Sibiu: the eyed houses of Saxon Transylvania

Founded by Saxon colonists in medieval times, Sibiu preserves roofs with small windows shaped like eyes that seem to watch visitors from the historic center.

The center, with its famous eye-shaped windows of Saxon Transylvania, is comfortably explored on foot.

The eye houses of Sibiu, with their small roof windows shaped like half-closed eyelids, remain the most photographed image of the Saxon historic center.

Steps away, the Liars' Bridge, according to local legend collapses under those who speak falsehood while crossing it, remains a playful symbol of the city.

Heading along you visit the Evangelical Cathedral, Gothic, with its towering bell tower over seventy-three meters high dominating the entire historic center.

Toward evening, the Great Square, the heart of the medieval city, animates restaurants and cafés among pastel-colored Saxon buildings.

Sibiu was European Capital of Culture in 2007, a recognition that spurred complete restoration of the Saxon old town after decades of neglect during Romania's communist regime.

The eye-shaped windows on Sibiu's roofs, actually simple attic ventilation openings, became folkloric symbols of the city over time, fuelling legends of mysterious surveillance that tourists love to photograph.