MEDIEVAL FORTRESS BISTRIȚA

In a presentation of Transylvania, published in Milan in 1596, the Italian poet and diplomat Giovanni Botero described Bistrita as "the most beautiful of cities". Today, you have the opportunity to rediscover the picturesque described in superlative terms by visitors to the city of yesteryear.

Bistrița Fortress is part of the seven burgs of Transylvania and was for centuries a royal free city, which controlled the trade routes to Moldova. The settlement was built by German settlers who settled in Transylvania in the 12th century. In 1464 Matia Corvin granted the Saxon citizens the right to erect a fortification with stone walls, which was completed around 1484.

Currently, the Tower of the Coopers and part of the southern and eastern walls are the only ones preserved from the great 15th century fortification.

You will be fascinated to discover Bistrita through its 22 passages, some with the appearance of streets, and others covered with masonry vaults, giving the feeling of urban tunnels. Through their axes you can cross the city, as the fortress guards once did. Guild crests and city seals engraved in stone will guide your steps through the Guild Axis, the Arts Axis and the Crown Axis.

Located in the heart of the historic city, the Evangelical Church surprises you with its beautiful Gothic and Renaissance architecture. From the balcony of the famous stone tower you will feel more intensely the charm of the old burg at the eastern gates of Transylvania.

Over time, many stories and legends have appeared about the impressive height of the tower at the Evangelical Church. One of the legends says that the people from Sibiu sent some craftsmen to Bistrita to measure the stone tower, which they had heard was the tallest in Transylvania. Their ambition was to raise one even higher. Arriving in Bistrita, the craftsmen measured the tower with string. On their way home, they stopped at an inn near the city. While they were feasting, in a moment of inattention, the people of Bistrita shortened the string with which they had measured the tower.

We don't know if things were like that, but it is a certainty that in Bistrita you can see the highest medieval stone tower of Transylvania. The tower was built between 1487-1519, having a height of 76 m. 

Built in the XV-XVI, the Sugălete Ensemble is the longest row of medieval houses with arcades on the ground floor in Romania. The architectural details, such as the statue of Saint Nicholas and the insignia of the armorer Peterman from 1480, give value to the ensemble that marks the originality of the Central Square of the old fortress.

A medieval house without a match in the urban architecture of the area is Ioan Zidarul House, which preserves specific elements of the Gothic and Renaissance styles.

The Silversmith's House, built in the Renaissance style between 1560-1563, is a typical construction for the architecture of the time, with workshops on the ground floor and living spaces on the upper floor. Its name comes from the two goblets carved on the border of one of the ground floor windows, a symbol of the silversmiths' guild.

Another architectural landmark is the House with Lions, which owes its name to the coat of arms preserved from the century. the eighteenth. The coat of arms on the facade of the building, supported by two facing lions, includes the insignia of the butchers' guild: the ax and the knife above a head of aurochs.

Bistrita opens its doors to the past through organized events and cultivates its multiculturalism. You will be able to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the old burg, participating in the Medieval Bistrița Days, the "Legendele Cetății" Festival of music and local crafts or the Festival of Ancient Arts.

The Palace of Culture in Bistrița is the host of some exceptional events, among which we mention the Festival "Poezia e la Bistrița", the Theater Festival "Rebreanu. New Collection", and at the Arcade Gallery managed by the Union of Visual Artists or at Casa cu Lei you can watch the art exhibitions of the moment.

You will spend truly special moments at the Bistrita Synagogue. The beautiful edifice, representative of romantic architecture, serves today as a multifunctional cultural space, hosting classical music concerts, jazz and opera performances.

The Bistrita-Năsăud Museum Complex preserves for all those interested the testimonies of the old Roman legions that guarded the northern border of the Roman Empire in antiquity and the virtues of Latin continuity in these lands.