# Sighișoara Citadel

[Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/attractions) › [Transylvania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/region/transilvania) › [Mureș County](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/county/mures) › [Sighișoara](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/city/sighisoara)

> A Saxon-built, still-inhabited medieval walled town on a hill above the Târnava Mare, with guild towers and the famous Clock Tower; a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999.

[UNESCO World Heritage](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/unesco-heritage) · [Top 20 in Romania](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/top-20)

**At a glance:** Fortresses and fortifications in Sighișoara, Mureș County. Opening hours: daily open 24 hours. Ticket: Free. The visit takes 2½ – 3 hours. Information verified on 22 September 2026.

## Key facts

- **Opening hours:** daily open 24 hours — The citadel is open at all times. The Clock Tower museum is closed on Mondays and has shorter hours outside summer (usually 09:00–15:30 from mid-September to mid-May), and the Church on the Hill keeps its own hours — check locally or by phone before your visit.
- **Ticket:** Free
- **Visit duration:** 2½ – 3 hours — walk and Clock Tower
- **With kids:** Yes — cobbled streets and many steps
- **Parking:** Yes, paid — in town, below the citadel
- **Best season:** All year round — busy in summer and at weekends
- **Address:** Piața Muzeului 1 (enter through the Clock Tower), Sighișoara, Mureș County
- **Coordinates:** 46.2192, 24.7933
- **Phone:** +40 265 771 108
- **Website:** https://primariasighisoara.ro/portal/mures/sighisoara/portal.nsf/pagini/turism-00000D96
- **Wikipedia:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historic_Centre_of_Sighi%C8%99oara
- **Wikidata:** https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1075681
- **Categories:** [Fortresses and fortifications](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/cetati-si-fortificatii), [Monuments and historic sites](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/monumente-si-situri-istorice)

## About Sighișoara Citadel

Sighișoara Citadel crowns the Citadel Hill above the Târnava Mare valley and is one of the few fortified medieval towns in Europe that people still live in. It was founded by Saxon settlers, and its Latin name, Castrum Sex, appears in documents in 1280. Between the 14th and 17th centuries the townspeople ringed both terraces of the hill with a wall roughly 930 metres long, defended by 14 towers, each looked after by a craft guild.

Nine of the towers survive, together with the cobbled streets, the squares and over a hundred houses listed as historic monuments. Vlad Dracul, father of Vlad the Impaler, lived here from 1431 to 1436, and tradition holds that his son was born in the house on Citadel Square. In 1999 the historic centre was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List as a testament to the culture of the Transylvanian Saxons.

The citadel is explored on foot and is open at all hours; you only pay to enter the museums and the Church on the Hill.

### What you can see

You enter the citadel beneath the **Clock Tower**, 64 metres high, with a colourful tiled Baroque roof built after the fire of 1676. Its clock has limewood figures that change every day, one Roman deity for each day of the week. The tower houses the History Museum, and the climb ends at the top gallery, with a view over the town's rooftops.

Further up, Citadel Square gathers colourful houses, including the Vlad Dracul House. The wooden Covered Staircase climbs to the Church on the Hill, a Gothic Lutheran church built between 1345 and 1525, with 15th-century murals and the only known crypt of its kind in Transylvania. The Saxon cemetery spreads around it, and along the surviving wall stand the Shoemakers', Tailors', Tinsmiths' and Ropemakers' towers.

### Good to know

The citadel is lived in, and only residents and guests staying inside may drive in. The streets are cobbled and sloping, with many steps.

## Don't miss

- The wooden figures of the Clock Tower's clock, one for each day of the week.
- The view over the upper town's rooftops from the Clock Tower gallery.
- The wooden Covered Staircase leading up to the Church on the Hill.
- The 15th-century murals and the crypt of the Church on the Hill.
- The Saxon cemetery on the hill and a walk past the surviving guild towers.

## Good to know before you go

### Getting there

**By car:** Sighișoara lies on the DN13, ~55 km from Târgu Mureș (~1 hour) and ~120 km from Brașov (~2 hours); Sibiu is ~95 km away (~1 hour 45 minutes). Leave the car in the lower town, as driving into the citadel is restricted.

**Public transport:** train on the Brașov–Cluj-Napoca line to Sighișoara station, then ~15–20 minutes on foot to the Clock Tower.

### Where to park

You cannot park inside the citadel: only residents, guests staying inside (with a permit) and deliveries may drive in. Public car parks are in the lower town, a few minutes' walk from the foot of the citadel; they are paid on weekdays and usually free on Sundays and public holidays. They fill up quickly in summer and during festivals.

### Fees & discounts

Walking around the citadel is free. History Museum in the Clock Tower: adults 50 lei, pupils and students 15 lei. Medieval Arms Collection: adults 20 lei, pupils and students 5 lei. Torture Chamber: adults 15 lei, pupils and students 4 lei. A combined ticket for all three costs 70 lei. The Church on the Hill has a separate ticket (~15 lei).

