- Type
- Fortress
- Built
- 1310 · 14th century
- Coordinates
- 45.8453°, 24.9739°
History
Work on a stone stronghold began in 1310 on the site of 12th-century earth-and-timber defences, to guard south-eastern Transylvania against raids from the direction of Wallachia. From 1526 Stephen Majláth doubled the thickness of its walls, but in 1541 he was captured by an Ottoman ruse and died in captivity in Istanbul. Later lords added the moat and the first bastions, in 1599 Michael the Brave took the fortress and sheltered his family and treasury here, and in the 17th century Princes Gabriel Bethlen, George I Rákóczi and Michael I Apafi turned it into a fortified residence where the Transylvanian Diet met eleven times. From 1699, under the Habsburgs, it served as barracks and a military prison. From the late 1940s or early 1950s until 1960 the communist authorities held thousands of opponents of the regime here without trial, and many died from torture and inhuman conditions; the building was restored between 1965 and 1977.
What to see
The citadel houses the Valer Literat Museum of the Făgăraș Land and the town library. A bridge crosses the wide moat to the gate, beyond which rise the walls with their corner bastions and the five-storey south-west tower known as the Red Tower. Inside, visitors can see the courtyard with its loggia, the vaulted halls of the former princely residence and the cellars that served for centuries as dungeons and cells.
Wikipedia article Official website Wikidata Q1002426
Popularity: articles about this site in 11 Wikimedia projects (Wikipedia language editions and others).