The best city hikes and walks in Piatra Mare

The heart of Brașov is the Old Town (Cetatea), which is surrounded by a completely preserved city wall with eight towers and seven bastions. The narrow alleys, cobblestone streets, and colorful houses from the 16th to 18th centuries give the city a fairytale charm. Particularly worth seeing is the Great Square (Piața Sfatului), the central square of the city, which is lined with patrician burgher houses and the Old Town Hall. The famous Christmas market, one of the most beautiful in Eastern Europe, also takes place here.

Piața Sfatului (German: Marktplatz or Ratplatz) in Brașov is the vibrant heart of the city and one of Romania's most beautiful and historic squares. Nestled between colorful burgher houses, the Black Church, and the Old Town Hall, it has been the heart of Brașov since the Middle Ages – a place of trade, festivals, and social life. Today, it is a meeting point for locals and tourists, captivating with its historical atmosphere, lively cafés, and cultural events. Piața Sfatului originated in the 14th century and quickly developed into the most important trading center of Transylvania. Saxon merchants, Hungarian traders, and Romanian farmers met here to exchange goods such as wool, leather, salt, and spices. The square was not only an economic center but also a place of power: the city council (Sfatul) met here, deciding the fate of the city, and laws were proclaimed and judgments were passed here.

The Johann Kessler Fountain on the Town Hall Square in the heart of Brașov impresses with its intricate details, reflecting the craftsmanship of its time. Equipped with eight drinking water dispensers, the fountain is dedicated to the Transylvanian writer Johann Samuel Keßler (1771 to 1796).

The Black Tower is one of the four watchtowers of the Brașov Citadel, built as an independent fortress outside the citadel walls. The tower, a good eleven meters high, stands not far from the Blacksmiths' Bastion on a rock on the Warta Hill. Its walls are two meters thick at the base and have six loopholes on each side. In the past, the tower was connected to the citadel by a movable bridge leading down to the Blacksmiths' Bastion (Graft Bastion). The tower was built in the 15th century, at the same time as the White Tower. Its first documented mention dates back to 1541. The original roof is no longer preserved, having been destroyed by lightning in 1559 and by fire in 1689. The fire blackened the walls of the tower, giving it its current name. It was destroyed again by lightning in 1696, but was rebuilt.

Next to the Black Church stands the statue of Johannes Honterus, a work by the Berlin sculptor Haro Magnussen, which was unveiled on August 21, 1898. The bronze bas-reliefs on the pedestal depict the humanist in his printing shop, where the first prints were made in 1539, and administering communion to a sick person. Born in 1498, Honterus was a Transylvanian-Saxon humanist scholar, religious reformer, and founder of the Saxon Gymnasium in Kronstadt. He died in 1549.

The Old Town Hall, located on Town Hall Square in the historic center, is Brașov's most important secular monument. The town hall was originally a watchtower, the foundations of which lay on those of the present tower. The adjacent building was constructed later, with construction work beginning on December 23, 1420. The Turkish invasion of 1421 and the resulting destruction, as well as the arrest of the city judge, delayed construction. The building was only later converted into the town hall. It was first mentioned in 1503, when it appears as the "Praetorium," the seat of the city administration. From 1950 onward, the Old Town Hall housed the Brașov State Museum, which later became the Brașov County History Museum.

The large fountain on the town hall square offers welcome refreshment in the summer.

The rectory of the Black Church, built from 1383 onward, was completed in 1477. The historic building is closely connected to the Protestant congregation and the Black Church itself. Located in the immediate vicinity of the church, it is an integral part of the ensemble that defines the townscape.