The most impressive monument in Sibiu is the towering Evangelical Church. Built between 1300 and 1520 on the place of an earlier Roman basilica, home to the largest organ in Romania and an exquisite fresco of Johannes Rosenau (1445), the Evangelical Church in Sibiu stands out from a great distance with its cheerful coloured roof.
The tower, 73 m high, is not the tallest church tower in Transylvania. Legend says that in their desire to have the tallest tower in Transylvania, the builders sent two spies to Bistrita, where the church already had the tallest tower. The mission of the spies was to climb the church tower in Bistrita, measure it and then return to Sibiu with the measurements. All said and done, mission accomplished, and the two spies stopped to spend the night in an inn in Bistrita, where under the influence of Bacchus, they let the secret out. The locals waited for them to fall asleep and then cut two metres out of the thread the two spies had used to measure the church. This is why the tower in Sibiu is now two metres shorter than the one in Bistrita.
The most distinctive architectural elements of this impressive Gothic church are the four pointed little towers (a sign that warned visitors in the past that the town had ius gladii, judicial authority, i.e. right to administer capital punishment) and the beautiful coloured shingles, typical of Saxon fortified cities and churches of southern Transylvania.
Cel mai impresionant monument din Sibiu este inalta Biserica Evanghelica. Construita intre 1300 si 1520, pe locul unei vechi basilica romane, adapostind cea mai mare orga din Romania si o minunata fresca de Johannes Rosenau (1445), Biserica Evanghelica din Sibiu iese in evidenta de la distanta prin acoperisul colorat in culori vesele.
Turnul, inalt de 73 de metri, nu este cel mai inalt turn din Transilvania. O legenda locala spune povestea constructorilor care vroiau atat de mult sa construiasca cea mai inalta biserica din Transilvania incat au trimis doi spioni la Bistrita, unde se afla cel mai turn de biserica, cu misiunea de a il masura si de a se intoarce la Sibiu cu masuratorile exacte. Cu misiunea indeplinita, cei doi spioni s-au oprit sa innopteze la un han din Bistita, unde sub influenta lui Bachus, au destainuit secretul misiunii lor. Dupa ce au adormit, localnicii au taiat doi metri din sfoara pe care cei doi o folosisera la masuratori, de aceea biserica din Sibiu este azi cu doi metri mai mica decat cea din Bistrita.
Elementele de arhitectura distinctive ale aceste biserici gotice sunt cele patru turnulete in jurul turnului mare (semn care ii avertiza pe calatori in Evul Mediu ca orasul avea ius gladii, autonomie judiciala si dreptul de a administra pedeapsa capitala) si frumoasele tigle colorate, caracteristice pentru orasele si bisericile fortificate sasesti din sudul Transilvaniei.