Mediaş

The town of Medias is the second in size in the county of Sibiu, situated in the center of Transylvania, on the banks of Tarnava Mare River, 55km north-east of Sibiu and 35km west of Sighisoara, with a population of 55,000 inhabitants.As a guilds and fair town, a center for the arts placed at the crossroad of two important roads going through the middle of Transylvania, Mediaş was mentioned in documents in 1267 and underwent consolidation between the 15th - 17th centuries. Mediaş is one of the most expressive medieval constructions in Southern Transylvania.Built by the Saxons, Medias holds on, even today, to the fortifying belt that surrounds the center of the town, adorned with walls and guild towers.The inner citadel (intra muros – between the walls) continues to be, to this day, the administrative, cultural, political, and social center of the town, while the entire citadel is still inhabited. Medias has a well kept individuality: a medieval town with great tourist potential, a town with handcraft tradition, surrounded by several villages where a less invasive type of agriculture is practiced, a town with a patriarchal atmosphere and tradition in education. All these would be lost without the proper strategies adapted to the new specific of the town and its surrounding area. Today there is a small development of tourism that generates economical development, and the active population is especially involved in public structures that are affected by the crisis. The young generations don’t have any opportunities to pursue an education in any of the local businesses, and thus they are forced to leave town. There are no opportunities for higher education in the area.