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Tour : Medieval Transylvania (3 days / 2 nights)

Day 1 :Bucharest - Curtea de Arges – Poienari – Brasov

departure from Bucharest at 9 am
visit Curtea de Arges Monastery - discover the legend of craftsman Manole who had trapped his wife inside the walls to be sure that the construction will last
visit Poienari Castle - build by using people who survived a massacre ordered by Vlad the Impaler as a revenge for their murdering of his father
Transfagarasan( Balea Lake)- a beautiful mountain road, 91 km long, which connects Wallachia and Transylvania.Built by Ceausescu, between 1970 and 1974.
overnight in Brasov(hotel***)

We start our journey in Bucharest, tourists being picked up from the airport or hotel.We will travel to the Curtea de Arges town, where we visit the beautiful monastery t Curtea de Arges The place where craftsman Manole's legend was born. On this location it was the Episcopal Church of the Diocese, which was reconstructed during the reign of Neagoe Basarab Voivode, and subsequently consecrated in 1517.
The paintings inside the church were executed by Master Dobromir during the reign of the Voivode Radu of Afumati, in 1526.The monastic establishment underwent extensive repairs and restoration during the reign of Matei Basarab, who also had the belfry tower at the entrance to the monastery reconstructed. Unfortunately, the church was seriously deteriorated by the earthquake that struck Romania in 1802, and consequently it had to be renovated. The restoration activities were actually finished two years later (in 1804).

As a result, between 1875 and 1886, it was again renovated by the French architect Lecomte de Nouy, who reconstructed the vaulting design in part, modified the roof and replaced the ornaments of the facades, adding new decorative elements to it. Three wooden churches, which date from the 17^th century, and which are situated inside the park of the monastery, has undergone, complete repairs and restoration after 1990.Curtea de Arges Monastery is the place where craftsman Manole's legend was born. The legend is telling that one day, a very wealthy and religious Walachian prince, the Black Prince, rode with nine stonemasons and their master Manole to find a place and build a church more beautiful than anyone may have seen before. They founded a very nice place and the stonemasons started to work, but whenever they almost reached to the top, the walls would collapse before they could ever finish it. After a dream of Manole, they decided and made a vow that the first women seen by them to be sacrificed in order to see their work done. And it so happened the Manole's wife showed up to bring her husband's lunch, so that he had to keep his vow and immure his own wife alive within the church walls. The place was built Manole's wife can still be seen between two walls of the southern front side of the church. This is how the monastery could be finished, and the prince was pleased to find that it was the most beautiful as ever he saw.

After that, the prince would not want Manole to build another church that could be more beautiful and he ordered to remove the scaffolding, which left Manole stranded on the roof. In an attempt to escape, Manole made himself a pair of wings from shingles, but they were of no avail, and he would crash to the ground like Icarus and died. Upon his crash, on that place,and in that place appeared a spring of clean water , which is now called Manole's well. Today people would throw coins in its basin, to make their wishes come true.

Then we visit Poienari Fortess. The fortress is situated in Arges gorge, near the town of Arefu, a few kilometres from the dam and lake Vidraru the valley below hydro power plant near Vidraru lake.. It is built by Vlad the Impaler, the purpose or viewpoint refuge on a mountain peak, located at a height of about 400 meters to the valley. Initially, the time of Negru Voda was built one tower and then construction was developed by Vlad the Impaler, add them to the towers, walls and outbuildings.. It has an elongated shape with five towers, four round and one prismatic. The walls are 3.2 meters thick.

From here, you can admire a beautiful view of the Arges River valley and you can make great pictures.

Legend has it that Vlad the Impaler, being pursued by the Turks, escaped refuge in this city after shoeing horses with horseshoes conversely, backwards, and thus confuse pursuers.

To climb the fortress was built, nowadays, a concrete staircase, equipped with railings, with 1480 steps.

