Mediaș and Surroundings
Mediaș, formerly known as "Medieș", is the second largest city in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. The city is located in the middle basin of the river Târnava Mare, at a distance of 55 km from Sibiu and 40 km from Sighișoara. It is the second largest city in Sibiu County.
The first documentary mention of the locality dates from June 3, 1267 under the name of "Mediesy", and as a city it is named for the first time in 1359.
Medias is a real open-air museum. Historical and medieval art monuments are distributed throughout the walls of the city fortress.
The beauty and uniqueness of Mediaş is also given by the surrounding landscape. Situated between the hills, it offers the possibility to hike in nature, on foot or by bike, and discover the area of the fortified churches in the surroundings.
You will find here many tourist objectives, which will definitely impress you!
Here are the most beautiful objectives that we recommend, if you want to visit of the city Mediaș :
Castle: Among the fortifications, the oldest are grouped in the ensemble located in the center of the city, on a hill overlooking Republic Square, and are known as "Castle". Although the outer fortifications have been affected, significant portions of the inner wall are still preserved.
Medieval towers (the 8 towers of the medieval fortress): Bell Tower, Tailors Tower, Goldsmiths Tower, Forkesch Tower, Funerals Tower, Mary's Tower
The school in the castle: at the beginning it was attached to the Funeral Tower, the building being documented around 1586. The degradation of the school over time leads to its renovation and enlargement. The School Tower is demolished to obtain more rooms, later intended for education. The Hermann Oberth German school is housed in the building.
Fortified Church of St. Margaret: It was built around 1400 and has Gothic murals. The sloping tower of the church, symbol of the city, has a clock that indicates the phases of the moon and in which Vlad Tepes, the ruler of Wallachia (in 1476) was imprisoned.
The Franciscan architectural complex: within it is the church and the Franciscan Monastery, built in 1444. The complex has valuable exhibits: various pieces of folk pottery, the treasure from Şeica Mică, the treasure from Panade.
Covered and dungeon staircase: in 1803, on the occasion of the renovation and modernization of the old town hall, a new access road to the castle was built called the Covered Staircase. Inside this staircase, a dungeon was built, thus becoming the second access point to the fortress, ensuring the connection between the castle and King Ferdinand Square.
Former school of the Piarist: it is located on the western side of the Big Square and is on 3 levels, the current facade being distorted by the brutal intervention on the ground floor, where shops with large shop windows were opened.
Hann House: belonged to Mayor Petrus Hann (in 1617). The building is one of the oldest in the Medias Fortress and is separated by vaulted gangways.
Schuller House: is one of the most important civil constructions in the Renaissance style in Transylvania. The Schuller House is documented in 1588 as the property of Johannes Schuller, the mayor of Medias at the time. Over time, it has been refurbished and used as a brewery or inn.
Stephan Ludwig Roth Memorial House: is located in the city center. The building is a baroque construction, composed of 3 rooms. Among the objects that belonged to St. L. Roth still keeps the cloak and coat he wore during the execution, a compressed air rifle, a glass goblet, a tin cigarette case, etc. He also owns a number of original pieces of furniture, texts, photographs, documents.
Mediaş Municipal Museum: is housed in the building of the former Franciscan monastery dating from the fifteenth century and includes three basic sections: history, ethnography-art and natural sciences. There are 15,000 exhibits, of archeological ceramics, silver products coming from the Dacian treasures discovered at Şeica Mică and Mediaş, seals, objects, old book collections and paintings, coats of arms, Romanian, German and Hungarian folk costumes specifically for Târnava Mari area.
Old center: appears as an open-air museum. The medieval monuments present in the castle square are considered unique in Transylvania.
Natural Gas Information and Documentation Center: In 2009, on the occasion of a century since the discovery of natural gas in Romania, within the National Natural Gas Company, ROMGAZ SA Mediaş, the Documentation and Information Center for natural gas was established. The purpose of this institution is to ensure the preservation of the identity of the natural gas sector and to enhance it by organizing thematic exhibitions and scientific events.
