Situated between the Oriental, Occidental and Meridian Carpathians, Transylvania is a historic province where the nucleus of the Romanian people was formed. It is the place where the centre of the Dacian state used to be, with Sarmizegetusa as capital, and also where the Romans formed Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa Regia, the administrative centre of the occupied regions, at the beginning of the 2nd century, as a result of bloody wars against the Dacians.
The Dacian and Roman towns, real open air museums, shelter mysterious sanctuaries, temple walls and worship objects.
Alba Iulia is the town where the union of Transylvania and the rest of the country was realised, at the 1st of December 1918. Here one can visit Catedrala Unirii (The Union Cathedral) - where king Ferdinand and queen Maria were crowned, and Catedrala Romano-Catolica (The Roman Catholic Cathedral), right in the neighbourhood, where Iancu de Hunedoara (father of Matei Corvinul, king of Hungary) and his mother, Isabella are buried.
In Cluj Napoca - an important universitary centre - there is a wonderful Orthodox Church, where one can admire a monument dedicated to our national hero, Avram Iancu. In the vicinity, Biserica Reformata (The Protestant Church), which shelters one of the most valuable organs in Europe, is flanked by one of the oldest renascence statues: St. Gheorghe killing the dragon.
In the centre of Cluj, you can also admire the gothic construction of the church Sf. Mihai, interesting because of its coloured windows.
Sibiu - a city pertaining to the chain of medieval establishments together with Brasov, Sighisoara, Bistrita and Medias -is famous for its churches Bunavestire and Sfintii Apostoli (with a cemetery where important representatives of the Romanian culture are buried) and for the monumental construction of Mitropolia Ortodoxa (Orthodox Metropoly), but also for Biserica Evanghelica (The Evangelic Church), representative for the Transylvanian gothic style. One can admire here Biserica Reformata (The Protestant Church), Biserica Catolica (The Catholic Church), representative for the baroque style, or Biserica Ursuline (The Church Ursuline) which used to be part of a Dominican monastery.
Not far away from this place, in the village of Rasinari, where the philosopher Emil Cioran was born, the traveller can visit the church Sf. Paraschiva.
Brasov is also known as the Romanian Salzburg due to its picturesque positioning at the foot of the hill Tâmpa. Biserica Neagra (The Black Church), placed in the centre, is a symbol for this town, with its thick walls and its organ with 4000 pipes and 76 pedals. Another symbol is situated in the romantic district of Schei and is represented by the church Sf. Nicolae, with its white towers, the place where the first school in Romanian was founded.
The trip in Transylvania continues with towns like Oradea, Bistrita, Baia Mare, Satu Mare, Arad or Timisoara, where the architectural monuments illustrate each region, according to the style and the centuries they hide and express the thousand faces of the remote corner of the world which is our country.
The rural parts of the region offer the sight of beautiful churches such as Sântamaria - Orlea (near Hateg), a building from the 13 century. Its style resembles the Burgundy Gothic and it is impressive for the four coatings which illustrate just as many epochs. The church in Densus (13 km away from Hateg), also dating from the XIII century is interesting in point of structure and appearance. Its building material is the same with the ancient one from the Roman fortress Ulpia Traiana Augusta Sarmizegetusa.

The fortified churches.
  In the old times the Romanian territory was always attacked by invaders. The Saxons (a German ethnical group colonised on Romanian territory during the 12 century) had already built strong churches in their villages and had understood that their best refuge was inside those walls, which could shelter the entire population of the village. Thus, the churches were surrounded with thick fortress-like walls and deep fosses filled with water. The entry was guarded day and night from a tower, where a man was always ready to give the alarm. When they were under attack, they began to fire their harquebuses and to throw melted tar, boiled water and rocks.
The fortified churches in Transylvania represent one of the most original touristic circuits for those who wish to get to know the adventures of the past.
Rosia, Biertan, Valea Viilor, Cisnadioara, Cristian, Brad, Seica Mare, Slimnic, Cisnadie are some of the fortified churches which can be seen around Sibiu. The itinerary is rich halting places such as Boz, Câlnic, Pianu de Sus or Prejmer, Fagaras, Homorod, Râsnov, Rupea, Harman around Brasov.