From Brasov To Rasnov Fortress And Bran Castle – 6-Hour Guided Tour

We meet in Brasov and your journey in the south of Transylvania will start.
First we will reach the Rasnov’s fortress, which is Romania’s oldest and the best preserved fortress in the country. It was built in the 1st century B.C. on the time of the Dacian king Burebista, known under the name of Comidava.

Two centuries later, the emperor Trajan conquered Dacia after two bloody wars, in 100-101 and 105-106, and he changed the name of the Dacian establishment in to Cumidava.

With the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D., the ancient fortress was abandoned and nobody lived within its walls until 13th century A.D. when two battalions of Teutonic Knights build on top of the ancient ruins a wooden fortress.

Being extremely vulnerable, it was sacked several times and the Knights were kicked out from the land and send back to Germany.

In the 15th century the Saxon nobles that founded Kronstadt (Brasov) to establish their power in the south of Transylvania, start building defensive fortresses to protect their land and the Southern border of the Empire. One of them was exactly Rasnov and it was completely rebuilt in brick and concrete.

Because of its position, the new fortress was never conquered, being for centuries the retirement place for a number of Romania kings.

Another fortress built by the Saxon was Bran Castle, believed to be the house of the most famous vampire in the world, Vlad III Dracula (aka Vlad the Impaler). Built in 1377 under the supervision of Ludovic I D’Anjou, king of Hungary.

Completed 5 years later using exclusively slaves (iobagi) from the land of the local nobles, it became one of the most important and solid fortresses in the way of the Ottoman threat. Its position and the victories of the crusaders over the ottomans gave the place the well worth name of ‘The Gate of Europe’.

Once back in Brasov, we will talk about its 800 years old history, about the old town with the churches and bastions, with the narrow streets and its towers and much more!