We then go to Brasov-Transylvania, crossing the Fagaras Mountains, the highest in Romania 2544 m (Moldoveanu Peak).We go on one of the most beautiful and highest mountain roads in the country -Transfagarasanul.
We see Vidraru Lake and then up into the mountains glacial lake Balea.

Accomcodation in Brasov to hotel ***( Bella Muzica, Casa Wagner, Gott) ,located old center.

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

departure from Brasov at 9 am
visit Viscri Fortified Church
visit Medieval Sighisoara(1191)-were for 15 years, on summer there is organized the three days Medieval Art Festival
visit Biertan Fortified Church
overnight in Brasov

From here we travel to Viscri village,were we have one of the most beautiful and best preserved fortified Saxon church from Transylvania.At first, was a Catholic chapel ,built around the years 1100 by szecklers . The first documentation of Viscri is a church taxes dated around 1400, in which the village is referred to as being part of the Rupea parish. The population of the village consisted of 51 farmers, 1 school master, 3 shepherds and 2 paupers. Viscri is part of the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, designated in 1993 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.When the saxons came to this part of Transylvania, around 1180, they found it built the chapel on the hill in the north-east of the village.In the 13th century in the south of the chapel, was built residential tower for Saxon community leader in the village.In the 14th century the eastern part of the church was rebuilt andand united chapel tower residential building in the church hall style.

In the 16th century around the church were built the first fortifications,defensive wall and two defense towers and two bastions in the south-east,one of these towers is transformed by 19th century bacon tower.Later in the 17th century in the north-west, were built two more defense towers and a defensive wall.

The classic 19th century altar has as centerpiece "the Blessing of the Children" by the painter J. Paukratz from Rupea. The font was made from a capital of the 13th century church. To this day, the church is surrounded by a cemetery with gravestones .

Then we go to Sighisoara, where we visit the most beautiful and well preserved inhabited fortress from Transylvania..

Sighisoara core burg was fortified during the XIII century after the devastating invasions of Tatars, by building enclosure walls. However, Sighisoara citadel appears as attested only in 1367: civitas of Seguswar. It was the center of the seat Schässburg, part of which sixteen villages.

An important role in the economic development and social policy of the city they had craft guilds. Transylvanian Guilds, including those of Sighisoara, will be renewed status of a document from 1376. Reference is made on this occasion the 19 guild group in their organization a number of 25 jobs.

The fortress is surrounded by a wall 930 which my initial height was ca. 4m. Subsequently, the wall height was increased in some places up to 14 m. The wall was built between XIV century and seventeenth century as protection against Turkish attacks. The wall had 14 towers, of which 9 are preserved until today. The towers functioned as headquarters of various craft guilds.

We will visit the Clock Tower, Casa Dracula was born in 1431 Vlad Tepes,Covered Staircase -built in 1642 with 167 steps, evangelical church on the hill built in 14 th century.We make beautiful pictures with towers of the city: shoemakers tower, tower tailors, furriers tower, butchers tower ,tinsmiths tower.At lunch we eat a tasty bean soup in bread.

We continue to Biertan, to visit fortified churche from the village. The Evangelical Church of Biertan .The architectonic ensemble from Biertan impresses by a harmonious matching in locality, by its esthetic and historic value and especially by the original substance preserved since the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, characteristics which determined its inclusion on The UNESCO List of World Patrimony.This historic monument, an architectural masterpiece, is illustrative for the entire area which was colonized by the Saxons of Transylvania.

Out of a total of almost 300 fortified churches built between the 15th and 16th centuries, the church from Biertan preserved very well its previous aspect. This edifice is placed high on a hillock right in the centre of the village, in the center of the transverse valleys border by vineyards, maize cultures and forests . The Church, hall type, with three naves, from the period of late Gothic was built in 1490-1524.

In the church, we have the famous door of the vestry built in the 16th century with 19 locks

Around the church during the 16th, 17th and 18th,3 were built strong walls of defense.In the courtyard of the church we have the famous home of divorce, the Germans used when a couple wanted to divorce.

