Rasnov Fortress, Transylvania

Don’t bother going to Epcot or Disney World…Romania has the real thing…one medieval site after another, each just waiting for Mel Brook’s to film Young Frankenstein, or Dracula lurking down one of the cobblestoned passageways. Completely intriguing.

This gigantic Rasnov defensive fortress was built in the 13th century and had ramparts, towers and bulwarks. A perfect place to take refuge during a siege. We visited the museum with interesting old artifacts including a skeleton buried beneath a glass floor, secret passages, very old weaponry, and gruesome ancient etchings showing the various ways of impaling people, etc.

Rasnov information

The courtyard was the most fun. There were old stocks, wagons, and one place that prisoners were manacled (or cuffed) to hang in the center of the square. Ah…the good old days…

Rasnov stocks

Another fun tidbit of information revolved around a very deep well, also in the couryard. During one long siege, two captured Turkish soldiers were used to dig this well that would give the villagers fresh drinking water. Supposedly, it took them 32 years to finish and even though they were assured they’d be given their freedom…(yeah, right)…they were killed. No one knows if their bodies were left in the bottom of the well or not, but the lucky villagers now had fresh water to outlast any siege and Rasnov gained fame as unconquerable.

Rasnov’s infamous well

view from Rasnov Fortress