Hermann Oberth Museum: was inaugurated in 1994 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of the great scientist Hermann Oberth, a pioneer of interplanetary flights and rocket technology. The museum is structured on three exhibition modules dedicated to Conrad Haas, the inventor of the first rocket in fuel steps, Hermann Oberth, father of space flights and Dumitru Dorin Prunariu, the first Romanian cosmonaut.
Ferma Trei Stejari: Located only 2.5 km away from Amel Rooms, Ferma Trei Stejari is the ideal place for a relaxing walk among pets and through the "small village museum". It is distinguished by the architecture, folk traditions and complete households from different regions of Romania.
The gardens, vineyards and the lake are other attractions of the farm, spread over an area of 12 hectares.
If you want to have this experience we must plan the visit together, because its domain is private.
Below we present a short description of the other tourist attractions around Medias.
SIBIU
Sibiu, also known as the German Hermannstadt, is the municipality of residence of the county of the same name and is located 55km from Medias. The city of Sibiu has represented and still represents one of the most important and flourishing cities in Transylvania, being one of the main centers of the Saxon settlers established in the area. Documentary attestations mention the local lands since 1191. The city was the capital of Transylvania between 1692-1791 and 1849-1865.
In 2007 it was the European Capital of Culture, together with the city of Luxembourg.
Currently, Sibiu is a significant historical center, represented by multiple buildings and locations very valuable from a historical point of view.
Sibiu can rightly be considered the cultural capital of Romania due to the traditions and artistic cultural heritage that Sibiu has.
It currently has a strong cultural base consisting of 2 theaters, a philharmonic, 1 cinema, 5 libraries, 5 cultural centers, 6 various cultural institutes and 10 museums.
In 2004 the historic center was declared a universal monument by UNESCO.
Bazna
Approximately 18 kilometers from the town of Medias, there is the spa resort Bazna, documented since 1302, a resort with mineral springs, rich in salts, mineral mud and recognized for the salt of Bazna, so the curative value of mineral springs from Bazna has been known since the 18th century. In 1843 a joint stock company from Medias started the systematic operation of the baths. Since 1949, the Bazna Baths have been transferred to the administration of the Ministry of Health, becoming a permanent spa resort.
Mosna
Mosna is a commune in Sibiu county, located 10 km from Medias and which is famous for the fortified church built here. Its construction began in 1520 and includes the observation tower, two defense towers, two bastions and the fortress wall with a height of 9m that surrounds the church.Today, the church is in the process of rehabilitation, and will be included in the UNESCO patrimony.Moşna has been part of the Sibiu Regional Ecomuseum since 2006. The Ecomuseum circuit includes: Old Mill: a traditional mill with stones purchased from France; The household from no. 215 (a house from 1895 with a barn on the street and a house in the back); The household from no. 206 (a house dating from 1724 with a small organic farm).
Alma Vii
Alma Vii is a village in Mosna commune and is located about 18 km from Medias.
The village of Alma Vii has been attested since 1298. The village was founded by Saxon settlers, and the typical Saxon order, architecture and rules can still be found today, even though most of the Saxons left these places.
The main tourist attraction of the village is the church surrounded by the defensive wall which is built at the beginning of the 16th century. At the same time, an enclosure wall was built with four defense towers, oriented towards the four cardinal points. The first level of the bell tower was habitable, being provided with a hearth. The second level has small bay windows at each corner, provided with 3 firing holes, a constructive detail also found in the German state of Thuringia. The gate tower is also found here and is built on 5 levels, three of which are equipped with defensive systems.
Since 2008, the "Mihai Eminescu Trust (MET)" has supported the revitalization of the village through various projects. He has invested over time both in preserving the architecture specific to the place, and in actions aimed at increasing the community spirit of the villagers.
