Fagaras County lies in the western part of Brasov county in the Fagaras Depression, on the left side of the Olt river and south of the chain of the Transylvanian Alps, the Fagaras Mountains.

Archaeological findings have shown traces of human life in the area ever since the Neolithic, the Bronze and the Iron Ages.
Beginning with the second half of the 12th century, Fagaras County, mainly populated with Romanians, fell under Hungarian rule and was colonized with Saxons.

Fagaras County has been mentioned for the first time in 1222 as Terra Blachorum (the country inhabited by the Romanians), while the settlement of Fagaras (Fogros) was referred to in a document of 1291.
Mentioned as a town in 1393, Fagaras was under the rule of Wallachian princes intermittently, between 1368-1478. Afterwards, it fell under Hungarian rule. Between 1696-1738, it became the property of the Hapsburg monarchs. Chancellor Gabriel Bethlen owned it between 1738-1765. In 1765, Fagaras was donated to the Saxon University for 99 years long. In 1918, the county was taken over by the Romanian state.
In 1310 Transylvania's prince, Ladislaw Kán, started to built what was to become one of the most impressive and well-preserved medieval citadels in Romania: Fagaras Fortress.
In 1660, Fagaras was the residence town of the Principality of Transylvania, where several Diets were held.
A Romanian school was mentioned in 1657; in 1872, Fagaras is recorded to have had a library.
Until 1737, Fagaras functioned as the seat of the Greek-Catholic Bishopric. This was moved later on to Blaj on the initiative of Ioan Inocentiu Micu Klein.

Fagaras counts today over 45,000 inhabitants. Given its population, size and growth of economy (as represented by chemistry and machine building), Fagaras is the second important town in the Brasov county.
The civic centre of the town has grown south-west from the Fortress, alongside the Fagarasel river, while the industrial area has stretched to the south.

Fagaras Fortress is the most impressive monument of the town, and the core around which the town was actually built.
Ladislaw Kán started to built it in 1310 on the former place of a 12th century wooden fortress strengthened by earthen walled fortifications. The former fortress had been burned down by the Tartars in 1241. The fort was enlarged and rebuilt in the 15th-17th centuries in the Transylvanian Renaissance style and came to be known, alongside with Deva, as one of the strongest fortifications in Transylvania.
Fagaras Fortress was placed in the middle of a large feudal estate, which, in the 17th century comprised 20 boroughs and 52 villages, being the largest in Transylvania.
The existence of the Fagaras Citadel favoured the early development of the guilds, particularly those of the tanners and of the potters. At the same time, it became an important political centre with Diets being held there. The Fortress functioned mainly as a residence home to its prince-owners and high dignitaries together with their families. Records show that its interiors must have been luxurious in the 17th century; unfortunately, little of its former glamour has been preserved to the day. The castle was deprived of its decorations and fancy furniture when it was turned into a military garisson (18th century).
Fagaras Fortress and Castle were wholly built in brick. At present, the castle has 80 rooms, and the fortress is still surrounded by a moat which is deep and wide. At times of war or social unrest in the area, the moat could easily fill with water from a mountain brook nearby, whose course had been specially deviated to this purpose. The citadel was ranked among the strongest in Transylvania, standing in the way of Turkish and Tartar invasions. Its massive walls, towers and tall roofs are arranged in the shape of a trapezium with four corners provided with four large bastions. Access is made through a bridge over the defence moat. At the centre of the citadel stands the castle. It has three levels, i.e. basement, ground floor, first floor and five towers, i.e. the Red Tower, the Black Tower, the Prison's Tower, Tomori Tower and the Motley Tower.
The exterior wall of the castle was erected in the first half of the 15th century. The castle was first mentioned in 1455, when Transylvania’s prince, Iancu de Hunedoara, appointed two lords to administer it.
As regards its style of construction, Fagaras Fortress belongs to the western system of fortifications used in the 15th century, and brought along to Transylvania as early as the 14th century. In 1539, Transylvania’s prince Stephen Mailath (1528-1541) partially rebuilt the fortress. Gaspar Bekes (1567-1573) had the moat made,strengthened the earthen exterior walls and resumed works in the northern wing of the castle. Stephen Bathóry (1575-1586) and Balthazar Bathóry (1589-1594) finished the second level of the northern wing, the third level of the southern wing and the loggia on the south side. It was Gabriel Bethlen (1613-1629) who brought along major architectural changes he built Italian style bastions and casemates, repaired the inner walls and reshaped the loggia on the south side in the Renaissance style. 
Fagaras - XVI century
He turned the edifice into a fortified castle, with much the same its present-day aspect. Strongly influenced by the Italian Renaissance, Bethlen brought along architects and glass-makers from Italy, bestowing elegance and beauty to a construction formerly designed for merely military and utilitarian purposes.

For a year (1599-1600), Fagaras Fortress was the residence home of Michael the Brave's family his wife, lady Stanca and their children.
During the rule of Georg Rákóczi (1630-1649), the fortification of the castle was doubled and the moat was enlarged. Ráckózi had the bastions bridged and covered, the moat paved with stones, the bridge and the casemates repaired and a guard house built.
Fagaras - bastionary citadel XVII century
The fortress had 33 commanders-in-chief between 1507-1848.
During the Austrian-Hungarian rule, under the rule of Michael Apáfi, Diets were held there. After 1699, the fortress fell under Hapsburg sway; it was functional as a castle under Maria Theresa's reign (1740-1780); by the end of the 18th century, it was turned into military headquarters and barracks. The only changes that were made by that time were of a strictly military or utilitarian nature.
Fagaras - longitudinal section 

As the castle and its fortress had fallen into disrepair, restoration works were carried out between 1965-1977. Since 1954, the castle has housed the Museum of Fagaras Country; it comprises sections of archaelogy, which render the evolution of the Fagaras borough; sections of history, which display Roman artifacts and a collection of medieval weapons, etnographic sections, which focus on artistic and folk crafts in the area. The museum hosts also a beautiful collection of glass painted icons made by Ioan Pop, Savu Moga, Matei Simfonea alongside recent ones, made by archimandrite Timotei Tohaneanu from Sambata de Sus monastery.