Sibiu

Sibiu is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of about 155,000. It is the capital of Sibiu County.

Sibiu was designated European Capital of Culture for the year 2007 together with Luxembourg.

Geography and climate

Numerous street signs in Sibiu are bilingual (Romanian and German)

Sibiu is situated near the geographical center of Romania. Set in the Cibin Depression, the city is about 20 km from the Fagaras Mountains, 12 km from the Cibin Mountains, and about 15 km from the Lotrului Mountains, which border the depression in its southwestern section. The northern and eastern limits of Sibiu are formed by the Tarnavelor Plateau, which descends to the Cibin Valley through Gusteritei Hill.

The Cibin river and some roads of national and international interest run through Sibiu, which is also an important city for the railway transportation, as the meeting point of east-west and north-south routes.

Sibiu's climate is temperate-continental with average temperatures of 8 to 9? C. The multi-annual average of rainfall is 662 l/mp, and there are about 120 days of hard frost annually.

History

The city was founded in 1190 by German settlers. It was probably built near a Roman settlement, one that would be known during the early Middle Ages as Caedonia.

In the 14th century, it was already an important trade center.