LOCATION

  Marked by the parallel 45'30" north latitude and by meridian 23'54" and 24'57", the county of Sibiu is situated in the centre of Romania, in southern Transylvania. In the proximity of the town of Agnita, scientists have set the geographic centre of the country.

INFRASTRUCTURE

  European roads that cross the county:

• E81: Satu Mare - Zalau - Cluj Napoca - Sebes - Sibiu - Ramnicu Valcea - Pitesti
• E68: Arad - Deva -Sebes- Sibiu - Fagaras - Brasov

RELIEF

  There are a variety of forms of relief, dislayed in lowering altitudes. To the south and southeast, the county is surrounded by the Fagaras Mountains(Negoi Peak - 2.535, Vanatoarea lui Buteanu - 2.508 m), Lotru Mountains, Cindrel Mountains (Cindrel Peak - 2244 m, Serbota - 2006 m), extensively covered by forests, meadows and glacier lakes.

  The Depression of Sibiu is drained by the Cibin River, while through the Depression of Fagaras runs the Olt River; also neighboring depressions of the Transylvanian Plateau are those of Secas and Apold.

  Another jewel of the natural environment in Sibiu are the lakes:

• glacier - formed within the glacier complexes in Fagaras Mountains(Podragul, Podragel, Bilea, Lacul Doamnei, Lacul Avrig) and those in Cindrel Mountains (Iezerul Mare and Iezerul Mic);
• salty - concentrated in the Ocna Sibiului Resort, with amenities designed for tourist activities and with an exceptional therapeutic value - highly recommended for the treatment of locomotory, nervous system, gynecologic, vascular disorders etc.
• artificial - or man made lakes such as: Riura, Bradeni, Loamnes, Mindra, Sacel - used for fishing; Sopa, Tocile, Valea Salciilor, Rusciori - for irrigation; those on Cibin River (at Gura Rîului) and Sadu, used for electric power plants, along the Olt (at Scorei). These also include tourist facilities.

CLIMATE

  The climate is temperate continental, with a slow transition to the following season. Winters are generally mild, springs are sunny, summers are cool and autumn is usually a late comer. The annual average temperature is around 13 degrees C.

VEGETATION AND FLORA

  It hosts a rich flora, of over 5500 plant species, that is about 67% of Romania's total. Over 40 species are endemic for the Carpathians: Achillea schurii, Aquilegia transsilvanica, Cerastium transsilvanicum, Erzsinum transsilvanicum, but there are also endangered plant species for Romania: Plantago maxima, Polygala sibirica, Angelica palustris, Calla palustris.

FAUNA

  The fauna in the area is rich and varied, offering habitat to more than half of the country's mammals (the chamois, brown bear, the Carpathian stag, deer, wolf, fox etc.) and to 54% of the bird species: 168 identified birds, at least 5 of great scientific value: the Asian and ice alcedo and other rare species.
  Sibiu holds many game trophies, especially for the chamois and Carpathian bear. An interesting museum is that of the Weapons and Game Trophies; it also holds 15 protected areas, of which 3 are natural parks, 7 are natural reservations and 5 are declared monuments of nature.

  Lying at the heart of the country, Sibiu has always bridged material and spiritual values; one of the biggest strongholds of Transylvania, residence of the Ardeal Bishopric and the Evangelic Bishop, a town that emerged from the ruins of ancient Cedonia . Its name comes from Cibin River on whose banks it was established. The favorable natural characteristics made the region of Sibiu an essential part of the anthropogenesis space. Traces of man date back to the Stone Age. The most frequent were those of the Neolithic communities, discovered all over the county (Ocna Sibiului, Casolt. Pauca, Sura Mica).

  During the Bronze and Iron ages, the Geto-Dacian culture and civilizations developed (discoveries made at Orlat, Tilisca, Ocna Sibiului, Casolt, Sura Mica, Gusterita). As a place of peaceful and flourishing dwelling of both Dacian and Roman civilizations, Sibiu signifies the birth place of the Romanian people.

  There are significant archeological discoveries which prove the presence of Dacian, Dacian-Roman and proto - Romanian continuity in this space (Sura Mica, Biertan, Gusterita, Casolt, Micasasa, Turnu Rosu etc.). The legendary famous Donarium from Biertan (IVth century A.D.) bears a Latin inscription "Ego Zenovius votum posui" (I, Zenovius, have made this offering), certifies the existence of Romanized populations in Dacia, after the Romans retreat (271 A.D).

  A crucial historic moment that marked the cultural configuration of Sibiu was the colonization of the Saxons, during the 12th - 14th centuries. They were invited here by the Hungarian kings, in order to consolidate their dominion over Transylvania. On the other hand, the development of crafts and trade that Saxons highly promoted, created complementarity with the local rural hinterland populated by Romanians, which brought great economic prosperity for all in the end. This multi secular peaceful interethnic relationship led to very interesting acculturation phenomena that give this region its originality.

  Another phenomenon specific for the region of Sibiu and easily traceable in the cultural creations and monuments is the assimilation of new ideas and architectural trends from Western Europe.

