Politics Cancels Sighisoara Medieval Festival

Politics cancels one of the most loved festivals in Romania: the Sighisoara Medieval Festival. Sighisoara is one of the medieval cities in Romania, well preserved and with a welcoming local community.

As our partner platform describes, Sighisoara was not the biggest nor the richest of the seven Saxon-walled citadels in Transylvania. Still, it has become one of the most popular. A walk through the town’s hilly streets with their original medieval architecture, magical mix of winding cobbled alleys, steep stairways, secluded squares, towers, turrets, and enchantingly preserved citadel, is like stepping back in time. The old town, with its colourful streets, dates back to 1100 when the Saxons from Germany came at the invitation of the Hungarian king. They aimed to protect the borders, so they created a city wall. It makes today’s Sighişoara one of Europe’s most beautifully preserved medieval cities.

The medieval festival in Sighisoara is among the most famous, expected by locals, tourists and international travellers. To their disappointment, political games cancelled the festival this year, as the councillors failed to approve it.

The City Mayor published a press release on the subject.

The Medieval Festival in Sighisoara could not be organized for the first time because most local councillors did not vote for this event. The entire calendar of cultural-artistic, social and educational events to be organized this year by the Municipality of Sighisoara was rejected in the vote, although they were budgeted. The draft decision regarding the events in Sighișoara was four times on the agenda of the Sighișoara Local Council, and many times it did not meet the required number of votes. It is an unprecedented situation, until now, in the municipality of Sighisoara.
The Sighisoara Medieval Festival does not belong to me or any party but to all the people of Sighisoara and even the tourists who come to Sighisoara year after year. In my view, rejecting such a project has no justification unless you want good things for the community you belong to. It was discussed that the local councillors should have more information related to the organization of the festival, given that if the Calendar of Events was approved, a strict Regulation for the Medieval Festival would follow, which was open for public consultation for 30 working days, according to the law. Then it was also to be debated and approved by the City Council, so the information and the decision were still up to them. I don’t understand who is being helped by the fact that this year we will not have events in Sighisoara.

Sighisoara City Mayor on the Sighisoara Medieval Festival being cancelled in 2023

Unfortunately, this is a sad example of how politics can ruin tourist attractions, but it’s not an exception. Elections are approaching in Romania, as 2024 is dedicated to local, general and euro parliamentary elections, which makes political parties start flexing in anticipation of future political disputes.