Rasnov Fortress

from Katerina in Romania Visits 7162

Located near Brasov, 200 meters above the town of Rasnov, on the top of a rocky hill, the Rasnov fortress is one of the most visited medieval attractions in Romania.

For the first time the fortress was officially mentioned in 1331. There is an indoor and outdoor courtyard and you can see the ruins of a school, a chapel and numerous medieval houses that provide shelter for the local population during the invasions.

An interesting local legend tells that two Turkish prisoners were tasked to dig a well through a hard rock in the center of the fortress in exchange for their freedom. In 1627 it began the work of the deep 470 meters well and took 17 years to finish it. The goal of the well is to provide additional security to the population by not having people go outside the water fortress. It is also said that during the digging, the prisoners wrote verses from the Koran on the walls of the well, which can be seen to this day. The well was in use until 1850 year. As for the Turkish prisoners, some say they were released and others were killed.

According to another legend, the well was used to stash a precious treasure that remained deeply buried for hundreds of years.

The fortress has recently been restored and today you can visit its impressive remains.

For me the most remarkable of this place was the magnificent landscape and the breathtaking view of all around. If you are with children and have previously visited Dino Park in Rasnov, it is good to take a short break before you embark on the tour of the fortress. Mine children were definitely exhausted after the experience in the park and needed recharging of the batteries, but still successfully climbed to the top of the fortress and admire the scenery.

Traveling to Dino Park and the fortress in Rasnov (using, of course, Google Maps), you get to a large parking lot where you need to park. From there to the fortress the distance is somewhere over 2 km and the variant is either to get there on foot, or to use the tractor-train to transport. Of course, with children, the second option is more suitable and attractive. The first stop of the train is Dino Park, which you may miss, and after it is the fortress.