Dracula's birthplace - Sighișoara by night

Last week and this week were great. We had 2 free days, connected with each weekend and on top of that, I took another free day, last Thursday. Skipping work feels like being a kid back again.
I and my loved one ( @thegreywidow ) roamed a little through the country in order to check some places we didn't check up until now. To our shame, that is.

As on Thursday we left Ploiești quite late, (we had to work up until 16:00) we decided to have a stop in Sighișoara and stay the night. This is always a great option when you are coming from the South of Romania and want to reach the Northern part of the country. We have virtually no highway (except the 40km from Turda to Cluj) connecting Brașov and Cluj, so the road passes through the centre of Sighișoara. With trucks and everything, because, that's Romania.

Just take my advice and consider stopping in Sighișoara if nightfall is upon you while travelling in Romania.

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^{The Clock Tower, the most important of the 9 Towers still in existance today}

I'll admit that the title was somehow a clickbait one. But not totally. I decided to have this approach in the title because of the latest archaeological and historical studies on the issue, which state that Vlad Dracul, the father of Vlad the Impaler (the figure that Bram Stocker used in order to bring life to his Dracula character) stayed in Sighișoara about 4 years, while waiting the perfect moment to step on the throne of the Southern Romanian Province called "Țara Românească". It seems that in 1431, Vlad the Impaler was born here. Also because while photographing at night through this medieval citadel, while moving through the shadows of the narrow streets and passing by buildings still functioning as homes, taking a peek inside, there were sometimes chills down my spine. There's nothing devilish around; on the contrary, the chill down my spine was a good one, given by the respect I have when I am able to connect to places of great history that managed to reach our times mostly intact.

^{Main entrance of the Sighișoara Citadel, while coming up from the central square of the city.}

Sighișoara is listed in the World UNESCO Protected Sites and is one hell of a city. Every time I come here I still can't understand how this beautiful citadel managed to escape the wrath of Ceaușescu that always looked to "systematize" cities. By some fortune, the city escaped the "forced modernisation" of the communist regime and the historical centre was preserved almost totally. This can be felt by the average tourist by using for accommodation the new investments in the old buildings. Either up, inside the citadel, or downstairs, in one of the old houses around the citadel's walls. We stayed one night in the oldest building still standing in Sighișoara, dating from 1568, as the murals show. It's a special place, a big investment, where you can sleep in 5 centuries old rooms but at an almost luxurious level. I will not say more about this because I want to make a separate article about this accommodation in order to go into the details of the place and see why I warmly recommend this, especially for the foreigners that might read it.

^{The place we stayed in had direct access to the citadel, through the back of the property. Beautiful.}

Walking through the streets of Sighișoara at night, while there is very few people outside, is a treat. I only came to Sighișoara and stayed during the Medieval Festival the mayorship holds every year, for more than 10 years I think. While I would recommend to visit it during that weekend also, stepping between these centuries-old walls when there's silence and dark, is a situation you need to fall into. The game that light plays with the shadow on the narrow alleys and the whole landscape of the place, manages to transport back in time, even the most reluctant idiot. It's impossible to remain untouched by the architecture of german collonists, sent here to defend the eastern borders of the Empire.

^{Lonely strangers passing by in the central square of the fortress are a sight that a photographer appreciates as this can be the element that takes him back to our times if he transposed himself too much into history}

Though the fortress is very well lit, they didn't exaggerate with the light. It wouldn't make for a good night feeling. I guess that the important thing in this kind of places is to still maintain that medieval look, especially during the night. Anyway, that feeling is usually broken by cars still entering the citadel. While some people may be disappointed that there is access with vehicles inside, I personally feel that as long as people are living in these buildings, they should be allowed to have and use cars. Not one/each head in the family, but at least one/family.

^{Hotel Sighișoara. While pitoresque, because of its central place inside the fortress, DO NOT EAT HERE! Lousy cuisine.}

Now I want to find another opportunity to spend another night in Sighișoara (I don't like having two connected nights in one place, I have to admit - I get bored pretty fast). I haven't reached some nice places that definitely are worth photographed during the night. Still, I have a complete series of photographs, of the following day, that I will share with you in another article, dedicated to day shooting in Sighișoara. Until then, below are some other shots I took that warm night while strolling around, almost at midnight.

^{I love the lamp lights they have at different corners and on different buildings. The light it gives is a soft one, probably because of the matte glass around it and maybe because they wanted to simulate candle light}

^{The shoemaker's Tower. Sighișoara's towers were assigned and inhabited by different professional guilds and this one is the one that is greatly preserved}