German colonists and Teutonic Knights founded the city in the thirteenth century, and ancient chronicles recorded it under names like Kronstadt and Stephanopolis. The historic core developed at the crossroads of trade routes linking Wallachia, Bukovina, and Transylvania, which is why its centuries-old Gothic quarters and Renaissance buildings remain remarkably well-preserved.
The city's crowning landmark is the Black Church, built between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This monumental Gothic structure features a 65-meter tower, an organ with 4,000 pipes, and a bell weighing over six tons. The cathedral earned its name after a massive fire blackened its exterior walls.
At the heart of the city lies Council Square, featuring a historic fountain and the fifteenth-century Council House, which now houses a history museum. Towering over the square is the 48-meter Clock Tower. Visitors should also make time to see the stone Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas, the thirteenth-century Church of Saint Bartholomew, the White and Black Towers, the Weavers' Bastion, and the historic Catherine's Gate.