Rasnov Castle

Located between the city of Brasov and Bran castle lies Rasnov. Rasnov (the Romanian spelling) is more of a citadel than it is castle-esque like Hunyad, but was built much earlier – around 1215. Rasnov was built by the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem – also known as the Teutonic Knights. As their allegiance was to the Papacy – one can deduce that this was not a pleasant place either. The citadel was conquered only once in 1600 by Gabriel Bathory.

The location is prime – situated high atop a bluff along the road linking Transylvania and Wallachia. With this location comes some exercise for tourists, as you MUST park your car in the valley below and walk your way up the steep wagon trail. Very tough in the winter, so imagine what it must have been like for soldiers trekking across the lands.

Once you enter Rasnov, you see that it is well worth the hike. The citadel truly feels as if you’ve stepped back in time (which in essence you have) and everything you’ve learned in school about castles springs to life. It’s as if the villagers were actually right there in front of your eyes – chasing chickens – chopping wood – the hustle and bustle doesn’t seem that far off. Much of the citadel has been renovated to bring back as much as they could without sacrificing the integrity of history.

Walking along the perimeter of the citadel you get a sense for what may have gone on. You step over the dungeons, peer out through the archery slits at the valley below, even walk past the main entry gate complete with old ironwork that supported the cauldron of hot tar ready to dump on unwelcome guests.

Rasnov has it’s horrific myths as well, and something this old is bound to have a few stories of its own that it wishes to continuously re-tell.