My fun facts from Marius

70% of Sibiuans are Romanian Orthodox, even though previous rulers have tried to introduce Protestant, Roman Catholic and Hungarian Orthodox. There are many churches here representing the different church groups. One church has all readings written in Romanian and German and Hungarian, and has mass in each language at different times of the day.
Some Romanian Orthodox churches which were very ornate had to be painted over with white when the Saxon Protestant ruler was here. They are now uncovering some of this white to reveal the beautiful paintings underneath.

The coat of arms
-the triangle with leaf at each point represents the moat/river that surrounded Sibiu as a defence.
- 2 crossed swords represents the 3 (?) knights sent over by ??? to train the peaceful Saxon farmers on how to defend themselves.
- the crown pays homage to the Hungarian king of the time.
- 7 towers represent the 7 towns/villages of Transylvania.

Sibiu was a fortified city with 3 city walls, many towers and the moat around all of it as a defence.
The guilds of the different trades each owned and maintained a tower, some of different shapes as an individual statement by that Guild.

The Saxon houses had "eyes" in the shingled/thatched roof as ventilation and also as a lookout post for that house. When a threat came all valuables and people went up to the attic. Rich people went to the church with walls built around them.Read more