The historic centre of Sighisoara is made up of the Citadel - a fortified site situated on the mound with rather steep slopes that dominates the Târnava Valley and the Low City - situated at its foot. This aspect gives to the site a very special urban configuration deriving from adapting the habitat to the forms of relief.
          The inscription nomination concerns the entire site, that is the City Mound - including the cemetery of the Mound Church, as well as the adjoining gardens with properties situated at the foot of the mound and the Low City zone that corresponds to the initial historic boundaries of the mediaeval habitat due to the Saxon population that colonised the region in the 13th century.
           The tight relationship that was established between the human habitat and the surroundings is expressed by the peculiar outline of a most picturesque view of the Târnava Mare river bank.
           During the entire history of this city, its historic centre has been the vital core of the habitat that developed around the Low City.
           Still inhabited nowadays, the historic centre of Sighisoara is the most representative mediaeval urban site of Transylvania, as, like other Romanian historic cities, the historic centre of Sighisoara has preserved almost intact the city organisation (street network, plot system) as well as the architectural worth of its constructions.
          The site is characterised by a high density of buildings considered historic monuments of high expressivity and relatively wide variety.
          The arrangement and succession of paths and urban spaces adapted to the relief create surprisingly beautiful effects.
          As most Saxons have deserted Transylvania, the historic centre of Sighisoara, the best preserved Saxon habitat of Transylvania, represents a testimony of this cultural pattern originating in Central and Eastern Europe.

           The historic centre of Sighisoara, as compared with other mediaeval cities, has an architectural design that singles it out as a heritage site of extraordinary historic and artistic worth. The slow economic development of the city, as compared with other cites, accounts for the low number of recent urban changes, which resulted in a good state of conservation of the historic centre.
          The historical evolution of the city is reflected in the structure of the street network and the texture of the ground. The 19th century additions are not out of scale and character with the mediaeval buildings of the city, with a single exception: the present city hall. In the nominated zone, the new 20th century interventions are minor, excepting the Miller's street of the Low City whose south front was entirely demolished and new constructions were erected (in the buffer zone).
          Almost all mediaeval cities of Transylvania developed in the low relief zones - plains and river valleys - which allowed the large radial pattern to take shape. The adaptation of Sighisoara to the specific configuration of the relief has led to a wide range of plans and structures of the urban spaces and of the construction designs (Hermann Oberth Square).
           Balanced proportions and the stress on the main axes define the specific city structure.
           Two patterns of urbanism confer to the city a special expressivity. Except the original urban structure (street network, plot system), in the historic centre of Sighisoara the mediaeval constructions have been preserved intact: the dwelling sites due to historical periods - 15th - 19th centuries, representative public buildings and the precinct - walls and towers.
           About ninety per cent of the fortifications have been preserved, while other mediaeval cities Transylvania - Sibiu, Brasov, Cluj - have preserved only partially the structures of the original mediaeval fortifications (Sibiu almost 30%, Brasov 45%, Cluj 15%).
           All these characteristics define the particular intrinsic worth of the historic centre of Sighisoara, which makes of this heritage site the first historic city of Romania for which the necessary studies for the Urbanism Plan of the reserved historic zone are available. It is also the only site that has intervention rules differentiated according to the characteristics of the subzones of the protection Zone of the architectural and urban heritage (ZPPAU) of Sighisoara.

           The modern interventions in the nominated zone have been reduced, which meets the authenticity requirement. The interventions concern the conception of urban structure, of the typology of the constructions that compose it, of the maintenance of the original materials and techniques - that have been preserved intact in most buildings, as well as the relationship with the surroundings developed in a tight link with the historic core.
           The clearly marked urban structure has been preserved in all its elements that define the mediaeval urban structure. Excepting the 19th century additions, the plot system has preserved the form of the mediaeval plot system. The ground pattern and the street network have remained intact. The aspects of the fronts of the urban sites is typical by the arrangement of the craftsmen's houses from the 13th-18th centuries - long narrow rows, creating a pleasant impression, and at the same time preserving the view due to the specific relief conditions.
           The high density of the monuments of architecture: the public buildings, the dwellings that make up the assemblage, as well as the fortifications conserved in a proportion of 90%, give to the area the aspect of a crystallised unique site of historic worth.
           The two Gothic churches, excepting certain changes in the vaults, have preserved the original form, and the Gothic pattern.
           The dwellings - craftsmen's houses - have preserved the planimetrical design, the original material and the initial structure: vault system, passageways. After 1950, new facilities have been introduced which entailed changes in the functions and structures of the interiors and annexes in order to meet the new housing demands. Generally, these changes are reversible.
           Due to the location of the city, a large part of the fortifications have remained intact. The various transformations resulted in the fact that of the fourteen initial towers remained only nine that were not used. Thus, the original aspect and construction materials, differentiated according to the stages, and the execution technique have been preserved.
           The changes and additions made over the centuries were made with the same materials and techniques as the original ones - plastered and painted stone or brick masonry and high tiled covers. and the traditional patterns and execution were observed. The walls bearing inclined decoration on the outside of the ground floors of many houses are characteristic only of Sighisoara, and reflect the authenticity of the construction design.
          The conservation of the authenticity of urban sites has been ensured by the use of the traditional street flooring, that is pavement or broken stone, with a ditch in the middle.
          The intervention rules stipulate that interventions in the area should be minimal, for instance, drainage works and functional rehabilitation, and that the authenticity of the aspect should be maintained.

           The historic centre of Sighisoara has been proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List considering that it meets the conditions II, III, IV, V, item 24 of "Guidelines".
           Criterion II. The old city of Sighisoara is a landmark of the German civilisation of the Saxon colonists of Transylvania. It is expressed by a building pattern that had a considerable influence during the Middle Ages upon the subsequent development of Transylvanian cities, upon the type of urban habitat, and on the traditional architecture.
           Criterion III. The artistic worth and architectural pattern of the site are outstanding.