One main landmark of Sibiu is the Council Tower.
The tower is located right between the Great Square and the Little Square
and the passage between those two is made under the tower, for people and cars also.
Its name is related to the next building, which was the first Town Hall of the city,
and it was used as entrance gate to the second row of fortified walls built around Sibiu.
The structure dates from the 13th century,
although you won't see much evidence of that fact and the tower no longer has its original shape.
Only the part up to the first floor dates from that early tower.
The rest of the tower collapsed in 1545,
was gradually rebuilt and was renovated and reconstructed again during the 1700s.
It wasn't until 1826 that the very top floor was built, and the bulb added to the pyramidal roof (itself only dating from the 1700s).
Throughout the centuries, the Council Tower served as a grain storehouse,
a fire watchtower, a temporary prison and even as a museum of natural sciences.
On the top floor, an observation deck allows a bird's-eye view of the historic town and the Fagaras Mountains beyond.
No comments:
Post a Comment