Inside Rupea Castle, Romania
Like the icing on a layered cake, Rupea Castle tops the hill, commanding a stunning position meant to be seen from miles around. Like a fairytale castle, it beckons visitors closer, urging one to pass its gates and move through its levels. At the top of the hill, you’ll find a clutch of angular stone buildings. With a narrow ground-floor workshop and a small living space upstairs, these tiny houses offer a glimpse into how those under Rupea’s protection once lived. Below, garrisons and military quarters rose up built into the castle’s lower levels to protect it against its enemies. Like nearly all castles, Rupea Castle was built in many stages, with the most recent sections – home to said military garrisons – erected in the 18th century. The site is a good one – hence why its been inhabited since Paleolithic and Neolithic times – but the earliest record of Rupea Castle is from 1324. Some form of Rupea must pre-date that though, as the record in question describes how the Saxon revolutionaries took refuge inside the fortress. As with today, where it is located on the road from Brasov to Sighisoara, Rupea has long been an important point along roads and trade routes. Before it became a beautiful ruin beloved by road-tripping tourists, Rupea was a strategic point along routes through Moldova, Transylvania, Wallachia (all ancient kingdoms within modern-day Romania) and further afield into Hungry and the Ottoman Empire. The fortress was left for ruin in 1790, forgotten about for 200 years, then renovated in the 2010s, becoming a little-known but well-loved historical gem.
Top tip: Spring is a lovely time to visit Romania. Warm but not too hot, lovely but not too busy, full of wildflowers, blue skies and spring dishes.
Visit in Romania
Top Most Beautiful Places in Europe 