FOLKORIC EVENTS

Ocna Sibiului

• "Heroes Day"; "National Day"; "Pentecost"; "Boul cu Sânzaiene"; "Tourism Day"; "Saline Festival"; "Festival of winter customs"
  Bruiu
  
• "Ceata" - Christmas custom; "Papaluga or Paparuda" - on Ascension Day
  Axente Sever
  
• "Village Sons" Celebration
  Vestem
  
• "Mace"; "Calarasii" on Pentecost
  Cisnădie
  
• Cisnadie Days; "Knight from Cisnadioara"; "Ciresarii" Festival
  Gura Râului
  
• Hanzu Maria - weaver; "Ceata Junilor" - on Christmas - "Calusarii"
  Marpod
  
• Young men's carols; "Facutul de maritat"; "Facutul cu ceapa"; "Furatul portitelor" ; "Ziuitul"
  Ludoş
  
• Christmas Carols - New Year's Wishes - "Butea junilor"- on winter holidays
  Răşinari
• "Epipahny in Rasinari" - January 6th; "Palm Sunday" - on Palm Sunday; "Calusari"; Girls' dance teams; Whistling team - Choir of the Cultural House; "Heroes' Day" - 40 days after Easter
  Şeica Mică
  
• "Cârnelej" - on Epiphany-in neighbourhoods
  Sălişte
  
• Meeting of the young men; Painting camp - in Fantanele; "Hodaitul" - on Mardi Gras; "Sanzienele - girls being wetted " - June 24th; "Prinsul verilor" - on St. Toader; "Sanctimonious Women" - second day of Easter

TOURIST OBJECTIVES IN THE AREA

• The Big Square or "Big Rink" used to be a popular celebrations scene for the elections of the city's leaders; People used to meet here and discuss about the best ways to protect the city in times of need. Overshadowing the greatness of these events, are the horrific series of public capital punishments that took place until the 18th century.
• Remarkable through their architecture and age, are the houses surrounding this space: Blue House (plays used to be performed here), Haller house, Reissner house.
• The Council Tower - situated between Big and Small Squares. Its name comes from the name of the neighboring building, which was the Town Council. The building was finished in 1588, but its contemporary appearance was given in 1824. Between 1961- 1962 the tower was completely restored. The tower was first used for defense, then as cereal deposit and at the middle of last century became a natural sciences museum. The clock from the tower used to announce the night watch during the Middle Ages.
• The Small Square is situated inside the second fortification. It used to be the old trade center of the castle. With slight changes, the market preserves its 15th century appearance.
• The Liars' Bridge - the first pig iron bridge in the country built in 1859.
• The Huet Square was established inside the first fortification.
• The buildings around the Evangelic Cathedral are valuable cultural vestiges dating from the 15th - 18th centuries. The most important are the Parish House and Brukenthal High School.
• The Evangelic Church is a Gothic edifice, with precious pieces of furniture. The space inside the church was temporarily used as a burial place for remarkable figures of the city' s past (today there are 67 tombstones). Amongst these personalities is Mihnea Voda cel Rau, king of Tara Romaneasca.
• The Stairs Passage - also called "The Arched Wall".
• The old Town Hall was built in 1470 by Thomas Altemberger. It is one of the most beautiful Gothic laic monuments in Transylvania. Nowadays the History Museum is located here with important numismatic collections (60,000 antique Greek and Roman coins, but also medieval ones: Hungarian, Transylvanian, German), archeological, decorative and work instruments, weapons and documentary graphics. The Orthodox Bishopric was built during 1902-1906 as a replica of the St. Sophia Church in Constantinople. Surrounding the church are the tombs of personalities like: George Baritiu, loan Ratiu, Alexandru Papiu llarian.
• The Reformed Church was built in 1786. Its modest interior is imposed by the austerity of the cult.
• The Catholic Church built in Baroque style between 1726 and 1728 by the Jesuit monks. The Church of the Ursuline nuns
• The wall of the castle and its defense towers - built in the 15th century, as the third fortification belt
• The Tower of the Harquebusiers
• The Tower of potters
• Tower of carpenters
• Tower of tanners - built in 1638 it was part of the fourth fortification of the Lower City
• The Brukenthal Museum - it hosts the Art Gallery with two important exhibitions: Brukenthal Picture Gallery and the National Art Gallery.
• The Picture Gallery, whose pieces were purchased by Baron Samuel Brukenthal (former governor of Transylvania) exhibits Flemish-Dutch paintings (450 pieces), Italian (200 pieces), German-Austrian (480), French and Spanish (20).
• The National Art Gallery possesses more than 3000 pieces, remarkable works that illustrate the history of Romanian art from 15th to 20th centuries.
• Museum of Natural History - its collections hold more than 1,000,000 pieces: botanic, zoological, mineralogical, petrographic, paleonthologic, ornithological collections. Museum of Pharmacy History is located in a historic and architectural monument building, with Gothic and Renaissance elements, built in 1568. In 1600, it hosted the"Black Bear's" pharmacy, one of the oldest in the country. It displays tools, instruments and containers. The homeopathic collection has more than 2900 pieces.
• Museum of weapons and hunting trophies reflects the evolution of tools and hunting, emphasizing the variety of game in Romania but also the special quality of the national and international trophies. The collection has more than 1,500 pieces.
  
    All these sights are part of the cultural itinerary of the Historic Monuments Department of the Great Luxembourg Duchy and the European Institute for Cultural Itineraries from Luxembourg, together with the Romanian Ministry of Culture. This itinerary is part of the "Cultural Itineraries" program of the European Council.
  
  
• Museum of Traditional Civilization opened in 1963 in Dumbrava Sibiului and has a surface of 96 ha. Its special topic distinguishes it from other similar museums: illustrations of the Romanian traditional civilization, emphasizing the pre-industrial technical creation. The museum contains: architecture, house interiors, traditional occupations, peasant industrial installations (manual, animal or activated by warmth, water or wind energy). Its patrimony comprises 127 architectural and traditional technique documents, totaling 19,000 pieces which operated in the 340 original buildings transferred here.
• Medias - it is the second city after Sibiu as demographics and industrial power Situated on the valley of Tarnava Mare River, 55 km from Sibiu in a beautiful hill region.

EVENTS IN SIBIU

• National Festival of Romanian Theatre - "Gong", in June.
• Jazz International Festival; held permanently for more than 30 years in July-August
• International Theater Festival - "Gong", in July.