They say that history is the bridge between past and future. Hence why Casa Breslelor from Sighisoara is the right place to travel in time for hundreds of years ago without even stepping away from the present. Are you ready for a proper journey in time?

As soon as we finished exploring Cetatea Sighișoara (Sighișoara Fortress) just from simply following the way down the alley, we got in front of a place where we couldn't really figure out what it hides from the small informative panel left outside which was only telling the name of the building located so close to us.
Back at that day, we only looked curiously to the door and turned our back thinking that it's time to have a break from exploring Sighisoara and let a few more places to be discovered on the next day which was also the day when we had the train ride back to home.
So we decided to only take one picture to remember that we have to check out at least one more thing before leaving, and then we went back to our guesthouse where we ate and spend the rest of the evening watching TV.
We were already pretty exhausted from the full day we had exploring tens of places in Sighisoara, so the night passed pretty fast.

As soon as we enjoyed the breakfast at the guesthouse and got ready our backpacks for the way back home, we walked one more time in the center of Transylvania's most charming city with the purpose of visiting Casa Breslelor first and then see what else we can find to explore before the hour when we had our train tickets bought was knocking in.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

Since most of the time we were stuck with the eyes on the little display of our phones where the Google Maps was opened to get directions on the things we wanted to visit, we haven't really took too many landmarks so we sort of figured out that we could save a lot of time by simply following the little streets where most of them could led us to the place where we spent the weekend, but it was a good lesson that perhaps we should spend less time with the phones and actually look around for a proper experience exploring a new city. 😅

As soon as we entered the building, we were welcomed by a lady wearing a traditional costume and a few more objects placed here and there which sort of introduced us to what we are going to see next, but before proceeding further, we had to pay a tax of 16 RON / 3.23 EUR each of us in order to have access to the whole exhibition.
For the students and children older than 6 years old, as well as for retirees there is applied a small discount and the price for a visiting ticket is of 10 RON / 2.02 EUR.
Before entering the house, I've seen quite a few people who were stopping by and then walking away when they saw the prices, which are indeed, quite big for Romania and this kind of sightseeing attraction, but I will be 100% honest with you and promise that it's perhaps the most well-spent money in Sighisoara from all the things you can see around at this price, because even though it's a pretty small house, every single part of it is nicely arranged and used so you get to walk through hundreds of objects that are part of the past and so important to find out a little bit more about.

To break the ice and make everything more clear if you haven't figured it out already, Casa Breslelor is an exhibition that shelters tools, equipment and machinery used over 100 years ago by craftsmen from Sighisoara and its surroundings, counting no less than 1500 pieces where each of them is telling a different story to the tourists who are crossing the threshold of the house.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

When we visited Casa Breslelor back in November, the access was quite limited due to the pandemic situation, but one thing that I really appreciated is that there are all kind of arrows on the ground which are directing you on the way you should follow because you won't return on the same path you followed when you first entered the building and actually get on a different exit. So there is no risk with this purpose and it also helps on having a more pleasant experience because otherwise there would be lots of people stopping here and there and it wouldn't be that comfortable to always run into another person while exploring new things.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

I don't know how much time we spent there because my sister didn't join on this one so she was waiting outside and we didn't want to make her wait us for too long, but I'd suggest to spend around 1 hour at Casa Breslelor for a proper experience and to fully take note on everything you are seeing around you. In my opinion, these are the most precious things a country can have because everyone is interested in meeting new cultures and how else to do it if not in genuine places that are part of history themselves? 😊

Anyway, one thing to keep in mind is that Transylvania and especially Sighisoara, was mostly populated by Saxons because they played a major role on some of the historical buildings that wouldn't exist today if Saxons wouldn't get involved in creating them and making Transylvania a better place, so most of the costumes and traditional things you will see in the exhibitions belonged to the Saxons and not Romanians.
All the guilds from the ancient times of Sighisoara were of Saxons and they built the towers around the walls of the fortress between the 14-16th centuries to defend the settlement from the Turkish invasions that were (unfortunately) almost a habit back then.
So even if we are talking about different nations, this is no less important and it actually represents the way you could have a proper experience about the history and past of Romania.
Though, you won't only find Saxons pieces in the exhibition because we can talk about weapons, objects used in commerce, agriculture and a lot more that were used by everyone from Transylvania a while ago, no matter if they were Saxons, Hungarians or Romanians.

