Exploring The Făgăraș Citadel

I see it is called citadel but I like to call it castle, so let the title say citadel as it reflects the true meaning of the place I'm going to write about today.

It is called Făgăraș Citadel and it's the main attraction of the city and region as well, visited by hundreds, thousands each month.

Făgăraș Citadel (Romanian: Cetatea Făgărașului, Hungarian: Fogarasi vár, German: Fogarascher Burg) is a historic monument in Făgăraș, Brașov County, Romania.
The construction of the fortress started in 1310, on the site of a wooden fortification with earth ramparts from the 12th century. Archeological research shows that the old fortification was violently destroyed around the middle of the 13th century, presumably in connection with the Mongol invasion of 1241. Located halfway between Brașov and Sibiu and close to Wallachia, the Făgăraș Citadel provided a defensive position against possible incursions into south-eastern Transylvania. source

The ticket for adults costs 30 RON, which is roughly 6€. Tickets for students cost 10 RON (2€), pensioners pay 15 RON (3€) and entry for kids under 7 is free. You can buy your ticket at the entrance. Visiting hours are from Tuesday to Friday, between 8am and 6pm, Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 6pm. The museum is closed on Monday. Taking photos is allowed, but you can't use a tripod (not that I have one anyway).

The castle is surrounded by water and not for aesthetic reasons. Back in the medieval days, when the castle was built, having water surrounding the castle was essential for defense purposes.

The bridge between the land and the island on which the castle was built was made of wood and it's a nice, stylish one. This is definitely not the original as wood doesn't last that long, especially in the water, but at least the architects kept the original style alive.

These were the wheels lifting the bridge up in case of an attack, thus cutting the way to the castle off. This was common practice, you see this kind of solution pretty much everywhere in Europe (at least), when it comes to medieval castles, fortresses.

This bastion seems to be the main entrance, but in fact it's the exit. There were two guards at the door.

Walking along the wall, around the corner there is the other gate, that leads to the real entrance.

I'm not sure how high the walls are, but I suppose high enough to have stopped the enemy back in those days.

The space around the castle is well maintained, there is a walking lane round, so anyone eager to spend some time breathing fresh air and admiring this beautiful scene, is welcome to do it. I was thinking what a good place for jogging, running, or even just walking every morning, to get the day started.

Inside the walls the view is just as spectacular as outside. These bastions are par of the castle, not the walls.

The center of one of the biggest domains in Transylvania, which in 1632 included 62 villages, Făgăraș fortress was, starting with the second half of the 16th century and especially in the 17th century, an important noble and princely residence.

The construction of a fortified point in Făgăraș must be linked to its strategic position – halfway between the commercial route between Sibiu and Brașov and in the vicinity of Wallachia (to whose history it is linked), the domination of the fortress being very important. Ștefan Mailat and Gașpar Becheș used it as a support piece for the throne of Transylvania, Mihai Viteazul considered it a “residence fortress”, the Prince Gabriel Bethlen granted it priority over Alba Iulia in the modernization of the fortifications, and Mihail Apafi will transform it, due to its strengthened position, in a princely residence. Here, in the Făgăraș fortress were held between 1670 and 1691 11 Diets and 18 delegations (smaller meetings), while in Alba Iulia there were 15 Diets and 3 delegations. source

This is the inside part of the outer wall, that surrounds the castle. There were rooms in the wall, but there were no doors and the whole place looked like a big construction or renovation site. I had the impression that there were ongoing works, to restore those rooms too. Back in the day, most likely servants lived there.

The fortress went through a lot of changes over the years. You can read the whole history of it here. Look at those walls and the windows. Usually when someone mentions a castle, everyone thinks of a beautiful castle, with lovely architecture. Well, this castle is far from it. Up until the upper floor, all the windows are very small. There were rooms with no windows as well. Then again, the purpose of this construction was not entertainment or for summer vacations as it was build for defense purposes from the start.

The entrance to the inner court.

The round bastion on the right.

When I saw the inside part of the castle, the first thought that crossed my mind was that it is similar to the Wawel Castle of Kraków in Poland . I visited the castle when I was a kid. Looking it up on Wikipedia, obviously the two are far from each other as far as architecture is regarded, but have some similarities though. @blind-spot can tell you how wrong I am as he visited the castle of Kraków last year.

This was the well, which was of utmost importance in case of an attack. many times the enemy poisoned the water, which made their job easier. I did not look inside to see if it has water, but most likely it was covered for safety reasons anyway.

This photo was taken from the first floor.

The exit bastion, from inside, but we used the entrance to exit the castle as the parking lot, where we left the car was closer from there. There's a coffee machine next to the door, if you have withdrawal syndrome and can't live without coffee :) I wanted a tea, but the machine said instant drink with tea flavor, which left me with my jaw dropped. I respect myself more, than to drink something like that.

The castle from outside.

The beauty of the wall is that you can climb on top of it and go round, till the entrance.

As you can see, some parts of the wall are old, some are new, renovated and restored.

You can take a nice walk round, if you're not tired from walking in and out of the rooms of the castle and walking up and down the bastion stairs.

The view from up there is spectacular. In the background you see the orthodox cathedral.

This is the cathedral.

The ditch goes round the castle.

Outside the wall there are benches where you can sit down for a minute or two and enjoy the view.

It's definitely a must visit tourist attraction, especially if you're interested in history was well, not just the beauties of medieval architecture. In one of my next posts, I'm going to show you the museum inside the castle, which was also very interesting.

Have you ever visited a similar castle?

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