Définitions et usages de : Sighişoara - Dictionnaire de anglais sensagent

Sighişoara

— Municipality —

Skyline of Sighişoara

Coat of arms

Location of Sighişoara

Coordinates: 46°13′1″N 24°47′28″E / 46.21694°N 24.79111°ECoordinates: 46°13′1″N 24°47′28″E / 46.21694°N 24.79111°E

Romania

Mureş County

Government

• Mayor

Ioan Dorin Dăneşan (Social Democratic Party)

Population (2011)

• Total

26,370

Time zone

EET (UTC+2)

• Summer (DST)

EEST (UTC+3)

Website

http://www.sighisoara.org.ro/

Sighişoara (Romanian pronunciation: [siɡiˈʃo̯ara]; German: Schäßburg; Hungarian: Segesvár, Hungarian pronunciation: [’ʃɛɡɛʃvaːr]; Latin: Castrum Sex) is a city and municipality on the Târnava Mare River in Mureş County, Romania. Located in the historic region of Transylvania, Sighişoara has a population of 26,370 according to the 2011 census.

The city administers seven villages: Angofa, Aurel Vlaicu, Hetiur, Rora, Şoromiclea, Venchi and Viilor.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Sights
4 Famous residents
5 International relations
- 5.1 Twin towns — Sister cities
6 See also
7 Notes
8 Gallery
9 External links

History

A street in Sighişoara

During the 12th century, German craftsmen and merchants known as the Transylvanian Saxons were invited to Transylvania by the King of Hungary to settle and defend the frontier of his realm. The chronicler Krauss lists a Saxon settlement in present-day Sighiṣoara by 1191.^{[citation needed]} A document of 1280 records a town built on the site of a Roman fort as Castrum Sex or "six-sided camp", referring to the fort's shape of an irregular hexagon.^[1] Other names recorded include Schaäsburg (1282), Schespurg (1298) and Segusvar (1300).^[2] By 1337 Sighişoara had become a royal center for the kings, who awarded the settlement urban status in 1367 as the Civitas de Segusvar.

The city played an important strategic and commercial role at the edges of Central Europe for several centuries. Sighişoara became one of the most important cities of Transylvania, with artisans from throughout the Holy Roman Empire visiting the settlement. The German artisans and craftsmen dominated the urban economy, as well as building the fortifications protecting it. It is estimated that during the 16th and the 17th centuries Sighişoara had as many as 15 guilds and 20 handicraft branches. The Baroque sculptor Elias Nicolai lived in the city. The Wallachian prince Vlad Dracul (father of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), who lived in exile in the town, let coins to be minted in the city (otherwise coinage was the monopoly of the Hungarian kings in the Kingdom of Hungary) and issued the first document listing the city's Romanian name, Sighişoara.^{[citation needed]} The Romanian name is first attested in 1435, and derives from the Hungarian Segesvár, where vár is "fort".^[1]^[2]

The city was the setting for George I Rákóczi's election as Prince of Transylvania and King of Hungary in 1631. Sighişoara suffered military occupation, fires, and plagues during the 17th and 18th centuries. Important source for the history of the 17th century Transylvania, for the period of 1606-1666, the records of Georg Kraus, the town's notary [1].

The nearby plain of Albeşti was the site of the Battle of Segesvár, where the revolutionary Hungarian army led by Józef Bem was defeated by the Russian army led by Luders on 31 July 1849. A monument was constructed in 1852 to the Russian general Skariatin, who died in the battle. The Hungarian poet Sándor Petőfi is generally believed to have been killed in the battle, and a monument was constructed in his honor at Albeşti in 1897. After World War I Sighişoara passed with Transylvania from Austria-Hungary to the Kingdom of Romania.

Central Sighişoara has preserved in an exemplary way the features of a small medieval fortified city, it has been listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Each year, a Medieval Festival takes place in the old citadel in July.

View from Villa Franka

Sighişoara is considered to be the most beautiful and well preserved inhabited citadel in Europe,^{[citation needed]} with an authentic medieval architecture. In Eastern Europe, Sighişoara is one of the few fortified towns which are still inhabited. The town is made up of two parts. The medieval stronghold was built on top of a hill and is known as the "Citadel" (Cetate).The lower town lies in the valley of Târnava Mare river.

The houses inside Sighişoara Citadel show the main features of a craftsmen's town. However, there are some houses which belonged to the former patriciate, like the Venetian House and the House with Antlers.

In 2001-2003 the construction of a Dracula theme park in the 'Breite' nature preserve near Sighişoara was considered but ultimately rejected, due to the strong opposition of local civil society groups and national and international media as well as politically influential persons, as the theme park would have detracted from the medieval style of the city and would have destroyed the nature preserve.

