25. Thalia Hall - The State Philharmonic of Sibiu
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We said that Sibiu kept up with the military technology of the time. This was also true in the 16th century, when the cannons appeared. For their use, the existing bastions, designed for small arms, were inadequate. Thus began the construction of a thick bastion, suitable for all types of artillery.
Keep walking towards the end of the Citadel Park, and you will find a gate to the right, facing the Carpenters Tower. On leaving the safety of the fortifications, you will feel the hustle and bustle of the city outside the wall, the new "enemy" from which we can pretend to be protected in the 21st century by the defense walls.
Watch for a moment the white wall of the Thick Tower. The prominent, asymmetrical windows are the former firing holes. The strategy was to repel those who were trying to breach the defensive walls. Soon, the Sibians adopted the fashion of "orecchione" type bastions from the Italians.
The yellow triangle marks the line of the former earth rampart.
Perhaps you want to go around the Thick Tower through the courtyard of the Philharmonic and the Stairs Tower, or maybe you will return to Cetății Street. The main entrance of the former thick tower reveals the contemporary identity of the building, the headquarters of the State Philharmonic of Sibiu, Thalia Hall. The inscription 1788 - 2004 indicates the years when the building morphed. In 1788, the defense bastion became the first theater in Transylvania, and in 2004, the building resumed its cultural function, highlighting elements of the defense system in its architecture.
Keep walking towards the end of the Citadel Park, and you will find a gate to the right, facing the Carpenters Tower. On leaving the safety of the fortifications, you will feel the hustle and bustle of the city outside the wall, the new "enemy" from which we can pretend to be protected in the 21st century by the defense walls.
Watch for a moment the white wall of the Thick Tower. The prominent, asymmetrical windows are the former firing holes. The strategy was to repel those who were trying to breach the defensive walls. Soon, the Sibians adopted the fashion of "orecchione" type bastions from the Italians.
The yellow triangle marks the line of the former earth rampart.
Perhaps you want to go around the Thick Tower through the courtyard of the Philharmonic and the Stairs Tower, or maybe you will return to Cetății Street. The main entrance of the former thick tower reveals the contemporary identity of the building, the headquarters of the State Philharmonic of Sibiu, Thalia Hall. The inscription 1788 - 2004 indicates the years when the building morphed. In 1788, the defense bastion became the first theater in Transylvania, and in 2004, the building resumed its cultural function, highlighting elements of the defense system in its architecture.
🤔 Did you know?
🔍 The typographer, and later city mayor, Martin Hochmeister, was the one who initiated the transformation of the defense tower into a theater. The construction lasted one year. In 1788, the first play was performed in the venue.
🔍 Thalia is the name of the muse of comedy and idyllic poetry. In ancient Greek, Thalia means "the joyful, the blooming".
🔍 Among the special events hosted by the Thalia Hall are the Sibiu Opera Festival, the Romanian-American Musical Days and the International Festival-competition of Piano Interpretation and Composition "Carl Fieltsch".