Then return to Brasov, to hotel***.

Day 3: Brasov - Rasnov Fortress - Bran Castle – Peles Castle – Bucharest

departure from Brasov
visit Rasnov Fortress
visit Bran Castle
visit Peles Castle
Bucharest

We start the day with Rasnov and visit Rasnov Fortress. Rasnov Fortress was built about 800 years ago on a rocky hilltop, elevated at about 150m above in the small town of Rasnov. It is located 15 km southwest of Brasov and also about 15 km from Bran Castle. The fortress is on the Bran Pass, a trade route connecting Wallachia with Transylvania. It is one of the biggest rural fortresses in the country and somehow unique in that it was meant to be a place of refuge for the commoners from sieges over extended periods of time. At the top of the fortress, the Saxons built stone houses, a school,evangelical chapel and famous fountain -146 meters deep . Fortress had 6 defense towers and two Barbacane.

The highest point of the city (where evangelical chapel ruins, built in 17 th century) we have a beautiful view of Barsa Country.

Then we go to Bran, were we visit Bran Castle. The building of Bran Castle started somewhere around the year 1377. The constructors somehow succeeded in combining wood with the rock. It is said the castle belonged to Count Dracula (Vlad Tepes), but nobody has any proof. Vlad Tepes lived only for a short time in the castle and only as a guest. What is really true is that Bran Castle conjures up the perfect Gothic fairy-tale image of a Transylvanian castle and as a result draws crowds of tourists from far . In 1897 Bram Stoker wrote a terrifying story about Count Dracula. A century after, there are still people who believe in it. Stoker's story is based on the life of Vlad Tepes/Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476), a ruler revered by Romanians for standing up to the Ottoman Empire. Known as one of the most dreadful enemies of the Turks, Vlad started organizing the state and enforcing the law by applying death penalty and impaling all those he considered enemies: robbers, cunning priests, treacherous noblemen, beggars, usurper Saxons.

We continue to Sinaia - the pearl of the Carpathians, where we visit Peles Castle - residence of the former Romanian royal family. The building of the castle began in 1873 under the direct order of the Viennese architect Wilhem Doderer and was continued in 1876 by his assistant, Johann Schultz de Lemberg. The castle was built in wood, stone, bricks and marble and comprises more than 160 rooms. The representative style used is German Renaissance, but one can easily discover elements belonging to the Italian Renaissance, Gothic, German Baroque and French Rococo style. Peles is surrounded by seven terraces decorated with statues (sculptured by the Italian, Romanelli), stone-made-wells, ornamental vases and Carara marble. The architects used an abundance of wooden decoration, both for the exterior and for the interior of the castle, which confers a very special quality to the building. Quite outstanding are the Big Armory Room, the small Armory Room, the Florentine Room, the Reception Room (where paintings and wooden sculptures depicting 16 castles of the Hohenzollerns are exhibited), the Moresque Room, The French Room, the Turkish Room, the Council Room, the Concert Room as well as the Imperial Suite. Other exquisite attractions such as the statues, the ceramics, the gold and silver plates, the Meissen and Sevres porcelain, the Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows, walls covered with Cordoba leather, ebony and ivory sculptures, as well as the extensive weapon collections are worth mentioning. It is also important to know that Peles Castle shelters one of the most important and most valuable painting collections in Europe, almost 2.000 pieces.

Then go to Bucharest.

Persons	Double room	Single room
1 person		1255 €
2-3 persons	555 € /pers	595 € /pers
4-5 persons	535 € /pers	575 € /pers
6-7 persons	515 € /pers	555 € /pers

Included: share tour,2 nights accommodation with breakfast(hotel***), transport with luxury van mercedes Vklass full options or similar car , driver, english guide, local taxes,maps .

Not included: entrance tickets at the monuments,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 tours please contact us.

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

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