Medieval festival at Sighisoara

I had the chance to visit Sighisoara between 21 and 23 July. In this period was held the Festival of Medieval Arts and Crafts which is recreating a medieval atmosphere complete with troubadour music and costume parades, street entertainers and handicraft displays, open-air concerts and medieval ceremonies. This event offers you the chance to immerse yourself in the lore and legends of medieval Transylvania. For me was fascinating to discover that this old medieval citadel is the ideal place for a festival! The medieval festival in Sighisoara is one of the largest in Romania, and every year an amount of foreign tourists come here especially during the festival along with thousands (around 20.000-30.000) Romanian teenagers, to express freely their feelings, to play the guitar in open air and to breathe the air of history and its unwrapped mysteries. In the citadel you can always see people dressed in medieval costumes, wearing clothes with the dust of time upon them, acting as if they have just left their house, 500 years ago. During the 3 days festival you may attend the plays with medieval profile in the most important squares and also can be a part of Sighisoara at night when movies - Dracula related mostly - are projected in the citadel. Stages are set in every plaza of the citadel. There are theater shows, concerts on all stages. Amateurs set their own acts in every corner. Painters and sculptors expose their works on the ground, body painters offer their services and people wear fantastic costumes. To enter in the top part of town you have to pay a fee of 10 Ron (around 3USD). Ticket is good for 24 hours. Everywhere you can see tends where is for sell different crafted objects, popular and traditional clothing, food and drinks. Beer is especially good. 1 beer = 1USD. You can stroll in the citadel and at sudden you may hear some jester’s screams or the citadel’s speaker communicating any important news for the different branches of workers in which the population was divided at those times. Concerts are always present during the festival, concerts with specific music that deals with the same cultural heritage. The Citadel remained a “magic shelter” for the lovers who want to protect themselves against the indiscreet eye and hide in the narrow streets or in the “Pupils’ Covered Stairs”. You can get married for the period of the festival. The ceremony officer is going to give a marriage certificate. Cool. If you plan to visit Sighisoara for the Medieval Festival try to book a room with minimum 1-2 months prior to date. During the festival is impossible to find a place to sleep in town or around it for 15-20km. Prices for room vary between 80 - 300 Ron (25 – 100 USD), depends of the hotel, pension or private owners. I’ll try to post more soon and also add more pictures from the festival.

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