The colourful town of Rasinari is just 12 kilometres south of Sibiu, and well worth the excursion. Its streets are lined with colourfully painted Saxon-style houses, and the town is home to two outstanding churches. The Biserica Sfanta Treime (Holy Trinity Church) was built from 1801-1815 with funds from a local man who donated his entire fortune for the church’s construction. Richly decorated inside the frescoes were painted in the 1960s by Nicolae Stoica. Andrei Saguna, founder of the ASTRA movement, is buried in a mausoleum in the church’s cemetery.

The most spectacular - and oldest - of Rasinari’s churches however is the Biserica Cuvioasa Paraschiva, originally built in the late 1300s but reconstructed from 1725-58. It is distinguished by its colourful and exquisite external frescoes, matched only by the equally stunning interior paintings. The church is one of very few in Transylvania to be built in Byzantine-style. It’s a must-see.