The trip from Targu Mures to Bucharest is quite long and today we are planning to break it up with a couple stops. First one is at the Peasants’ Fortress of Saschiz that we passed multiple times but today is the first time we stop. Getting to the trail start is already an adventure as we take an almost one way road up the hill from the village reaching a road side parking place from where we have to hike.
From here the trail goes straight up through the heat with no indication how long it takes to reach the fortress. This is the most difficult section as we learn also when we return when everybody is asking us how much is left while they seem to be dying on the climb through the heat.
At least when we stop to catch our breath we have the beautiful meadows to look at with flowers in bloom and lots of butterflies, really cool.
Next follows a welcome stretch through the forest which is both more level and in shade before the final climb to the fortress. There is no shade here either but at least you can see the fortress so you know how far you have left to climb.
Here we also encounter the Via Transilvanica for the first time. We had no idea it existed but it is a great idea to have a trail crossing the country and we are now planning to hike it some time in the future.
And then we are at the entrance watching the impressive walls and enjoying the great views before paying the guard and entering the fortress.
The entrance is very impressive and heavily fortified with the fortress being conquered only once, by the Prince of Transylvania, Gabriel Báthori as he was trying to control the Saxon privileges. This is out of about 50 sieges so it was quite formidable. Inside it is almost cozy but still impressive and now it is time to explore.
Now we have to decide what to visit and we decide to start with the closest tower and go from there round the fortress.
There are informative panels for all towers and we learn that this one was the Priest’s Tower so in we go to explore the fortress walls.
The ramparts are impressive and well protected, we can understand why it was not conquered more often. They are also quite scenic and exploring the tower is also fun even though there are few objects remaining from medieval times.
The objects are arranged for maximum impact though, we especially like the Indiana Jones nook, our name for it, just a whip is missing and a few snakes.
We now continue round the ramparts with some nice views of the towers and also of the internal courtyard.
The best views are from the main tower looking over the whole fortress and with a nice view of the other towers in the fortress and the interior courtyard.
In most towers you can go up and down but there isn’t a lot to see as there isn’t any furniture here besides what we saw in the first tower. In the end we exit in the courtyard to explore the ruins of the small church, it was never rebuilt after it was destroyed.
The other major attraction here is the fountain which was quite deep, 80m, and of course was needed in the case of sieges.
Now it is time to return to the car after a fun visit to this impressive and secluded fortress as we still have a long way ahead of us.
But first we want to explore a bit Via Transilvanica, it is a great trail as far as we explore, which is about a few hundred meters, and for certain we will have to return here or somewhere else to hike for a longer distance. But now it is time for Rupea the next stop on our trip.
