Part of the Church on the Hill in Sighisoara is this cemetery. June 10, 2016

The Romanian National Opera, Cluj-Napoca (Romanian: Opera Naţională Română din Cluj-Napoca) is one of the national opera and ballet companies of Romania. The Opera shares the same building with the National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca. June 20, 2016

The Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral (Romanian: Catedrala Adormirea Maicii Domnului) is the most famous Romanian Orthodox church of Cluj-Napoca, Romania.The cathedral was built between 1921 and 1933, in Romanian and Byzantine style. June 10, 2016

Piaţa Unirii (Romanian for Union Square) is the largest and most important squares in the Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca. The square is one of the largest in Romania, with dimensions of 220 m by 160 m. The central district of the city spreads out from this square. The St. Michael’s Church, with the highest church tower in Romania (80m), is the second largest Gothic-style church in Romania. The church was constructed in two phases. The first from 1316 to 1390 and the second from 1410 to 1487. Also, the statue of King of Hungary Matthias Corvinus is located here. June 20, 2016

A square in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. June 10, 2016

Between the Citadel Square and the Clock Tower in Sighisoara, Romania, is this yellow building…the Vlad Dracul House…now a restaurant. It’s said to be the place where Vlad the Impaler, the historical character who inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is supposed to have been born here in 14431. June 10, 2016

The clock tower in Sighisoara, Romania. Although a quaint town with structures 300 years old, it’s claim to fame is that Vlad III the Impaler, who supposedly inspired the fictional Count Dracula tales, was born in Sighisoara. June 10, 2016

Between the Citadel Square and the Clock Tower in Sighisoara, Romania, is this yellow building…the Vlad Dracul House….now restaurant. It’s said to be the place where Vlad the Impaler, the historical character who inspired the Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is supposed to have been born, in 1431. June 10, 2016

The big carved rock on top of this stoned pillar in Sighisoara, Romania, is of Vlad the Impaler, the historical character who inspired the Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is supposed to have been born, in 1431. June 10, 2016

A Main Street in Sighisoara, Romania, where most of the 164 houses in the city are at least 300 years old and are considered historical monuments. June 10, 2016

It’s called the Scholars’ Stairs in Sighisoara. Located at the end of School Street and connecting the Citadel Square with
the Church on the Hill, the Scholars’ Stairs, or Schoolboys’ Stairs, as it was also known, makes for an interesting piece of medieval architecture.

Built in 1642, the covered stair-passage was meant to facilitate and protect schoolchildren and churchgoers on their climb to the school and church during wintertime. Originally, the stairs had 300 steps, but after 1849, their number was reduced to 175. And, yes, I walked up and down the 175 stairs. June 10, 2016

The square in Sighisoara, Romania, including the Clock Tower, where most of the 164 houses are at least 300 years old and are considered historical monuments. June 10, 2016

Part of the Church on the Hill in Sighisoara is this cemetery. June 10, 2016

To the north of the Clock Tower stands one of the most representative gothic-style structures in Transylvania, the Church on the Hill – so called because of its location on the School Hill (1,373 ft high). First mentioned in a document in 1345 and superposed on a former Roman basilica, its construction lasted almost 200 years.

Initially a Catholic church, it became the main church of the Saxon inhabitants of Sighisoara, who had shifted from Roman Catholicism to Lutheranism after the 1547 Reform. June 10, 2016