Ciceului Citadel

Romania, Romania

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Ciceului Citadel (Cetatea Ciceului) near Dej in Cluj County, Romania, is a medieval fortress built in the late 13th or early 14th century by the noble Ciceu family on a hilltop site, first documented in 1318 as a royal Hungarian stronghold guarding the Someșul Mic Valley trade routes. Featuring a triangular inner bailey with a large round tower, rectangular curtain walls, four defense towers including two cylindrical ones, a rectangular gate tower, and a chapel, it was expanded in the 15th century under Hungarian magnates like the Ispán family before passing to Transylvanian princes. Destroyed by Tatars in 1704 during Rákóczi's uprising and further damaged by an 1848 earthquake, the ruins were restored in the 1990s and now serve as a museum showcasing Transylvanian Gothic military architecture and local history.