 45.15 meters long, 22.7 meters broad and 16 meters high.

The fortified Church of Biertan was the Evangelic Episcopal See for 300 years (1572 – 1867), and the religious centre for the Saxons in Transylvania. In 1993 it was included in the UNESCO world patrimony. The fortified complex of Biertan is formed of three concentric walls, the interior ones being annular. The walls were united by gate – towers. The whole site has seven towers.

Then return to Brasov.

Day 3: Brasov – Gura Humorului – Humorului Monastery – Moldovita Monastery – Sucevita

departure from Brasov
visit Gura Humorului Monastery
visit Voronet Monastery – completed in three months and three weeks in 1488
visit Moldovita Monastery
overnight in Sucevita

We start the day by traveling to Gura Humorului to visit Humor Monastery. The present church was built in 1530. The edifice was built on a clubs plan, without a tower above the nave. The particular element is the open porch with arches, an innovation for that time, determined by local building tradition and external Renaissance influences. A novelty is also the vault, located above the burying place, where valuables were kept in days of distress. The defense tower was erected in 1641 by ruler Vasile Lupu. The outside painting in Humor bears a resemblance to the themes of Sucevita. Their frescoes are the oldest open-air frescoes in Bukovina. The images of the ‘Mother of Lord with child’, the ‘Last Judgment’ are unique by their values in Romanian ancient paintings. The ‘Hymn of the Holy Virgin’, made of 24 stanzas-scenes, occupies the greatest part of the painted surface. The monastery was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993.

Near Gura Humorului we visit Voronet Monastery. According to the tradition, the church was completed in three months and three weeks in 1488. The original shape of the church can still be seen in the votive painting. Voronet is one of the first Moldavian monuments that has created an own style, that is an original synthesis of Byzantine elements (a three concha-plan with tower over the nave), the Gothic one (broken arches at the window and door frames) and strictly authentic architectonic elements (the tower on four arches and a star-shaped base). On the inside painting, the nave and the altar still preserve the iconographic ensemble of the time of Stephen the Great and Saints. On the outside painting the “Last Judgment” occupies the whole of the western wall, in a giant composition on five registers that is unique for the art of the Christian East.

We continue to Moldovita Monastery, one of the oldest monastic buildings in the region. A fortified stone church was erected around 1410, the monastery was built in 1512 by Petru Raresh. The characteristics of the monuments in the era of Stephen the Great were kept (vault, tomb room, recesses in the apses, elements of Gothic influence etc). The Princely House, a valuable building, erected in 1612. The enclosure wall, 6 meters high, and over one meter thick, still has fortified towers. The inside painting keeps with the tradition. The “Crucifixion”, in the nave, is deemed the most valuable achievement on that theme in the Bukovina churches. The outside painting dating from 1537 shows resemblances to the fresco of Humor with its complexity and richness. In the porch the “Last Judgment” can be seen. The southern façade, favored and better preserved, has best kept the “Hymn to Our Lady”. The monastery museum, arranged in the Princely House, among other religious items, keeps the armchair of Petru Raresh (from the 16^th century), which is the most valuable work art of the genre in the whole Moldavia.

Then we go to Sucevita Village.Casa cu Cerbi (***)

Day 4: Sucevita – Sucevita Monastery – Marginea – Putna – Arbore – Bucharest

departure from Sucevita
visit Sucevita Monastery - the monastery museum keeps one of the richest and most valuable medieval art collections of Moldavia
visit Marginea Village – a national and world wide attraction for its black pottery which is unique in the world
visit Putna Monastery - a complex three designs, with church porch, narthex, burial vault, nave and altar
visit Arbore Monastery
return to Bucharest

We start the day with Sucevita Monastery, one of the most outstanding examples of Moldavian monasteries; with its frescoes gaining a worldwide reputation. The monastery was built in the last decades of the 16^th century by the Movila family. The first foundation of the Movila family, that preceded the present monastery complex, was a more modest church, dating from around 1581. During the reign of Petru Schiopu, the Movila brothers became counselors of the voivode enjoying a prosperous economic position, and such began erecting an ample monastery. The church architecture has harmonious combination of the Byzantine and Gothic art elements. The enclosure walls and towers give the monastery the aspect of a medieval citadel. The inside painting is represented on the all available surfaces, according to the traditional iconographic program, but enriched by theological themes less customary in Moldavia. The outside painting is the best preserved as such, of the whole group of the Moldavian churches, being the only one made on a north wall. The monastery museum keeps one of the richest and most valuable medieval art collections of Moldavia.

