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Sibiu ) is a city in Transylvania, Romania with a population of about 170,000. It straddles the river Cibin, a tributary of the river Olt.

It is the capital of Sibiu County.

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The city was founded in 1190 by German colonists settled in this area. It was probably built near a Roman settlement, who came to be known during early medieval age as Caedonia, which might have been deserted at the time of the Saxons' arrival.

In the 14th century, it was already an important trade center. In 1376 the craftsmen were divided in 19 guilds. It became the most important ethnic German city among the "seven cities" that gave Transylvania its German language name of i, the German "parliament" of Transylvania. In the 17th century, it was the easternmost city considered to be part of Western civilization (and the easternmost city that was included in the European postal routes).

During the 18th and 19th centuries the city also became one of the most important Romanian cities in Transylvania. The first Romanian bank had its headquarters here (The Albina Bank), as well as the ASTRA (The Transylvanian Association for Romanian Literature and for the Romanian's People Culture). After the division of the Romanian Church of Transylvania, the Orthodox part moved its headquarters to Sibiu, thus the city became the third most importnant city of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

After World War I, when Austria-Hungary was dissolved, Sibiu became part of Romania; still the majority of its population was ethnic German or Hungarian. After 1990 most of the city's ethnic Germans migrated to Germany. Among the roughly 2000 who remained was Klaus Johannis, who is currently mayor of Sibiu.

As of approximately 2002, Sibiu has a population of about 170,000. The ethnic breakdown is as follows:

Most of the population is of the Romanian Orthodox religion. Protestants and Roman Catholics represent 4% of the population.

Sibiu is one of the most prosperous cities of Romania, and also receives one of the highest rates of foreign investment in the country. It is an important manufacturer of automotive components (Bilstein-Compa, Takata, and SNR Roulments). Other local industries are machine components, textiles, agro-industry, and electrical components (Siemens).

It has an international airport with daily connections to Germany, Italy and Austria, most of them via Timişoara.

Tursib is the city's transport system who operates one tramway line to Răşinari, 5 trolleybus lines and about 20 bus lines. It is also an important hub for the international bus links, the biggest passenger transporter in Romania - Atlassib is based here.

The city is also a hub for the romanian railway network - CFR, with links to Braşov, Râmnicu Vâlcea, Alba Iulia and Mediaş. It has an important diesel powered locomotives depot and a freight terminal.

Sibiu will be (together with Luxembourg) the European Capital of Culture in 2007. It will be the most important cultural event that happend in the city and a great number of tourists is expected, both domestic and foreign. [1].

The city of Sibiu and its surroundings are one of the most visited areas in Romania. It is one of the best preserved historical cities in the country, many of its medieval fortifications having been preserved in excellent state. Its historic center has begun the process for becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. Also the city lies close to the Făgăraş Mountains - a very popular trekking destination, close to the Păltiniş resort - a popular winter holiday destination, and it is at the heart of the former saxon communities in Transylvania renowned for its fortified churches.

There are over 35 hotels in Sibiu, with different classifications. The most exquisite hotel is the "Împăratul Romanilor" hotel, located in the center of the old part of the city. Continental Hotels Romania owns two important hotels in town and in 2006 it will upgrade one of them and rebadge it under the Ibis name with an Accor franchise. Also at least two brand new hotels are scheduled to open by 2007.

Much of the city's development is due to its position, easily defensible, but allowing horizontal development. The old city of Sibiu lies on the right bank of the Cibin River, on a hill situated at about 200m from the river. It consists of two distinct entities: the i. Traditionally the Upper City was the rich part, which dealt with commerce, the Lower City being the manufacturing area.

) comprises the area between the river and the hill, and it developed around the first fortifications. The streets are long and quite wide for a medieval city, and small squares can be found from place to place. The architecture is quite simple: typically two-story houses with tall roofs and with a gate opening a passage to an inner court.