Richis
Richis is a village in Sibiu County, located about 22 km from Medias.
Here you can visit a Gothic basilica over 500 years old, where the entrance is under a bell tower-gate. It is surrounded by the old walls of the fortress, but they are no longer standing entirely.
The church is distinguished by numerous carved elements. Throughout the interior of this monument are spread a series of grotesque figures that give the place an even more mysterious air.
The altar is decorated in Baroque style and has in the foreground the crucifixion scene. On the left is the beautiful door of the sacristy, carved in wood and the ogive in which it is incorporated.
The wooden pulpit is another masterpiece. On his crown is depicted the blind figure of a shepherd holding a lamb in his hand.
On the ceiling, at the intersection of the arches, there are all kinds of figures, and on the back balcony was installed the organ dating from 1788 and is made by a famous organ builder of that time, Johann Prause.
The gate tower to the west of the church, used today as a bell tower, still retains the gates. It is said that in this tower there was once a clock.
Biertan
Biertan is located approximately 27km from Medias and is part of Sibiu County.
It is a famous village, due to the medieval architectural complex which consists of the church and the belt of fortifications, located in the center of the settlement, on a hill.
The hall-type church occupies the central part of the complex, being built between 1490 and 1520, in Gothic style, being the last in Transylvania built in this style. Being a monumental construction, of large dimensions, it has three halls of equal heights, and the entrance is made through three gates: west, north and south. The door of the sacristy enjoys international fame, with a very complicated system of 19 locks, made by local craftsmen in 1515 and which aroused great interest, being awarded at the World's Fair in 1900 in Paris and which is a representative example of medieval Saxon manufacture.
The surrounding fortifications are considered the strongest in Transylvania. The fortress has three rows of walls, 6 towers and 3 bastions built in different stages.
The "mausoleum" tower is located to the northeast and has a mausoleum on the ground floor that houses, since 1913, the tombs of the prelates of this church.
Danes
Danes is a village that is part of Mures County and is located 30km from Medias.
The village was documented in 1343 as Danus. In October 1661 the village was deserted, and in order to repopulate the town, the Saxons decided around 1668 to admit the settlement of the Romanians in the village.
The village became known due to the "Dracula Danes Domain", which is right on the main street of the village.
The Dracula domain consists of the Dracula Pension, the Equestrian Center and the Dracula Inn.
The pension has 16 standard or superior double rooms, equipped with a balcony and an area between 24 m2 and 55 m2.
The Equestrian Center is in the immediate vicinity of the Danes pension and covers an area of 5 hectares where the central place is occupied by activities with and around the horse. A permanent exhibition on equestrian themes completes the ambience of the leisure identity, born from the passion for the animal that we consider the most beautiful and tender of all - the horse.
The restaurant is Transylvanian and not only. The restaurant is also open to guests who are not accommodated in the area.
Sighisoara
Sighisoara is part of Mures County, and from Medias to here it is 39km.
The city is famous for its medieval fortress, which is, in fact, the historic center and the only inhabited medieval fortress in southeastern Europe.
The fortress is surrounded by a wall of 930 m whose initial height was about 4 m. Later, the height of the wall was increased in some places up to 14 m. The wall was built between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, as protection against Turkish attacks. The wall had 14 towers, of which 9 are preserved to this day. The towers functioned as the headquarters of various craft guilds.
One of the oldest monuments in the city is the Church of the Dominican Monastery, built in the second half of the 13th century, in the Transylvanian Gothic style. The Monastery Church is located right on Cetății Street, near the Clock Tower.
The most important point in the Citadel is the Clock Tower, being the most massive of the nine defense towers of the Sighisoara Fortress, a historical monument built in the fourteenth century, but which has been preserved until today and can be visited. From the balcony at a height of 30 m you can see the entire fortress, the city and its surroundings.
We will be happy to provide you with informative materials, details and other tips during your stay with us!