Next stop is at Marginea Village, a national and world wide attraction for its black pottery which is unique in the world. Set in a beautiful landscape, near the mountains and surrounded by hills covered by thick forests, Marginea has kept its traditions. It’s a place where you’ll admire beautiful old houses built in the traditional way or different wells protected by intricate carved wooden shelters. Marginea became a pottery center sometimes in the 16th century. The pottery was crafted for food storage and other purposes. Marginea is crossed by the Sucevita River and surrounded by forests and lands providing water, fire and clay for the preservation of this art. Before the communism era, Marginea had about 60 families of potters, but today only two-three families of potters are still practicing their skills, the most famous being Gheorghe Magopat. Marginea is the only place in the world where the black color is obtained without adding anything to the clay paste. The ornaments are carved using a hard quartz stone, before burning the vessels. The black color is obtained after ten hours spent by the clay in the coal furnace. Traditionally, after modeling the vessels are burned in large pits of 1.5 m, with the shape of a cone with the top up. Along is a small hole, which communicates via a channel with the large pit. When the vessels become red, they are covered with a thick layer of wet clay, closing the channel and the two holes of the furnace, but the burning continues without oxygen, the vessels becoming gray or deep black. After burning, the objects are polished with river stones. This technique is unique in the world. The village of Marginea has hosted admirers of its pottery, such as the Emperor of Japan, the Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, King Michael of Romania and many ambassadors, politicians, journalists, ethnographers, folklorists, and travelers.

Afther Marginea Village, we visit Putna Monastery. Putna Monastery (Romanian: Mănăstirea Putna) is a Romanian Orthodox monastery, one of the most important cultural, religious and artistic centers established in medieval Moldavia; as with many others, it was built and dedicated by ruling prince Stephen the Great. The story goes that it was built in a general area picked out by Stephen's advisor, Daniel the Hermit. The exact position of the church was left up to God when Stephen went to the top of a hill and fired an arrow - wherever it fell the church would be built. A section of tree trunk containing the arrow hole is still kept in the monastery museum and a cross marks the spot from which the arrow was shot. Apparently, a forest was cleared for the building of the monastery. The size and complex plan, the rich decorations (carved stone, terracotta and paintings)as well as the appearance for the first time in the ecclesiastical architecture of Moldavia of the exonarthex and of arches arranged slantingly in the vaulting of the narthex are the basic characteristics of the earlier church of Putna Monastery, making of it a brilliant prototype in which the most important achievements of the previous epoch perfectly combine with the valuable renewing contribution of Stephen the Great's master builders who erected the monument. As early as 1467, scribes, calligraphers and miniature painters who had learned their craft under Gavril Uric came from Neamţ to work at Putna Monastery. Besides skillful calligraphers and miniature painters, many embroiderers, icon makers, weavers, silversmiths, sculptors in wood and book-binders toiled on in the quiet atmosphere of the monks' cells at Putna. Special mention should be made of the sumptuous and elegant Four Gospels created here, adorned with miniatures in which perfect drawing combines with a motley color scheme in which gold prevails, as well as the fine embroideries , many of them on show in the museum of the monastery.

We continue to Arbore Village. Here we visit Arbore Monastery built in 1502. The church has a rectangular plan at the outside without a tower. The extremely elegant silhouette of the building is emphasized by the wall extension to the west by about 2,5 meters, and their union above, through an arch; originally thought as a space for the steeple, a new architectural element in Moldavia of the time. The inside painting was severely damaged in the 17^th – 18^th centuries. Nonetheless, there still can be distinguished the two hypostases of the founders in the votive paintings, as well as some portraits with an emphasized laic character. The “Cavalcade of the Saint Cross” gives a specific note to the mural painting in the Bucovina of the time.

Then go back to Bucharest.

Persons	Double room	Single room
1 person		1795 €
2-3 persons	895 € /pers	925 € /pers
4-5 persons	795 € /pers	815 € /pers
6-7 persons	595 € /pers	635 € /pers

Included: 3 nights accommodation with breakfast, transport , driver, dinner (3 day-Sucevita), english guide, local taxes, entrance tickets at the monuments.

Not included: lunch, dinner , medical insurance, other services not specified on the itinerary, photo/video tax at museums, banking or e-payment fees.

We can organize trips for bigger groups and prices are negociable.

For private tour please contact us.

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E-mail: office@discovery-transylvania.ro
Phone: (004) 0744352325

Tururi in Brasov, Sibiu, Sighisoara - Transilvania Tours