Most of the exterior fortifications were lost to industrial development in the late 19th century; only one or two towers still exist. A representative building for the industrial development from this period is the "Independenţa" Highschool.

This area has the oldest church in the city, dating back 1386.

) is organised around three squares and a set of streets along the line of the hill. The area was the wealthy part of the city and contains most of the points of interest.

) is, as its name suggests, the largest square of the city, and has been the center of the city since the 16th century. 142 m long and 93 m wide, it is one of the biggest squares in Transylvania.

Brukenthal Palace, one of the most important baroque monuments in Romania, lies on the north-west corner of the square. It was erected between 1777 and 1787 as the main residence for the Governor of Trasylvania Samuel von Brukenthal. It houses the main part of the National Brukenthal Museum, opened in 1817. Next to the palace is the Blue House, an 18th century baroque house bearing the old coat of arms of Sibiu on its façade.

On the north side is the Roman-Catholic Jesuit Church, along with its dependencies, the former residence of the Jesuits in Sibiu. Also on the north side, at the beginning of the 20th century an art nouveau building was constructed on the west part, now it houses the mayor's office.

Next to the Jesuit Church on the north side is the Council Tower, one of the city's symbols. This former fortification tower from the 14th century has been succesively rebuilt over the years. The building near it used to be the council's meetingplace, hence the name. Moreover, beneath the Council Tower is an access way between the Large Square and the Small Square.

On the south and east sides are two- or three-storey houses, having tall attics with small windows known as the i

As its name says, the Piaţă Mică is smaller in size, being rather longer than wide. Its north-west side has a curved shape, unlike the Large Square which has an aproximately rectangular shape. It also plays a propertionately smaller part in the city's present-day life.

The square is conected to the other two squares and to other streets by small, narrow passages. The main access from the Lower City is through "Ocnei Street", which divides the square into two. The street passes under the Liar's Bridge - the first iron cast bridge in Romania, dating from 1859.

To the right of the bridge is another symbol of the city, The House of the Arts, an arched house, formerly belonging to the Butchers' Guild. On the left side of the bridge there is the Luxemburg House, a baroque four storey house, formerly belonging to the Goldsmiths' Guild.

Huet Square is the third of the three great squares of Sibiu. Its main architectural element is the Evangelical (Lutheran) Cathedral in its center. It is the place where the first fortifications were constructed. The buildings around this square are mainly Gothic. On the west side lies the Brukenthal highschool, in the place of a former school from the 15th century.

The city of Sibiu was one of the most important fortified cities in South-Eastern Europe. Multiple fortification lines were built around the city, mainly using clay bricks as material. The south-east fortifications are the most intact, and three parallel lines can be seen. The first is an exterior earth mound, the second is a 10-meter-tall red brick wall, and the 3rd line is composed of towers linked between by another 10-meter-tall wall. Within the walls is a labyrinth of tunnels and passageways through which people could be secretly evacuated.

In the 16th century more modern elements were added to the fortifications - leaf shaped tower on the corners. One of this type of fortifications still exists - the Haller Bastion at the end of the Coposu boulevard.

The steep Passage of Stairs leads down to the lower section of Sibiu. It descends along some fortifications under the support arches. It is the most picturesque passage in Sibiu, but there are a number of other stair passages linking different the two sides of the city.

Sibiu is an important centre of higher education, with over 26,000 undergraduate students in 2004.

The "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu was founded in 1990, with five faculties: Letters, History and Law, Medicine, Food and Textile Processing Technology, Engineering and Sciences. Nowadays, it has many departments.

Also in Sibiu there is the ""Nicolae Bălcescu" Landforce Military Academy" the second most important military academy in Romania, as well as some private universities.

In Sibiu there are 20 medium education establishments, the most prestigious being:

Sibiu Online - Official Site with information about tourism, history, pictures and more. In Romanian, English and German language.Samuel von Brukenthal Foundation; about the summer residence of the Baron Samuel von Brukenthal (1721-1803) in Sibiu