Things to see and do Odorheiu Secuiesc

Odorheiu Secuiesc doesn't boast any exceptional buildings, but it's a pleasant town where you feel at home. Signs in Hungarian can make you forget you're in Romania. Piața Primăriei (Town Hall Square, Városháza tér in Hungarian) forms, along with Piața Márton Áron, the heart of the town. They are surrounded by colorful streets and beautiful buildings, such as the Secession-style Tamási Áron High School (strada Baróti Szabó Dávid). The streets are also very pleasant, almost village-like, around the ruins of the ^16th-century citadel (strada Cetății).

The center is dotted with numerous churches for the various religious communities. These include the Reformed Church (1781), which stands between the two central squares. To the west of piața Primăriei stands a Franciscan church, Baroque in style, with a façade flanked by two towers. Dating from the 18th^century , it is the oldest religious building on the square. It is adjoined by a Franciscan monastery. The Catholic church of Sfântul Nicolae (1793) stands on the hill of the same name, just south of the town, at the entrance to an attractive wooded cemetery.

Fifteen kilometers south-west of Odorheiu Secuiesc, the small village of Dârjiu(Székelyderzs in Hungarian) is home to a beautiful fortified church, listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999. It's one of the few examples of a Saxon-style fortified church in Sicily. The complex has benefited from an extensive renovation program. Once you've collected your keys from the reverend, you'll be taken on a tour of the surrounding walls and storage areas... The bastions were long used as a larder by the villagers, who came here to stock up on meat, sausages and smoked bacon. Hence its nickname "the fortress of bacon". Every Wednesday, the enclosure was opened to allow villagers to come and stock up. Inside the Gothic church, built in the early ^15th century and remodeled in late Gothic style at the end of the ^16th century, you'll admire beautiful ^15th-century frescoes and attractive wooden furniture painted with traditional motifs on a light blue background. You'll also see a brick bearing the Sicilian runic script, dated between 1274 and 1431. Today, the church is dedicated to Unitarian (Protestant) worship.

Guided tours are offered in July and August. Every Wednesday, it's also possible to take part in the "bacon ceremony", followed by a traditional meal held inside a bastion. Call a few days in advance to make your reservation.

Since 2016, it has been housed in the superb Villa Haberstumpf, a long yellow building erected in 1900 in eclectic German style as a summer residence for members of the Haberstumpf family. It is a museum of ethnography, local history, art and natural sciences, focusing on the Odorheiu Secuiesc area, populated mainly by Sicules. A visit to the museum provides a better understanding of the peculiarities of the "Hungarians of Romania" through ancient objects, costumes and descriptions of specific traditions.