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MEDIAS |
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The main town between Sighisoara and Sibiu is MEDIAS (Mediasch),
which despite the tanneries and chemical works feeding off the Târnava
Mare valley's methane reserves, gets more attractive the further in you
venture. Originally an Iron Age and then a Roman settlement, Medias was
a predominantly Saxon town for many centuries, walled and with gate
towers, two of which remain on Strada Closca. After 1918 it began to
develop an industrial and Romanian character, stemming from political
changes after World War I and the construction here of Transylvania's
first gas pipeline.
From the train station on Strada Unirii, turn right to reach the bus
station , a few minutes walk away, opposite the synagogue; from here
head left up Strada Pompierilor and then take a right down Strada Roth
to the town centre, Piata Regele Ferdinand I . This is dominated by the
fifteenth-century Evangelical Church , its seventy-metre bell tower
slightly askew; the church is a true citadel, surrounded by store rooms,
high ramparts and towers (one of which, the Tailors' Tower, served as a
jail for the Impaler in 1467). Inside there are Anatolian carpets,
frescoes, a Crucifixion with a view of Vienna painted in 1474-79 and a
superb Gothic altarpiece in the style of Roger van der Weyden. The
Schullerhaus , on the same square at no. 25, was built in 1588 and once
housed the Transylvanian Diet. For a limited insight into the history of
the town, and a better wildlife display, visit the town museum (Tues-Sun
9am-5pm) in a former monastery at Str. Mihai Viteazul 46. Next door, the
Roman Catholic church retains its late fifteenth-century Gothic chancel.
Medias's oldest and largest hotel is the ugly Central (tel 069/841 787,
fax 821 722; $10-15), on Piata Regele Ferdinand I no.25, at the top of
Strada Pompierilor; the private Select , at Str. Petofi 3 (tel 069/834
874; $10-15), is much more comfortable, and there's also a new
guesthouse, the Schullerhaus , at Piata Regele Ferdinand I no.25 (tel
069/831 347, fax 832 390; $6-10). Buses run from the bus station to
Agnita, Sibiu and Targu Mures, and to all the surrounding villages. Some
especially picturesque villages with fortified churches lie along the
road to Agnita, notably Mosna (Meschen), whose church, built in 1491,
has a 50m tower. There's a Gastehaus here at no. 531 (tel 069/204 872,
ext 120; under $6); it's also safe to camp in the surrounding hills.
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