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CISNADIE AND
CISNADIOARA |
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Two or three buses an hour leave Sibiu's bus station for CISNADIE (Heltau),
12km to the south. Cisnadie's modern outskirts quickly give way to the
old Red Town (so called by the Turks both for the colour of its walls
and the blood that was shed attempting to breach them) - a long square
leading to the largely Romanesque church , protected by a double wall
and a moat. If you ask a warden, you may be taken up the massive
thirteenth-century tower , fitted in 1795 with Transylvania's first
lightning conductor; the climb takes you up a succession of lofty vaults
linked by creaking ladders and narrow stairways to the four turrets,
medieval symbols of civic status, which crown the tower. From the belfry
the view of Cisnadie's angular courtyards and red rooftops is superb,
while just visible in the distance below the Cindrel mountains is the
conical rock that overlooks the village of Cisnadioara - legend has it
that a tunnel links the two villages. At the rear of the church you can
also call in at the Textile Museum (Mon-Sat 8am-4pm), which has
comprehensive coverage of the local household industry.
If you're keen to stay in Cisnadie, ask at the museum about private
rooms (under $6-10), which can also be booked at the tourist office in
Bucharest. The Casa Blanca , at Str. Tesatorilor 80 (tel 069/561 275;
under $6), is another option; to get there from the central Piata
Revolutiei, head down Str. Podului (by the Capsa restaurant) and turn
left at the end. The best option by far, however, is to head 2.5km south
along Strada Cetatii towards Sadu, to the Cerbul Carpatin (tel 069/562
937; $15-20), which is comfortable and very friendly. One hundred metres
beyond is the Saxon-run Motel Daniel (tel & fax 069/562 886; $6-10),
half the price but nothing out of the ordinary.
From Cisnadie's centre, it's a three-kilometre walk west (or bus #32)
along Strada Magurii and the valley road, lined with poplars and
orchards, towards the striking seventy-metre-high rock that looms over
CISNADIOARA (Michelsburg). The tiny Romanesque church built in 1223 on
the summit of this rock frequently withstood Tatar attacks, villagers
defending it by hurling down rocks which had previously been carried
into the citadel by aspiring husbands - the custom was that no young man
could marry until he had carried a heavy rock from the riverbed up the
steep track, for the villagers were anxious to prevent weaklings from
marrying in case they spoiled the hardy race. Ask for the church key at
the ethnographic museum , next to the lower church in the village; both
are supposedly open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm, but you may have
to ask around to find the curator.
Follow the main road down through the village and you will pass a few
shops and rows of neat, unmistakably German houses, now used as holiday
homes by the new bourgeoisie of Sibiu (and a few foreigners). This road
continues for half a kilometre to the village swimming pool, where the
Strand campsite has been renovated (though you should be wary of
light-fingered Gypsies wandering over the hills from their camp near
Rasinari). The best accommodation in the village is the centrally heated
Elimheim , on the Rasinari road a few hundred metres from the village
centre (tel 069/566 499; under $6). Alternatively, beyond the museum at
Cisnadioara 30 there's the Saxon Gästehaus (advance bookings only
through Max Herzberg, DFDR, Str. Gen. Magheru 1-3, 2400 Sibiu; tel
069/215 417; under $6), with a wood fire, an outdoor toilet and water
drawn from a well, or there are cabins at the Hanul Pinul at the edge of
the village (tel 069/561 636 or 094/193 238; under $6).
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