In the footsteps of the Germans in Brașov

On the second day of the trip, Mathilde and Jorge took a train from Bucharest through a mountainous panoramic landscape to Brașov (also known as 'Kronstadt'). First, we explored the old town with its numerous colorful houses, restaurants, churches, a medieval city wall, and other attractions. Among them is the Rope Street, also known as Sforii, the narrowest street in Europe. In the afternoon, we took the cable car to Mount Tampa. From there, we had an excellent view of the city and its surroundings.

Brașov was founded by the Teutonic Knights in the early 13th century and, for centuries, was the cultural, intellectual, religious, and economic center of the Transylvanian Saxons, alongside Sibiu. This group settled in the region from the 12th century onwards, invited by the Hungarian King, and until the 19th century, they formed the majority of the city's population. The Black Church, the Gothic parish church, was also the largest church southeast of Vienna. With many schools, the city was an important center of Transylvanian Saxon humanism. Nevertheless, until the 17th century, the region and Kronstadt were repeatedly threatened due to their location on the border of the Ottoman Empire.