Făgăraș Citadel

Făgăraș is unusual among Romanian fortresses in being neither a hilltop ruin nor a romantic castle but a heavy, low, water-defended fortification standing in the middle of a town, its moat still filled. Begun in stone in 1310 on the site of a twelfth-century wooden fort and enlarged over the following three hundred years, it became the seat of the princes of Transylvania and was repeatedly strengthened with bastions and casemates as artillery improved. Today the fortress holds the county museum, with collections of local history, weaponry and Transylvanian furniture, and the courtyard is used for events. The moat circuit makes an easy walk and the reflection of the walls in the water is the standard photograph.

History

Building began in 1310 on the site of a 12th-century wooden fort with earth ramparts, halfway between Brașov and Sibiu. István Majláth doubled the thickness of the walls in 1526, Gáspár Bekes dug the moat while he owned it in 1567-1573, the first bastion went up under the Báthorys, and in the 17th century Michael I Apafi made it a princely residence; it served as a garrison from 1689 (Wikipedia, Făgăraș Citadel).

Highlights

• The filled moat - water still surrounding the walls, with a bridge to the gate.
• Bastions and courtyard - the artillery-era defences and the inner court.
• The museum - local history, arms and period interiors in the ranges.
• The moat walk - a short circuit with the classic reflected view.

When to go

Year-round; the museum keeps regular hours and closes one day a week. Summer evenings bring events in the courtyard. Winter with snow and ice on the moat is atmospheric and very quiet.

Practical notes

The museum is conventional and its labelling is mostly Romanian, so foreign visitors get less from the interiors than from the fortress itself. The building is squat and functional rather than picturesque, and anyone expecting a fairytale castle will be disappointed. The town around it is unremarkable. An hour or two covers everything.

Nearby

Sâmbăta de Sus monastery and the Făgăraș mountains rise to the south.

Key facts