Geography
Sibiu is located in the Southern part of the Transylvania Plateau, 270 km from Bucharest, at an altitude of 420 metres. It has more than 170,000 inhabitants, mostly ethnic Romanians. Its annual average temperature is 8.9 degrees Celsius, and it has an area of 5.4 square km.

History
Archaeological excavations revealed evidence of Neolithic settlements, but the town's first mention in literature was made in the 12th century, under the name "Cibinum". Sometime later, it was colonized by Saxons who named the town "Villa Hermanni", then "Hermannsdrof" and finally in 1366, "Hermannstadt". In 1918, the Romanian population renamed the city "Sibiu".
In the 14th century the Saxon town of Sibiu was a flourishing trade center. Documents of the year 1376 mentioned the existence of 19 guilds whose members practised 25 crafts. Because of the threat of Turkish invasions at the end of the 14th century, the inhabitants of Sibiu decided to fortify their town by building a powerful fortress. The citadel successfully resisted against Turkish invasions in 1432, 1438 and 1442. Subsequent additions extended the citadel to 40 defense towers.
Sibiu has played an important role in the cultural life of Romania, and it is certified as the first Romanian town with a school (1380). Also, Sibiu was a leader in many other domains such as health systems (with the first Romanian hospital and first Romanian pharmacy) and economics (with the first paper mill and first iron bridge in Romania). Also, Sibiu was the second town in Romania to have electric trams.
At the end of the 18th century, Samuel Brukenthal, the governor of Transylvania,started to gather a large collection of paintings, objects of antiquity, and rare books, founding in 1817 the country's first museum.
The citadel of Sibiu, being one of the most beautiful and oldest town in Romania, should be visited by any tourist.

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