Hey you guys! Thanks for joining us on another journey.
In this week's Romanian travel vlog we showcase
some of the best things to do in Fagaras Romania
So sit back relax and enjoy the journey!
in the morning time we got up early and actually got to the fortress before
it was even open to the public but just standing out front
looking across this mirrored background of the church
was just amazing. I feel like it's the one of the best photographs i took while
i was there. built in 1310 on the site of a former
12th century wooden fortress (which was burned by the Tartars in 1241)
Fagaras was enlarged between the 15th and 17th centuries
and considered one of the strongest fortifications in Transylvania--
which is crazy because this one's on flat ground--the fortress was surrounded
by a deep moat which in times of war or social unrest
could easily be filled with water from a nearby mountain brook. a bridge
over the moat provided the only access point
and the fortress has three floors and five towers.
Fun fact, the fortress is surrounded by two rows of walls
the space between them is filled with the earth so the
end result is one sturdy eight meter thick
wall which is about 27 feet thick. oh my goodness! throughout the
years Fagaras Fortress functioned mainly as
a residence for various princes and their families
Transylvanian prince Gabriel Bethlen who was strongly influenced by the Italian
renaissance brought architects and glassmakers from
Italy who rebuilt the fortress bestowing elegance and beauty to the
construction. and that is one thing that is true about this fortress I felt
it did seem to have a bit more flair compared to the others
that we visited. yeah it was almost palace like--yeah in
some parts of it--but that's due to a lot of restoration. during the
rule of George, starts with an r, i'm not going to
even try and pronounce it-- the castle's fortification were doubled
and the moat was enlarged. he had the bastions bridged and covered,
the moat paved with stones, the bridge and the
cast mates repaired and a guard house built.
records show that the interior must have been luxurious in the 17th century.
they say that unfortunately little of its former grandeur has been preserved
the castle was deprived of its decorations and fancy furniture when it
was turned into a military garrison in the 18th century.
Here's another fun fact, in 1948 the Fagaras Fortress was taken over by the
communists and made a dreadful political prison--
Oh I bet it was dreadful--but since 1954 the castle has housed the museum
which, and as we've said before we're not much of museum-
type people, but this was really impressive. this was worth the what 15
Lei a person to get in. oh yeah it's only what three dollars and 49 cents a
person or something like that. the museum has roman artifacts
a collection of medieval weapons ethnographic
sections which focus on the artistic and folk crafts in the area
and also a beautiful collection of those glass painted icons, i don't know if you
remember those. i remember the swords were really cool.
you don't remember the glass painted icons? no! i do but i like glass painting and the
stained glass. there's a total of 85 rooms one of them
being the torture chamber, which still preserves the most infamous
(but most likely never actually used) torture instrument in
Europe called the Iron Maiden.
not the band. during the restoration works, a tunnel was actually discovered
along with a disturbing historical fact.are you ready for it? i'm ready for it
in the old days the criminals and traders sentenced to death were buried
inside these the fortress walls. oh wow
i didn't know that, that's crazy. to be outside
stuck in this this thing was just for a couple of seconds was enough torture for
me. that claustrophobia kicks in quick i
could only imagine when people throwing tomatoes or whatever food i don't know
if that's how they really did it maybe that's just the movies
but you know the the means of torture were insane
how did they think these things up though, that's what i want to know what
do you what is your opinion? comment below. yes please. some of these
images is just mind-blowing like wow. yeah like sawing somebody upside
down in half while they're alive or pulling them
apart. like who came up with these things? these methods and these instruments? yeah
it'd be one thing just to be taken out back and hung
but here sit on this chair of spikes
for not being museum people we really enjoyed Fagaras
absolutely. in fact i think it was my favorite which i referenced in last
week's video, at Rasnov--card above. i think what was cool about
this fortress is the fact that it had been restored in parts but not
overly done so there were a lot of spots that were still
very natural or seemed to be natural if they have been restored
i'd be surprised. but it was nice to walk around
all over the fortress as well
we got a place to stay for the night through booking.com
(see our discount link below, it gives you a huge discount and it benefits
our growth with the channel) the place we stayed in
had the hotel part upstairs and this amazing bakery downstairs. how much
did we pay for the booking.com? it was 163 Romanian Lei
which is about 37 us dollars that's a bargain because this place is super nice.
uh you could get a pastry and a coffee. they wanted you to try those things
because--they're amazing--hook, line and sinker!
April couldn't stop at one--of course not-- and that's in big part because
they're not as sweet as these U.S. pastries at all but they're so much
they're so much better but the really cool thing about this place is the fact
that it's about a 10-minute walk to Fagaras Fortress. we stopped while we
were walking through town to talk to some of the local people at the church
they were dressed up in traditional garments talking them into giving us a
performance but they said no. probably good since i don't
have any sound since i lost my microphone anyway.
the church is definitely cool looking architecturally speaking especially with
the sunlight glistening on it like the reflection and the in the moat
at the fortress. and of course you know i had to
fly the drone over it. whenever you see a line of people out a
door of a restaurant, that's the place you want to eat
and we did absolutely that. we waited for quite some time but--it was a while--it
was well worth it. we got a shawarma and a kebab and OMG!
i think it was a kebab sandwich. yeah. it was huge this thing could feed a
small country. it was so good, so tasty
yeah--she cut it right there put all the ingredients on it
they don't have anywhere to eat--sit down and eat--but i'll tell you what, we went
across the street at the church again they had some
a little uh park so we sat in there and-- we highly recommend this place too
if you uh you get a chance to come to Romania highly suggest it,
super affordable vacation. We want to thank you guys for watching our video
all the way to the end. if you would hit that subscribe button
share it with a friend and, like always,
Thank you for living life!