19 historic sites
Castles in Romania
Transylvania's medieval fortresses and Carpathian mountain citadels make Romania one of Europe's last great castle frontiers. Less visited but no less spectacular than its western neighbours, Romania offers extraordinary castle heritage without the summer crowds.
romania · Transylvania
Bran Castle
Transylvania's Dracula Castle — Gothic, dramatic and more complex than the legend
romania · Wallachia / Carpathians
Peleș Castle
Romania's fairy-tale mountain palace — 160 rooms of Neo-Renaissance splendour in the Carpathians
romania · Transylvania, Alba County
Alba Iulia Citadel
The Baroque star fort where Romania was born — a Habsburg military citadel built in 1716 on Roman and medieval foundations, where the union of Transylvania with Romania was proclaimed in 1918 and the first Romanian kings were crowned in 1922
romania · Mureș County, Transylvania
Sighișoara Citadel
Birthplace of Vlad the Impaler — the best-preserved inhabited medieval citadel in Transylvania, lived in continuously since the 12th century
romania · Wallachia — Prahova Valley, Bușteni, Prahova County, foot of the Bucegi Mountains
Cantacuzino Castle
Built for Romania's "Nabob" — a Neo-Brâncovenesc palace in the Prahova Valley that survived nationalization and now houses a gallery allegedly including works by Dalí, Picasso, and Van Gogh
romania · Transylvania
Corvin Castle
The most dramatic Gothic castle in Eastern Europe — turrets, a bear pit, and a Vlad the Impaler legend
romania · Transylvania, Brasov County
Făgăraș Fortress
The best-preserved water-moated fortress in Transylvania — built by the Voivodes of Wallachia in 1310, standing in the open farmland beneath the Făgăraș Mountains, surrounded by a moat that has been filled continuously for 700 years
romania · Brașov County, Transylvania
Rupea Fortress
Transylvania's Saxon refuge fortress on a basalt rock — Rupea commands the Olt valley corridor from a natural volcanic outcrop, with a Bronze Age Dacian presence, a medieval cistern carved from the rock, and a 2013 EU-funded restoration
romania · Bukovina / Suceava County
Citadel of Suceava
The throne fortress of Stephen the Great — the Moldavian medieval citadel above Suceava where the 47-year reign that made Moldavia a European power was conducted, now 20+ years into a comprehensive restoration
romania · Ilfov County
Mogoșoaia Palace
The finest surviving example of Wallachia's own architectural tradition, built by a prince beheaded for it
romania · Brașov County, Transylvania
Râșnov Fortress
A Saxon peasant fortress that was never captured — a medieval village inside fortified walls on a hilltop above the Bârsa plain, with views to Bran Castle and the Bucegi Mountains
romania · Brașov County, Transylvania
Prejmer Fortified Church
The largest fortified church in southeastern Europe — 272 shelter rooms within circular walls first raised by the Teutonic Knights
romania · Brașov County, Transylvania
Viscri Fortified Church
The oldest Saxon fortified church in Transylvania — a 12th-century Romanesque village church in the village King Charles III chose to restore
romania · Sibiu County, Transylvania
Biertan Fortified Church
The most fortified Saxon church in Transylvania — triple-walled, nine towers, and a Gothic lock used to keep marriages together for 400 years
romania · Moldavia, Romania
Neamț Citadel
Stephen the Great's unconquered mountain citadel — Neamț Citadel withstood every Ottoman assault across 150 years of Moldavian resistance, commanding the Neamț valley from its limestone rock above Târgu Neamț
romania · Dâmbovița County, Wallachia
Royal Court of Târgoviște
The medieval capital of Wallachia — Vlad the Impaler's princely court and the Chindia Tower he built
romania · Brașov County, Transylvania
Hărman Fortified Church
A fortified Saxon village church with a seven-story tower, rare 600-year-old frescoes, and panoramic views over the Burzenland plains — 10 km from Brașov
romania · Arefu, Argeș County, Wallachia
Poenari Castle
Vlad the Impaler's real fortress — a ruined clifftop citadel reached by 1,480 steps, far wilder than Bran
romania · Cluj County, Transylvania
Bánffy Castle
The Versailles of Transylvania — a Baroque palace rising from ruins, home to the Electric Castle music festival