Cetatea Făgărașului

Făgăraș, Romania, Romania

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Cetatea Făgărașului in Făgăraș, Romania, is a medieval fortress begun in 1310 on the site of a 12th-century wooden structure destroyed during the 1241 Mongol invasion, designed to protect Transylvania's southeast from Tatar and Ottoman threats with its irregular quadrilateral layout featuring thick crenellated walls, four corner towers (three bastion-type and one round donjon), and a surrounding moat. Strengthened in 1526 by Ștefan Mailat who doubled wall thickness, it saw further enhancements under Gáspár Bekes with the moat excavation, bastion additions by the Báthory brothers, and major 17th-century modernizations by Prince Gabriel Bethlen including three casemated bastions, Italian-style loggias on the south facade, elegant arched interiors, and a drawbridge-linked defensive system tied to the Olt River. Serving as a princely residence under Michael the Brave and Michael I Apafi before becoming a garrison post-1689, it now houses the Făgăraș Country Museum with archaeology, history, and art exhibits, preserving its role as a key Transylvanian landmark.