RASNOV FORTRESS

Rasnov Fortress was built about 800 years ago on a rocky hilltop, elevated at about 150m above in the small town of Rasnov. It is located 15 km southwest of Brasov and also about 15 km from Bran Castle.

The fortress is on the Bran Pass, a trade route connecting Wallachia with Transylvania. It is one of the biggest rural fortresses in the country and somehow unique in that it was meant to be a place of refuge for the commoners from sieges over extended periods of time. As such it had at least 30 houses, a school, a chapel, and other buildings more commonly associated with a village.

The first written record for the fortress is from 1331, and when the Tartars invaded in 1335, Rasnov Citadel was already strong enough to offer resistance. The castle has an upper and lower section, with polygonal perimeter walls reaching an average height of 5m. The east side is the most heavily fortified, and the walls on both that side as well as the northwest side are doubled. The defenses include 9 towers, 2 bastions, and a drawbridge. As Turkey and Austria battled over Transylvania, arms were stockpiled in the defense corridors at the walls.

The last siege of Rasnov Citadel took place in 1690 during the last Turkish invasion of Transylvania. It was damaged by fire in 1718 and rebuilt the following year. The next major damage occurred as the result of an earthquake in 1802. The fortress was last used as a place of refuge during the revolution of 1848, and was abandoned after that.

 The fortress has been restored to it's former glory. There is also a museum here, hidden behind the ancient walls. The museum's "piece de resistance" is a skeleton buried below a glass floor, but you may also find some really interesting artifacts in there. The inner rooms are looking more like a maze, with several wood ladders linking them and a few so-called secret passages which should keep you busy for quite a while.

There is a myth attached to Râşnov Fortress. During a particularly long siege of the fortress, the citizens of Râşnov were concerned about the lack of available fresh drinking water. Two Turkish soldiers, having been captured earlier, were put to the task of digging a well in the centre of the fortress. These two men were assured that they would be given their freedom once the well was completed. According to local legend, it took them 17 years to finish the well, but they were still killed afterwards. This famous well still sits in the centre of Râşnov Fortress, and is 143 metres deep.

Finally, the bonus: the view over the mountains, green fields and little brown dots - houses from the small surrounding villages is magnificent!