Attraction
Leather Merchants' Tower, Sibiu
The Leather Merchants' Tower in Sibiu (German: Ledererturm or Marienturm) is a medieval defensive structure of stone and brick, built after 1457, as part of the city's fourth fortification belt. It has a distinctive octagonal shape, on four levels, with 4-meter-thick foundations. It was maintained by the leather-workers' guild, craftsmen specialized in processing animal hides. It stands at the intersection of Zidului, Pulberăriei, and N.A. Rimski-Korsakov streets, in Sibiu's historic center.
The Leather Merchants' Tower in Sibiu, known in German as Ledererturm or Marienturm ("Tower of Mary"), is one of the defense towers that were part of the city's medieval fortification system. It was built after 1457, the year Sibiu's fourth fortification belt was raised, at the intersection of today's Zidului, Pulberăriei, and N.A. Rimski-Korsakov streets.
Archaeological research has shown that originally only a defensive wall stood on this site, with the tower added later. The wall was built on the site of a branch of the Cibin River, later turned into a marsh, drained and filled with household waste. The tower's stone foundation is extremely thick — 4 meters — and research uncovered burn marks, showing the tower was set on fire several times throughout history, as well as a lime pit dating from the period the fortifications were built.
The tower has a distinctive octagonal shape and is built on four levels, the last one projecting outward from the rest of the structure, with a pyramidal roof. Here, for the first time in Sibiu, wide embrasures for cannons were built; each side of the tower has oil ports and firing holes for light artillery, more numerous on the outer side.
The tower was maintained and defended by the leather-workers' guild — craftsmen specialized in processing animal hides — following the defense system specific to the city, in which each guild was responsible for defending a tower and a section of the enclosure wall. Sibiu's fortification system was considered among the most complex in this part of Europe, with several concentric belts of walls, towers, bastions, and defensive ditches. Sibiu was one of the seven main Saxon cities of Transylvania, and its citadel withstood several sieges, including Ottoman attacks in the 15th and 16th centuries.
The tower is reached on foot from Sibiu's historic center. It is worth visiting as a concrete example of medieval guild organization and Saxon military architecture, integrated into the city's well-preserved fortification ensemble.
Strada Turnului Sibiu judetul Sibiu