2021-07-07 11h02 Cetatea romanică din Calnic (Alba)
Archaeological excavations demonstrate a continuity of life in Calnic (judet Alba), starting with the Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements, the Dacian and Roman remains, or from the period of migration to the Middle Ages.
The name of the city, mentioned for the first time in 1269 (villa Kelnuk) is of Slavic-Romanian origin. The name of the place was taken over by the Saxons (Kelling) and the Hungarians (Kelnek).
The Romanesque fortress of Calnic is an old noble residence, which by its small size cannot compete with those of the big cities, but which is considered as very representative of a local civilization, transylvaine and a particular time.
The fortress consists of two rows of walls (enclosures) with an oval path, arranged concentric and reinforced with flanking elements: two towers and a bastion. The front door is defended by a fortified corridor. The belts protect the interior courtyard, at the heart of the fortress, where the chapel, the fountain and the dungeon are located. The latter dominates by its height (27m) and its massiveness (walls of 1m) the whole complex. During the romantic era, this impressive medieval vestige was nicknamed the Siegfried Tower.
The outer enclosure or zwinger has a maximum diameter of around 70 m with a height of 3 m. The inner enclosure is the most imposing with its 7m height. On the small diameter, it is fortified by two towers: the portal tower (NW) and a defense tower (SE). 24 m high, the portal tower is one of the vertical domes of the complex. There are four bells here, which is why the building is also called the bell tower.
Due to its preservation in good condition, in the middle of a locality bearing until now the imprint of the civilization of the German colonists established in Transylvania, the edifice was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List (1999).
2021-07-07 11h02 Cetatea romanică din Calnic (Alba)
Archaeological excavations demonstrate a continuity of life in Calnic (judet Alba), starting with the Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements, the Dacian and Roman remains, or from the period of migration to the Middle Ages.
The name of the city, mentioned for the first time in 1269 (villa Kelnuk) is of Slavic-Romanian origin. The name of the place was taken over by the Saxons (Kelling) and the Hungarians (Kelnek).
The Romanesque fortress of Calnic is an old noble residence, which by its small size cannot compete with those of the big cities, but which is considered as very representative of a local civilization, transylvaine and a particular time.
The fortress consists of two rows of walls (enclosures) with an oval path, arranged concentric and reinforced with flanking elements: two towers and a bastion. The front door is defended by a fortified corridor. The belts protect the interior courtyard, at the heart of the fortress, where the chapel, the fountain and the dungeon are located. The latter dominates by its height (27m) and its massiveness (walls of 1m) the whole complex. During the romantic era, this impressive medieval vestige was nicknamed the Siegfried Tower.
The outer enclosure or zwinger has a maximum diameter of around 70 m with a height of 3 m. The inner enclosure is the most imposing with its 7m height. On the small diameter, it is fortified by two towers: the portal tower (NW) and a defense tower (SE). 24 m high, the portal tower is one of the vertical domes of the complex. There are four bells here, which is why the building is also called the bell tower.
Due to its preservation in good condition, in the middle of a locality bearing until now the imprint of the civilization of the German colonists established in Transylvania, the edifice was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List (1999).