This is my second time in Transylvania, 7 years, 10 kg later (lost, not gained), and this time without HDR (facepalm). You can see the old photos, too.
Uploaded on: 2019-12-15. Updated on: 2025-12-16.
Map showing Transylvania location (opens in OpenStreetMap)
They are silent witnesses to the complicated and often brutal history of the region, and they were built by the Saxons. Those Transylvanian Saxons migrated here from the 12 century onwards, coming from the Holy Roman Empire. Technically, they were not necessarily Saxons. [2]ISO 400, 23mm, f/2.0, 1/900s.
It was their task to defend the the southeastern border of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Asiatic hordes. [2] In the photo, a "secret" passage in a church.ISO 1600, 23mm, f/4.0, 1/15s.
The defence did not go so well, and as a result, fortified churches and fortified towns were created. Thus, Transylvania was called in German "Siebenbürgen" - the Seven Cities, referring to the the seven fortified cities. Cluj-Napoca or Sibiu or Sighișoara potentially being among them, although there is no certainty. [3] The three were respectively called Klausenburg, Hermannstadt, and Schässburg.ISO 1600, 23mm, f/2.0, 1/35s.
The Saxons would go on to become a privileged class, with the Romanians and the Hungarians being usually in the lower classes.ISO 400, 23mm, f/16.0, 1/250s.
Today, very few Saxons remain (we're talking the low end of tens of thousands), as most of them moved to Germany during and after the Communist era.ISO 400, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/900s.
We drove on unlit Romanian roads for hours at night, and it wrecked me completely. We then had to drive uphill on some sort of mountainous dirt track, but we ended up in this chalet! I nearly passed out from exhaustion, so I don't remember much at all.ISO 400, 23mm, f/2.0, 1/60s.
Here, we found a religious site dedicated to St. Anne. Behind it, there were people climbing, and we cheered them on as one of them had difficulties abseiling.ISO 250, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/60s.
Stairs leading to the tower. The guide (I think a Transylvanian Saxon) hit me on the arm when I placed my elbows on something apparently precious for stability when taking a photo, the rough bastard!ISO 1250, 23mm, f/4.0, 1/60s.
Man wearing hearing protection and hiding behind benches to study religious texts in peace and quiet (that I disturbed - well, he didn't notice me).ISO 1600, 23mm, f/2.0, 1/20s.
