Brasov-Romania

Brasov in Central Romania is some 160 kilometres north of the capital Bucharest. Although it does not have an airport we elected to fly to Sibiu to the east and catch the train to Brasov, a popular stepping off point for the Transylvania region and Dracula’s Castle. Brasov is a city of some quarter of a million people, mostly Romanian’s with a large Hungarian population. During the communist area between 1950 to 1960 Brasov was called Orasul Stalin or Stalin City and although communism has long past there still remains a ‘communist ‘ feel the place with few people smiling and not what one might call a service oriented focus although there were many exceptions. It was an interesting medieval town architecturally with an interesting main square, a dark and sombre cathedral known correctly as the Black Church, and some interesting Jewish remnants such as beautiful Synagogue and some fairly average restaurants.

The town has a small mountain at its rear and a chair lift to the top which was popular but not worth the effort. The town is ringed by a wall in various stages of decline and the streets were an interesting place to walk. The city seemed safe and there were no issues.

There were hotels around the city in the newer areas although we selected a charming small B & B called Villa Katharina, Strada Poarta Schei 20, which provided great accommodation in elegant surroundings with excellent service and a smile. Rather than visit Dracula’s Castle we elected to go to a walled church, of which there were many outside of Brasov. The local bus system that took us there was interesting which will be covered in a separate post. If travelling by train from Sibiu select first class but do not expect luxury or high speed. To select possible accommodation in Brasov use this link

The Central Square in Brasov