- Contact:
- +40 258 819 462
- office@apulum.ro
THE ROUTE OF THE THREE FORTIFICATIONS
BATTHYANEUM LIBRARY
October 23, 2017
THE MONUMENT IN „DEALUL FURCILOR”
October 23, 2017THE ROUTE OF THE THREE FORTIFICATIONS
The „Three Fortifications Tour” occupies the southern and south-eastern side of the Alba Iulia bastionary citadel, being organized as an outdoor museum, in its greatest extent. It is named this way because the visitor will be able to walk and see all three important phases of the city fortifications, from three different ages.
The traces of the Roman castrum of Apulum are visible here by means of Porta Principalis Dextra, the only of the four gates visible of the 18 centuries old castrum, this gate being a monument of great importance for the ancient history of the Romanian space. Also, we have parts of the castrum walls, with the medieval modifications, because the castrum built by the 13th Legion Gemina practically stood tall for more than 1500 years. The medieval interventions were repairs, renovations that did not change the alignment of the walls.
The second fortification took place at the beginning of the 17th century, a prosperous period for the Transylvania Principate capital, Alba Iulia, when prince Gabriel Bethlen (1613-1629) added two bastions on the southern side of the citadel. The „Three Fortification Tour” includes one of them: the Saxons’ Bastion. Its sides were 85 meters long and it was built in the new Italian style (the architect being an Italian, Giaccomo Resti). It was partially preserved and included in the Sf. Eugene Bastion during the construction of the 18th century citadel. Inside the Saxons’ Bastion an Armory Hall is displayed instead of the 17th century guard room, in the same space during the next century, the bakery of the citadel was functional, the place where the bread for all the citizens of the citadel was produced.
Finally, the third phase of fortification is represented by the Austrian citadel built between 1715 and 1738, „the Tour” including the Saint Eugene and Saint Stephen bastions.
The „Tour” includes several belvedere points that offer a panoramic view over the Lower Town, the Mures river Valley, the citadel bastions and so on. An artillery platform, placed on the fortification element that protected the wall between the St. Eugene and St. Stephen bastions, offers a memorable show by means of the canon shots that are fired every Saturday at 12 o’clock and other special occasions. The hall that goes through the wall between the 18th century bastions hosts an exhibition dedicated to the restoration of the citadel gates sculptures, including one of the original statues that were replaced. Passing through this hall one will arrive to the St. Francis of Paola Ravelin, where a construction that suggests the execution place of the citadel was placed, reminding the visitors about the leaders of the 1784 Peasant Uprising, Horea, Closca and Crisan and the wheel braking of the first two in February 28th 1785, in Alba Iulia. On the same ravelin traces of the Roman settlement around the castrum are visible, made visible during some archaeological excavations. Near the ravelin one can see the stables for the horses used by the citadel guard for the every day parade during the touristic season. Also, inside the Saxons’ Bastions, the visitors can see a „torture chamber” and they can go all the way to the top of the 3rd Gate to see what is traditionally considered to be the „Cell of Horea”, although the historical sources show us that the leader of the 1784 Uprising was incarcerated in the 4th Gate.
In the Storehouse building, built by the Austrians immediately after the transformation of the citadel in barracks, now one the Medieval Hotel is functioning.
Scientific consultant: Tudor Roșu, PhD historian
Translation made by: Ciprian Dobra, PR expert
Visitors who reach the Route of the Three Fortifications have the opportunity to travel back in time through two millennia, among the vestiges of three fortifications belonging to three different periods. In other words, each citadel enclosed its previous one: the Roman castrum, the medieval fortress and the Alba Carolina Citadel. The route is located in the southern and south-eastern area of the Alba Carolina Citadel, most of it giving the impression of an open-air museum.
Still visible remains from the Apulum castrum can be seen in the form of its former southern gate, called „Porta principalis dextra”. It is the only gate left out of four quadrilateral gates that existed 1800 years ago. The vestiges have only partially preserved its former look and beauty of the past. There are also visible parts of the castrum wall, with the medieval reconstructions to which it was subjected, as the fortification built by the 13th Gemina Legion has been standing for more than 1500 years. The medieval interventions targeted renovations and repairs that did not alter the Roman wall layout.
Alba Iulia was the capital of the Principality of Transylvania for nearly 150 years (1541-1699). During the reign of Prince Gabriel Betthlen it was decided that Alba Iulia, the princely capital, would be surrounded by large strongholds and bastions. The plan materialized only on the south side of the citadel and represented the second fortification phase: the southwestern corner was reinforced by the prince and was called the Bethlen Bastion; the southeast corner was consolidated by Transylvanian Saxons and remained known as the Saxons’ Bastion. The Saxons’s Bastion – the only one integrated into the „Route of the Three Fortifications” – has been partially preserved because the Austrians embedded it in the Saint Eugene’s Bastion in the eighteenth century and has known several functions over time. It was a guard-room in the seventeenth century and the bakery of the citadel where they used to make bread for citadel residents in the eighteenth century. Now the former guard-room was set up into a weapon room for tourists who can also get an idea about what a „torture room” looked like.
The third fortification in Alba Iulia, the eighteenth century bastion fortress, is represented on the „three-fortification route” by two of the seven bastions that give it a seven-star shape: St. Eugene and St. Stephen.
Tourists who reach the „route” can enjoy a panoramic view of the Lower Town and the Mureş river valley from belvedere points. Also from here you can watch impressive cannon shows, which respect the technique used 300 years ago. The shows take place every Saturday at 12.00 in the tourist season. If you are still on the „route”, it is worth visiting the caponier – the gallery that passes through the wall between two bastions of the citadel: Eugene of Savoy and St. Stephen. Here you can see an exhibition dedicated to the restoration of the sculptures from the citadel gates.
If you go through the caponier and over the bridge, you reach Francis of Paola Ravelin. Here you will find a setting hinting at a former execution site in the city and mainly referring to the leaders of the 1784 uprising (Horea, Cloşca and Crişan) and the execution of the first two in Alba Iulia. Nearby, we can return to Roman times, due to archaeological works that brought to light traces of the Roman civil settlement near the castrum. Moreover, another place can be find next to the ravelin: stables for horses used by the fortress guard parading every day during the tourist season.
Then, from the route of the three fortifications, you can reach the 3rd gate of the citadel, which is generally supposed to have hosted „Horea’s cell”, although historical sources show that the leader of the 1784 uprising was actually imprisoned in the 4th gate.
The gate is located near a five star hotel where a former storehouse (for supplies) was located in the past. The storehouse was built by Austrians right after they transformed the citadel into a garrison.
