Medias Historical Center
On our way to Sibiu, we stopped by the second largest city in the county of Sibiu, to check out one of the most well-preserved historical centers of Romania. It was a sunny Saturday morning in December, a bit chilly, but I still thought the fact that we hadn’t seen anyone on the streets was a bit odd. There was literally no one on the street leading towards the Historical Center, which meant we had all the time in the world to take a few photos of the colorful houses. They were newly renovated, but they all kept the stylish forms and Venetian blinds.
Colorful houses on Johannes Honterus Street, Medias
Colorful houses on Johannes Honterus Street, Medias
details on Johannes Honterus Street, Medias
I could have easily photographed all the buildings (oops- I actually did, but I only selected a few for you guys), because all of them on the respective street were beautifully restored, but still in touch with their tradition and heritage.
Before we arrived to the historic center we took a few minutes to admire the Stephan Ludwig Roth School, named after one of Medias’s most celebrated inhabitants, a “Transylvanian Saxon intellectual, pedagogue and Lutheran pastor” (according to Wikipedia).
Stephan Ludwig Roth School
The school is right next to the historic center, which has a castle/fortress on the outside, and the Gothic St. Margaret Church, constructed in 1488.
historic center of Medias
Once inside, you can see the fortress walls are tall and strong. There wasn’t anybody around the fortress either. We walked around, admired the church and the walls surrounding it. It is a pretty short walk, since the inside of the fortress is small. We noticed a pretty, and possibly very old gate, with the sun symbol on it:
gate inside Medias fortress
The 68,5 meters tall clock tower is beautiful, and was probably recently renovated. Since we were in a bit of a rush we didn’t go inside the church, just enjoyed a short walk around it, and headed back to our car.
St. Margaret Church Tower of Medias
picturesque Venetian blinds and colorful houses
We also saw Regele Ferdinand square, which is actually a small park, surrounded by a lot of shops, cafes and restaurants, so there’s nothing really to see if you don’t want to sit down for a drink, or eat a meal. I think Medias is worth a short stop, although there’s not much to do for more than a day. Besides the Evangelical church, our guidebook mentions a Weapons Museum, the orthodox church, City Hall, the Ludwig Roth Museum and House, the Renaissance Schuller-house, and the old city wall’s towers. Close-by you can find the amazing city of Sibiu, Biertan Fortified Church of Transylvania and a few other Forgotten Saxon Fortified Churches – don’t miss them!
Have you ever been to Medias? Would you like to visit?
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I used to go there every summer because my dad’s relatives lived there so I couldn’t wait to grow up and not be forced to go anymore, haha! I also went last year when I visited Sibiu and wished I had a bit more time now. Lovely pictures! 😀
Was it really that bad? :)) I think it’s worth a one-day trip. Thanks!
It wasn’t that bad, but when I was a kid I didn’t appreciate visiting new places, all I wanted was to play with my friends. Who were in Bucharest, haha. Plus, Medias has always seemed a little….boring to me. :-/
Yeah, I guess it is more low profile, especially compared to Bucharest, but it’s still worth a stop 🙂
Your pictures are amazing! Did a quick check on Sibiu and its on my ‘bucket list’ now. Am super intrigued with the name of your blog, do you travel to 1 city a week? :O
Thanks Alicia!
If you liked Sibiu, you should check out Brasov too (I haven’t written about it yet), which is equally beautiful and even closer to the Fagaras mountains.
I don’t actually travel to a city a week, but when I began blogging, I wrote about one city every week. Since then, I have fallen in love with the great outdoors, so you can see a more mixed collection (covering hiking trails and national parks as well), but the cities are still present 🙂