Croatia→Transylvania Vampire Diary
Hey, have you seen the rural videos of Transylvania, Romania, the vampire town circulating on the Internet? The muddy dirt road, the worn-out toilets, the old farmers squatting and smoking, it's just like our rural areas decades ago. Where is the promised European town like the green leaf fairy tale? The remote and mysterious Transylvania region occupies nearly half of Romania's territory. In Latin, it means a place farther than the forest. If you want to feel how vast it is, the key is whether you can find the right place. In the Middle Ages, the Saxons from Germany built exquisite mountain cities here. The name of Transylvania in German, cn burin, means seven towns, and Sibiu, which was once elected as the European Capital of Culture, is the most famous of these seven towns. As one of the most important and oldest cities in Transylvania, Sibiu is particularly meaningful. Romania's first school, first library, first bank, and first pharmacy were all born here. The main city is divided into upper and lower districts according to the terrain. It is said that at its most glorious time, the ancient city wall surrounding the city once had four city gates, five artillery towers, and 39 towers. The upper city is mainly composed of the large square, the small square, and the Xiu Te square. Since the 15th century, the famous large square has been the core of the city, and the surrounding buildings are magnificent. The Baroque city's Brukenthal Palace used to be the official residence of the capital of Transylvania, and today it has become a museum. The 73-meter-high Council Tower has been a city landmark since it was built in 1588. It was used to store grain and water in case of fire. Passing through the Council Tower and the small square, you can come to the front of the Evangelical Cathedral in Xiu Te Square with five spires. This magnificent Gothic cathedral took more than 200 years to complete. The Passion of Christ mural in the church is very famous. The huge pipe organ is the king of Romanian pipe organs, with a total of 6002 causal pipe organs. Behind it, you can find the tomb of Prince Mihna who was murdered in front of the church in 1510. This prince, nicknamed the Bad Guy, is the son of Count Dracula, the prototype of the vampire. In the clearly divided Sibiu, the upper city is mainly a commercial area and the mansions of the rich, while the lower city is full of cobblestone old streets and colorful houses of the common people. Connecting the upper and lower cities is the famous Bridge of Lies next to the small square. The Bridge of Lies, built in 1859, is the first iron bridge in Romania. The reason for this interesting name is said to be because a girl was deceived by a scumbag and committed suicide by jumping into the river from the bridge. Over time, a saying has been circulated locally that if a couple stands on the bridge and lies to each other, the iron bridge will collapse. Another saying is that as the busiest place in the city, the crowd on the Bridge of Lies is either swearing to be together forever, but will break up in a blink of an eye, or cunning merchants who make profits by deceiving customers. Anyway, everyone has nothing to say. But since the curse that the bridge will collapse when lying, the merchants have become honest, and gradually, the merchants in Sibiu have also become known for their integrity. Although they all sound like unreliable legends, Sibiu is indeed a city that is particularly sensitive to lies. Standing on the Bridge of Lies and looking around, it is not difficult to find the largest architectural feature in the old city, the Eye of Sibiu. These eyes are actually skylights built by local people on the roof with tiles to dry food in the past, but because of their unique shape, they are slowly depicted as being specifically used to monitor liars and can peek into their inner secrets. So if you have a ghost in your heart, it's better to detour and don't come to Qibing House, otherwise you will always have to bear the pain of being monitored, who can bear it.