### Rules

The citadel is a lived-in neighbourhood: respect the quiet and private property. The Clock Tower is climbed only by narrow stairs, with no lift, so it is not accessible by wheelchair or pushchair. Photography is fine in the streets; in the museums and the church, check the rules at the entrance.

### Facilities

Restaurants and cafés · souvenir shops · accommodation inside the citadel · tourist information centre · toilets in museums and cafés

## Details

- **Construction period:** 14th–17th centuries
- **Founder:** the Saxons
- **State of preservation:** well preserved

## Frequently asked questions about Sighișoara Citadel

**How much is a ticket to Sighișoara Citadel?**

Admission to Sighișoara Citadel is free. Walking around the citadel is free. History Museum in the Clock Tower: adults 50 lei, pupils and students 15 lei. Medieval Arms Collection: adults 20 lei, pupils and students 5 lei. Torture Chamber: adults 15 lei, pupils and students 4 lei. A combined ticket for all three costs 70 lei. The Church on the Hill has a separate ticket (~15 lei).

**What are the opening hours of Sighișoara Citadel?**

Opening hours at Sighișoara Citadel: daily open 24 hours. The citadel is open at all times. The Clock Tower museum is closed on Mondays and has shorter hours outside summer (usually 09:00–15:30 from mid-September to mid-May), and the Church on the Hill keeps its own hours — check locally or by phone before your visit.

**How long does a visit to Sighișoara Citadel take?**

A visit to Sighișoara Citadel takes about 2½ – 3 hours (walk and Clock Tower).

**Can you visit Sighișoara Citadel with kids?**

Yes, Sighișoara Citadel is suitable for children (cobbled streets and many steps).

**Where can I park at Sighișoara Citadel?**

There is paid parking at Sighișoara Citadel (in town, below the citadel). You cannot park inside the citadel: only residents, guests staying inside (with a permit) and deliveries may drive in. Public car parks are in the lower town, a few minutes' walk from the foot of the citadel; they are paid on weekdays and usually free on Sundays and public holidays. They fill up quickly in summer and during festivals.

**How do I get to Sighișoara Citadel?**

Sighișoara Citadel is located at Piața Muzeului 1 (enter through the Clock Tower), Sighișoara, Mureș County. By car: Sighișoara lies on the DN13, ~55 km from Târgu Mureș (~1 hour) and ~120 km from Brașov (~2 hours); Sibiu is ~95 km away (~1 hour 45 minutes). Leave the car in the lower town, as driving into the citadel is restricted. Public transport: train on the Brașov–Cluj-Napoca line to Sighișoara station, then ~15–20 minutes on foot to the Clock Tower.

**When is the best time to visit Sighișoara Citadel?**

The best season for Sighișoara Citadel: All year round (busy in summer and at weekends).

## Nearby attractions

- [Apold Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-apold) — Monasteries and churches · Apold, MS · 45 min · 14 km
  A Saxon church on a hill in Apold, surrounded by walls and defensive towers that survive almost complete, with Gothic frescoes on the triumphal arch and contemporary art exhibition spaces.
- [Bethlen Castle in Criș](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/castelul-bethlen-cris) — Castles and palaces · Criș, MS · ½ – 1 hours · 15 km
  The most complete Renaissance residence left in Transylvania, seat of the Bethlen family: a tower with soldier reliefs, an arcaded loggia and bastioned walls, now under restoration.
- [Saschiz Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-saschiz) — Monasteries and churches · Saschiz, MS · 10 lei · UNESCO World Heritage · Top 100 · 17 km
  A Late Gothic Saxon church beside the DN13, with a bell tower modelled on Sighișoara's Clock Tower; on the hill above the village stand the walls of a 14th-century peasant fortress.
- [Mălâncrav Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-malancrav) — Monasteries and churches · Mălâncrav, SB · 22 km
  A 14th-century Gothic church built by the noble Apafi family, with the largest ensemble of Gothic frescoes in Transylvania and a polyptych altarpiece that has stood in place for more than five centuries.
- [Criț Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-crit) — Monasteries and churches · Criț, BV · 30 min · 26 km
  A 19th-century Lutheran church with an 1813 organ, enclosed by an oval 15th-century wall, on a hill in the middle of a quiet Saxon village a few kilometres off the DN13.
- [Copșa Mare Fortified Church](https://peplaiuri.ro/en/biserica-fortificata-din-copsa-mare) — Monasteries and churches · Copșa Mare, SB · 30 min · 27 km
  A Saxon church fortified around 1510, with a tall choir under a star vault, a bell tower with a timber gallery and a winegrowers' village around it, in the Wine Country.

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Last updated: 22 September 2026
Source: Pe Plaiuri (https://peplaiuri.ro/en) — Guide to tourist attractions in Romania