Demographics

Ethnic groups:^[3]

Romanians (75%)
Hungarians (17.6%)
Roma (5.3%)
Germans (1.5%)

Sights

View from Lunca Poștii

Sighişoara is a popular tourist destination, due to its well-preserved walled old town. The landmark of the city is the Clock Tower, a 64m high tower built in the 13th century.^[4] It is today a museum of history.

Inside the covered staircase in Sighişoara

Other interesting sights are:

Sighişoara Citadel - a 12th Century Saxon edifice, is the historic center of the city. Still inhabited, the citadel is listed as a World Heritage Site.
Weapon Museum - next to Vlad's birthplace. Very small, but it contains an interesting selection of medieval weapons (swords, arrows, etc.).
Covered Staircase - a very old stone staircase with a wooden roof along the whole span. This leads up to the Church on the Hill and the cemetery.
Church on the Hill - contains many frescoes and a crypt. Built on the location of a Roman fort. Located on the side of the hill next to it is one of the Lutheran cemeteries in the city, which contains many tombstones of Germans.
Bust of Vlad Tepes - Located around the corner from his birthplace, within sight of the Clock Tower.

Famous residents

Sighişoara in the Grand Duchy of Transylvania maps, 1769-1773. Josephinische Landesaufnahme

Vlad III the Impaler
Hermann Oberth, one of the founding fathers of rocketry and astronautics
Johannes Kelpius, a German intellectual, musician, and mystic who founded a religious community when he immigrated to the American colony of Pennsylvania in the late seventeenth century
Johann Michael Ackner, famous Saxon archaeologist
Ralph Gunesch, German football player as of 2006
Friedrich Grünanger, architect
Radu Voina, former handball player, currently coach
Adrian Ivanitchi, folk guitarist

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Romania

Twin towns — Sister cities

Sighişoara is twinned with:

Notes

^ ^a ^b Adrian Room, Placenames of the World, p.347. McFarland, 2006, ISBN 0-7864-2248-3.
^ ^a ^b Cristian Tălângă (ed.), Transilvania, Maramureş, Bucovina, p.27. Editura Semne, Bucharest, 2007.
^ 2011 census data
^ Emil Giurgiu, Sighisoara, Ed. Sport-Turism, Bucuresti, 1982, pp. 74

Gallery

Orthodox Trinity Church
A medieval building
Clock tower
Clock Tower (other view)
Clock tower (side view)
Clock tower (inside view)
Plate honouring Vlad Dracul in Sighişoara (marking the house where Vlad the Impaler was allegedly born)
Night view of the plate
The supposed birthplace of Vlad Dracula
Sichisoarageneralviewofthecity3.jpg

General view of the city
Taylors Tower
Stairs
Covered staircase built in 1642 to ease the access of students to school on the Hill
Back alley scene
Statue of Vlad the Impaler next to the City Hall
City Hall
City Hall
Sighisoara by night
Sighisoara by night: Main Entrance
Sighisoara by night: Tower

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sighişoara

360° Panoramic Images of Sighişoara - Part 1 and Part 2
The City of Sighişoara - official website
TOP 10 Guides: Best of Sighişoara
Lets Go To Romania
Sighişoara 360 Virtual Tour & Medieval Festival photo gallery
Sighişoara Pictures
Sighişoara, Romania: The Purported Home Of Dracula - slideshow by The Huffington Post
Images from Sighișoara by Canadian Photographer Carey Nash

Mureș County, Romania

Cities	Târgu Mureș (county seat) Sighișoara Reghin Târnăveni

Towns	Iernut Luduș Miercurea Nirajului Sângeorgiu de Pădure Sărmaşu Sovata Ungheni

Communes	Acățari Adămuș Albeşti Aluniş Apold Aţintiş Bahnea Band Batoş Băgaciu Băla Bălăuşeri Beica de Jos Bereni Bichiş Bogata Brâncoveneşti Breaza Ceuaşu de Câmpie Cheţani Chibed Chiheru de Jos Coroisânmărtin Corunca Cozma Crăciuneşti Crăieşti Cristeşti Cucerdea Cuci Daneş Deda Eremitu Ernei Fântânele Fărăgău Găleşti Găneşti Gheorghe Doja Ghindari Glodeni Gorneşti Grebenişu de Câmpie Gurghiu Hodac Hodoşa Ibăneşti Iclănzel Ideciu de Jos Livezeni Lunca Lunca Bradului Mădăraş Măgherani Mica Miheşu de Câmpie Nadeş Neaua Ogra Papiu Ilarian Pănet Păsăreni Petelea Pogăceaua Râciu Răstoliţa Ruşii-Munţi Sâncraiu de Mureş Sângeorgiu de Mureş Sânger Sânpaul Sânpetru de Câmpie Sântana de Mureş Sărăteni Saschiz Solovăstru Stânceni Suplac Suseni Şăulia Şincai Tăureni Valea Largă Vânători Vărgata Vătava Veţca Viişoara Voivodeni Zagăr Zau de Câmpie

Significations et usages de Sighişoara

Définition

Locutions

Sighișoara

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