page_title: Mediaș
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Mediaș / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: Str. N. Iorga (Forkeschgasse) in Mediaș/Mediasch, Romania
context_page_description: Mediaș is the second largest city in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania.
context_section_description: Mediaș has one of the best preserved historical centers in Romania and also some well preserved medieval fortifications.
  One symbol of the town is the Tower of the Buglers, which is about 70 meters tall. Its construction started in the 13th century. In the 15th century it was raised to 5 tiers. The St. Margaret Church was finished at about the same time. Later, 3 more tiers were added in only two months. The roof consists of colored vitrified tiles, and four turrets were built. The tower had a guard, who would sound his bugle whenever an enemy approached.  The tower has in its South-Western corner (between the clocks) a small wooden man who rings a bell, thus announcing in advance when the clock will ring on the hour. The heavy pressure of the tower on the sandy soil is the reason why the tower is slightly tilted to the North. Between 1927 and 1930, and later in 1972, the tower was consolidated. The tilt of the tip compared with the base is 2.32 m.
  The city lies in the middle of the area which was inhabited by Transylvanian Saxons and in an area of 20 km around it there are dozens of fortified churches, two of them UNESCO World heritage sites.
  St. Margaret's Church: The fortified church was built in gothic style in 1488, with time it went through different modifications. The feeble ground structure made its tower, built in 1460, incline. In 1550 the church was raised with three storeys and in 1551 four smaller towers were added to show that the city had a court. It was at that time that it gained its 68.5 meters height. In 1783 the roof-structure was changed and the small towers renovated, it was also then that the golden globe, dating from 1550, was brought down from the tower and according to tradition its content was read aloud. The tower proved to be a good spotting post. In those times the trumpeter in the tower had an important function, sounding the alert about approaching danger. If he made a mistake, he would've been thrown out from the top of the tower. From this does the towers name derive, Trumpeters tower. In this tower was ordered to be locked Vlad the Impaler, a.k.a. Dracula, by King Matyas in 1476. On the inside walls of the church one can see 14th- or 15th-century frescoes. The altar was made in 1480 in gothic style, and portrays the sufferings of Jesus. On the portrait, below the crucified Jesus' arm, a panorama of Vienna can be observed, thereby indicating  the portrait's origin. The church walls are also decorated with eastern wall carpets given to the church by Christians, some dating back to the 16th century. In the church there is the oldest brazen baptistry in Romania, made at the beginning of the 19th century. The canopy of the pulpit was made in 1679 by master Sigismund Moess. Its pipe-organ, from 1755, is appropriate for symphony concerts. While those concerts happen, the church benches are turned to face the pipe-organ.
caption: The historic city centre of Mediaș in 2006
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