In the 13th century, the kings of Hungary invited German settlers known as Transylvanian Saxons to the area, who settled in the valley of the Târnava Mare River.
Mediaş has one of the best preserved historical centers in Romania and also some well preserved medieval fortifications. One symbol of the town is the Trumpeters tower, which is about 70 meters tall. The roof consists of coloured vitrified tiles, and four turrets were built. The tower had a guard, who would sound his bugle whenever an enemy approached.If he made a mistake, he would’ve been thrown out from the top of the tower. From this does the towers name derive, Trumpeters tower. The tower has in its South-Western corner (between the clocks) a small wooden man who rings a bell, thus announcing in advance when the clock will ring on the hour. The heavy pressure of the tower on the sandy soil is the reason why the tower is slightly tilted to the North. The tilt of the tip compared with the base is 2.32 m.
In an area of 20 km around it there are dozens of fortified churches, two of them UNESCO World heritage sites.
