The citadel of

Sighișoara and its

Clock Tower
Dumitru Karina
The Clock Tower in Sighisoara is one of the most famous sights in Transylvania
and has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
 A short history of the Clock
Tower

The Clock Tower of Sighișoara is the city’s symbol and its main tourist
attraction. It was built in the 14th century as a gate tower to guard the
entrance into the citadel. At first, it only consisted of the ground floor and two
floors. In the 16th century two floors were added, a balcony and a roof
 The Clock

The most impressive feature of the tower is the clock, hence its name - The
Clock Tower, built in Switzerland and installed in 1648. There are two clock
faces. One on the facade, facing the lower city, is decorated with the wooden
figurines about 0,80 meters in height, made by the sculptor Johann Kirschel.
There are seven of them in total, each representing a day of a week. Every day
the clock's mechanism rotates one of the figurines on the outside. The other
facade, facing the citadel, also has a clock face and is decorated with the
figurines symbolizing the Peace Goddess, Justice and Righteousness and Day
and Night.
 The legend of the Clock
Tower

It is said that, after a lot of hard work completing the tower, the townspeople
felt that their building was missing something. They concluded that they need
to put something valuable on top of the roof. They have heard of a giant who
was said to make golden scopes , so they sent for him. The giant made the
scope for the townspeople and placed it at the top of the roof, but then he
warned them that the scope would stay there only until a man tall enough to
reach it will come and take it away. When that day comes, the townspeople will
have to give the scope to this man and let him leave the town. Even today the
people who live in Sighișoara, are still afraid that one day someone will come
and touch the scope, and that they will have to give it to him.
Photos