The second and last major stop on our road trip from Targu Mures to Bucharest is Rupea Fortress. In this case we have seen the fortress up on the hill multiple times while passing on the highway below it but somehow we never made it up to visit the ruins. Today is the day though as we veer into the city and into the new parking lot full of Polish buses and other visitors. The fortress looks impressive even from the parking lot and we are wondering how it looks inside, so let’s get to it.
But first we explore the small souvenir area and look at the map of the area for other interesting attractions for next time. No souvenirs are bought now except a small magnet and then it is time to buy tickets to enter the fortress proper.
The fortress has multiple fortifications rings, three in fact and after the ticket office we enter only the first one into a large area overlooked by the second ring, seems like quite a good kill zone for invaders.
Next we enter the second ring of fortifications through a circle like entrance, quite a weird way to construct an entrance. It looks more movie-like and we expect a stone to be rolled over to close the entrance but none are forthcoming so we pass through on the way into the second bailey.
Even from here the view of the third wall is very intimidating, it doesn’t seem possible to conquer it. It is also the oldest section of the fortress with each subsequent enlargement encircling the already existing part of the fortress.
From here we get the first glimses of the valley below, the views are quite beautiful overlooking the highway to Bucharest from this section.
We go inside the small chapel building, there is no furniture but there is a lot of grafitti upstairs from the turn of the 20th century and later.
And then we pass into the third and last bailey where most of the surviving houses are located. That doesn’t mean there are a lot of them but there are at least a few and this is where most of the tourists are congregating. Not sure if to explore or if to escape the sun but both Polish tour buses seem to be here at the top making the exploration a bit more challenging.
The views from here are magnificent, you can see the modern Rupea city below and also the highway, you can understand why the fortress was so important in controlling the area.
The houses of the Saxon peasants located here are mostly hewn directly into the stone. This is nice today as it allows us to escape the heat and likely was nice also in the winter or during attacks.
Passing from a level to another is via narrow stairs, at least likely these were also protecting the inhabitants if the cannonballs were flying. And then we are at the top where a renovated building is located, what can it be?
So what is it? No idea really. Usually it would be the lord’s castle but this not it, maybe a watchman house? There area only two chairs inside as furniture and the construction style does not give away what was located here. After a short exploration before the tour bus groups arrive here it is time to descend back to the car for the drive to Bucharest through torrential rains especially in the mountains.
