The mountain shaped the city
The narrow basin prevented outward growth, keeping Brasov compact.
Daniele Napolitano — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Txllxt TxllxT — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Txllxt TxllxT — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Andrei Dan Suciu — CC BY 3.0
A cable car climbing from the edge of Brasov's old town to the summit of Mount Tâmpa directly above it, a ride of about three minutes. The mountain is what makes Brasov look the way it does: the old town is wedged into a narrow basin between Tâmpa and the surrounding hills, which is why it kept its compact form and never spread outward. From the summit that whole formation is visible — the red roofs, the Black Church and the central square in a bowl of mountains. On the summit stand the large white BRAȘOV letters in the Hollywood manner, erected in the first decade of this century. The mountain's history is heavier than its appearance: Brasov's medieval citadel stood on its summit and was destroyed in the sixteenth century. And local tradition holds that Vlad III — known as Vlad the Impaler — executed Saxon merchants of Brasov on the slopes of Tâmpa in the fifteenth century during his conflict with the city. Practical points: the cable car is ticketed, return or one way. It closes for announced maintenance periods and does not run in strong wind. The summit can also be reached on foot in about an hour on a marked path.
The narrow basin prevented outward growth, keeping Brasov compact.
Brasov's medieval citadel stood on the summit, destroyed in the sixteenth century.
The large white BRAȘOV on the slope, from this century.
Below Mount Tâmpa, Brasov
Weavers' BastionThe most complete survivor of Brașov's walls: the Weavers' Bastion at the south-5 min walk
The Beth Israel SynagogueBrașov's synagogue stands in a side lane near the Șchei Gate, and its front is a5 min walk
The Black ChurchThe largest Gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul: the Black Church has fill6 min walk
Council SquareBrașov's living room: the Council Square is a rectangle of coloured Baroque faca6 min walk
Piața SfatuluiBrașov's main square and the heart of its old town, among the widest and most co6 min walkThe marked path to the summit takes about an hour uphill, winding and shaded by forest and not technical, but steadily steep. Many take the cable car up and walk down, which is the better arrangement: a one-way ticket costs less and descending is far easier than climbing.
Vlad III ruled Wallachia in the fifteenth century and had repeated commercial and political conflicts with the Saxon towns of Transylvania including Brasov, because they backed his rivals for the throne. His campaigns in the region included mass executions, documented in contemporary German pamphlets probably with propagandist exaggeration. Those pamphlets are the basis of the reputation that later reached Bram Stoker and Dracula.
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