| If the dacic citadels in Hunedoara county are well-known by the history
and hiking lovers, the same thing cannot be said for the medieval towers
and citadels in the Hateg Country, built by brave Romanian cneji,
profoundly attached to the ancient lands they have ennobled with their
blood, thing that can be seen on the walls of their endowments in Densuş, Strei, Sângeorgiu, Râul de Mori, Râul Barbat, Râchitova
and many more. The special natural conditions determined the life of the daco-roman
population and then Romanian population take place uninterrupted. This fact is
also confirmed by an old document from 1247, which reminds of a “Romanian
land, known as Terra Harszoc (Hateg
Country)”, older than it’s
first documentary attestation. Once the population grew and new settlements
appeared, towers and citadels were needed to make possible the existence of the
numerous obşti sâteşti, as the Hateg Country occupied a strategic place in the road network
connecting Transylvania and Tara
Romaneasca. So the Hateg
citadel, Colţ citadel, the Rachitova guard towers, the citadels of Crivadia,
Mălăeşti and Sălaşul de Sus were
built. |
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Hateg Citadel
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The Hateg Citadel is
located 4 km SE of the city of Hateg, in the village of Subcetate perimeter. The
archeologists found dacic
remains and remains of the Coţofeni
culture also. It’s not excluded that Petru, comite of Hateg and great
royal comite in 1276, had something to do with the citadel. In 1317, the
donjon, the moat and the dirt defense wave. Destroyed in 1420, it was rebuilt in
1430. In 1536, the citadel loses it’s value, falling slowly into ruin. The
Colt citadel
– located near the village of
Suseni, at the bottom of the Retezat mountains, on Raul Mic, was a
fortified feudal castle, property of the Romanian cneji family Cândea.
The citadel-castle contains a storied tower with 2 m thick walls (the
donjon), in it’s front two more polygonal towers, connected with the
moat and access bridge. It was the most powerful citadel in the Hateg
Country. It’s construction started in the XIVth century, but it was
still used in 1684.
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Colt Citadel
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The
tower of Răchitova – In
Răchitova, famous commune, situated in the NV corner of the Hateg
depression, an inhabited-tower, built in the XIVth century and used
until the XVIth century by the local cneaz family Muşina. Tower is in
donjon style, made of stone, with a 2,60 m thick wall, square shaped, with
3-4 levels, surrounded by a dirt defense wave. The tower of Crivadia – situated near the Crivadia village, built on a limestone spur, with 20 m high walls, it has a round shape.The tower entrance is in the northern side, 2 m of the ground level. The internal diameter is 13 m, the fortress’ defense was assured by 7 battlements situated 1-1.5 m apart. Inside, in the upper section of the tower, there is a battle platform. Seem that the tower was built to guard the old road on the Strei and Mures artery, over Dealul Babei through Vulcan pass to Tara Romaneasca (Romania Country). It was built in 1528 by the voievod of Transylvania, Petru Pereny.
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Rachitova Tower
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In Salasul de Sus, north of
the village, there are the ruins of a feudal construction with 4 bastions and a
drawbridge, also of a church. The Candres family began the construction in the
XIVth century. The castle occupies a 95 x 55 m area, having a rectangular shape,
with 1.20 m thick walls, 3 m high, with several towers.
In Malaesti the ruins of a “castle” built by the Saracinesti family can be found. Today only the 12 m high donjon with 1.8 meters thick walls remains. The building had at least 4 levels, surrounded by a 4-8 m high wall, 1.2m thick. |
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| Salasul de Sus tower-citadel
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