I won't lie saying that all of them were unknown for I and my boyfriend because we were born before the 2000 and some of these we've seen being used by our grandparents, but there were also a lot of things that we wouldn't figure out what they were if we wouldn't read the informative panels which are also so important to pay attention to.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

Alright, alright, though, you might ask yourself what does have all of this to do with the guilds. The answer is that around the 15th century there were more than 19 different guilds on these lands who were considered some of the most valuable guilds from southeastern Europe, and a big part of the exposed pieces belonged to these, also being created by them.

Actually, every single guild had a representative name that was saying what it's mainly focusing on, such as: butchers, bakers, tailors, dressmakers, tanners, shoemakers & leather makers, potters, carpenters, archers, blacksmith (which also included spinners, swordsmen, locksmiths, needle and belt makers), furriers, wool and canvas weavers, glove, mantel, rope and knives makers.
That's why I'd rather call Casa Breslelor a museum in miniature than an exhibition because every single guild has its own allocated place to see their work and genuine parts of history.
But even though it seems like the guilds were friends with each other, they did merge their powers to protect Sighisoara but there was also some sort of competition between them because only the most powerful guilds could be rewarded with a tower that will become theirs and have the chance to join the politics later on.
Actually, every single guild had its own logo which could be recognized by the others and respect their territory and field of activity. Some of these symbols can also be seen at the museum and on some of the pieces exposed.

And for a little bonus to the whole experience, some of the parts from the museum have specific sounds that are being played to feel closer to those times, such as the sound made by a blacksmith when creating a sword or by the shoemakers when they were sewing the leather on the boots.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

If you are a fan of the posts from Transylvania or especially about the history from this part of Romania, you will notice that every single historical building or monument still have this kind of chests made of wood or iron.

If we are making reference to the citadels and fortified/medieval churches, the purpose of the chests was to be filled with food supplies so in case of any invasion the locals could get to the closest church/fortress and stay safe there until the war would come to an end. They could feed with the food supplies from these chests which were keeping them cold even in the middle of the summer.

Anyway, if we are talking about the chests used by the guilds, it's a completely different story because the first thing a guild would purchase is a chest where there have been kept the diploma of that guild, important contracts and documents, but also the association's funds. It's what we can call these days a safe box.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

Opening hours for visiting The Guild House:

• Monday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM ;
• Tuesday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM ;
• Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM ;
• Thursday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM ;
• Friday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM ;
• Saturday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM ;
• Sunday: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM .

There is no extra cost for either taking pictures or videos with The Guild House from Sighisoara.

I've put so much accent on all these aspects because after so long since I graduated the school, I came to the conclusion that the history we learn during our studying years has nothing to do with the real past of a country. I'm not sure if it's the same everywhere, but at least in Romania, we often learn about the people who led the country, the wars and invasions we had, and how some of the leaders were killed, which, to be honest, it doesn't really help you understand in detail the past of your home country since you are missing a lot of details.

Click on the images to see them in full resolution

That's why I like to get to historical locations once in a while and add a little bit more knowledge on my backpack and understand better how things used to be a while ago. In the end, we all travel for the sake of learning something new about the world where we are living, not to confirm what we thought we know. 😉

In order to reach Sighisoara, the easiest and fastest way is to follow the European road E60, but you can also reach it from almost any part of the country by taking a train ticket as we also did.

The full address of Casa Breslelor is Strada Turnului 1, Sighișoara 545400 and it can found in the center of the city, right before you enter or exit the fortress. (depending on the direction you are coming from)

SEE YOU IN THE NEXT TRIP! 🗾

All rights reserved.

FIND ME ON:
↪ Blog: http://gabrielastravels.wordpress.com/
↪ Fiverr: https://www.fiverr.com/gabrielatv/
↪ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gabiivdesign
↪ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/GabrielaTravels/
↪ TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@gabrielastravels/
↪ Discord: GabrielaTravels#0104
↪ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabrielaistraveling/
↪ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GabrielaTravels
↪ PayPal/Contact: gabriela.valceanu19@gmail.com