Sibiu

Known by it's German name, Hermannstadt, the city has managed to keep the atmosphere of a long history, reflected in a rich architectural patrimony, stretching on 80 hectares. The medieval fortress survived both the World Wars and the communist regime. The city has many points of interest with geographical and cultural value, like Paltinis mountain resort, Fagaras mountains and the villages that surround it. All of these, together with the architecture that surrounds the city and it's central position inside the country, which makes it very accessible, made Sibiu an important touristic destination, in which the German spirit flouts.

Recent history has made Sibiu one of the top cultural centers from Romania. The Brukenthal Museum is the oldest museum in Romania, and the Museum of Transylvanian Civilisation from Dumbrava Sibiului is the largest open-air museum in Europe, and the second in the world. But the cultural life of Sibiu is still very much alive. The International Theatre Festival, The International Jazz Festival, The Folklore Festival "Songs of the Mountains", The Festival of Popular Traditions, The Medieval Festival, are just a few of the events that keep the city's cultural life up and running, bringing in tourists and viewers from the whole country and abroad.
In 2007, Sibiu was the Cultural Capital of Europe, together with Luxembourg. During this partnership, 40 projects were performed. Sibiu hosted 337 projects and had organized 2062 theater, picture, film, dance, literature, architecture, contemporary art, gastronomy events, for a very large audience. The costs raised up to 13.400.000 euros and were supported by Sibiu City Hall, Sibiu County Council, Sibiu- European Capital 2007 Association, Ministry of Culture and the European Commission for supporting this event with multicultural and multilinguistic character. The tourism development of the county brought a big change in the number of incoming tourists, which reached a number of 700.000 by the beginning of December, double from 2006 and triple from 2005.
2007 made Sibiu become one of the most valuable and visible cities from Romania and Europe, but also the whole world. Every year, the number of incoming tourists is growing, more than 40% of the total tourists being foreigners. The medieval charm of the city which lies at the bottom of the mountains, loaded with a rich cultural life and where high value events take place, make Sibiu a genuine pearl in the heart of Romania.