The White and Black Towers

The White Tower (Turnul Alb)

The Black Tower (Turnal Negru)

Sitting beside the Council Square (Piața Sfatului) in Brasov are two striking towers of the like you'd never see in the States. The White and Black Towers are remnants of Transylvia's war-torn past.

The Bastonial Graft

This history in this area is fascinating. I don't have time to go into all of it now (and don't want to bore you with hundreds of years of history), but the Transylvanian Saxons built the towers in the late 15th century as part of defensive fortifications against invading Turks and Tartars.

The towers are located on Warthe Hill on the northern side of the city, just above the Bastionul Graft. The hill is steep, but well worth the climb. From the top, you can see much of Brasov's old city. (See my pictures of the Black Church from the White and Black Towers in this post.) The semicircular White Tower is 59 feet (20 meters) tall and contains five wooden levels. When the tower was still in use, the Saxons would climb a ladder to enter the tower and then throw rocks at enemies through battlements and offsets with slotted windows. The offsets are still present today.

The Black Tower from behind

Interestingly, the Black Tower isn't black at all. Like the Black Church, the Black Tower got its name due to fire — it received its name after it was struck by lightning on July 23, 1559. Inside are four wooden levels.

View of Brasov's old city from the Black Tower

As I mentioned previously, one of my favorite things about my stay in Brasov is that I was able to visit these places multiple times. Here are a few pictures of the White Tower, and of the city, at night.

View of front of the White Tower

Council Square (Piața Sfatului) from the Black Tower

Night view of Brasov from the hill above the White and Black Towers

If I haven't convinced you that you need to visit Brasov yet, you must be crazy! (Kidding.) More photos and posts to come, though. I hope you're all having a fabulous week!