Densuş (German: Demsdorf, Hungarian: Demsus) is a commune in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It seems that the name comes from the Latin Silva Densa (dense forest).
St. Nicholas Church is one of the oldest Romanian churches still standing. It was built in the 7th century with additions made in the 13th century on the site of a 2nd century Roman temple, with some materials from the Dacian Sarmizegetusa fortress. It has a stone tower above the naos. Inside the church there are 15th century mural paintings that show Jesus wearing Romanian traditional clothes.
It is considered that on the setting of the present day church, there was once a Dacian temple dedicated to Zamolxis, upon which the conquering Romans built a temple dedicated to the god Mars. After the Roman administrative withdrawal, the temple became a Christian church, and sermons were held there. Its present form dates from the beginning of the 12th century. Considering its tradition, it dates from the IV century AD, and is considered the oldest church in Romania and South East Europe, and historically its present form dates from the 12th century.
One of the hypotheses about Densuş is that it was once a pagan temple, and to sustain this argument, it is shown that: the altar of the church is closer to the South than to the East, which would suggest that it was once a pagan temple, because all Christian houses of worship have the altar pointing towards the East. Other clues are the form of the roof, which, seen from a lateral perspective, has the form of a bird, to be exact a dove, and above the altar there are two stone lions, united by their tails. Another hypothesis, based on inscriptions found inside the church, holds that it was originally built as a mausoleum to the Roman general Longinus Maximus.
Neamţ Citadel (Romanian: Cetatea Neamţ) is a medieval fortress located near Târgu Neamţ, Neamţ County, Moldavia, Romania.
Lack of reliable information on the origins of Neamţ Fortress had resulted in several hypotheses whose reliability was often questioned. A number of prestigious historians and philologists, as A.D. Xenopol, B.P. Hasdeu, D. Onciul etc., said that - according to the papal bull of 1232 - the Teutonic Knights of Bârsa had built between 1211-1225 on the eastern slope of the Carpathians a castrum muntissimum that only the Neamţ Citadel could be. The Germanic (Teutonic or Saxon) hypothesis was acquired by many of Romanian historians, from the name of the fortress (in Romanian, Neamţ means German).
Later, the hypothesis on the beginnings of the citadel could be reconsidered. Thus, in the material dating from the lowest layer of citadel, revealed by systematic investigations carried out, were identified coins from the reign of Petru I Muşat (1375-1391). This is a definite proof that Neamţ Fortress was built in the second part of the reign of Petru I, during which Moldova has experienced a continuous political and economic development. A monument like Neamţ Fortress is a large building, which required a huge effort and considerable material resources. The only force capable of undertaking such initiatives was provided by the princes of the era of consolidation of the feudal state of Moldova.
Neamţ Fortress was clearly documented a few years later, in 1395, during the expedition of King Sigismund of Hungary in Moldova. Not irrelevant is that "The Neamţ from mountains" is mentioned in the Russian Chronicle that describes the cities to the east of the Carpathians, dated between 1387-1391, which could refer both to the city and the citadel.
The fortress was built on a rocky triangular spur, with height of about 480 m above sea level and 80 m above the level of Neamţ River (or Ozana). It has a rectangle with unequal sides shape, adapted to the configuration of the terrain. The northern and southern sides are 38.5 and 37.5 m long, the eastern side have a length of 47 m and the western side is 40 m long. Specific for the defense system of the fortress is that the towers of the four corners were not placed outside the walls, but directly into the frame walls, and this because the natural fortifications on three sides not allowed their building outside. In front of the fourth side (N) is a ditch dating from the 15th century. The walls were 12-15 m high and 3 m thick, and are strengthened by 18 exterior buttresses.
In 1475, during the reign of Stephen the Great, on the northern side were added four rounded bastions, 30 m high, and the walls were raised with 6-7 m. The new access road into the citadel is represented by an arched bridge, finished by a drawbridge, and supported on 11 stone pillars with prismatic form. The exterior fortification system included also ditches and palisades.
The garrison had currently 300 soldiers. The fortress was besieged many times by Hungarians, Turks, Tatars, Cossacks, Austrians, Polish, and had a particular importance in the defensive system of Moldavia. Practically, during the 14th-18th centuries, any major event in the history of Moldavia was linked, in a way or another, to the citadel.
In the 18th century, it lost any political or military importance and began to deteriorate. During the reign of Mihail Sturdza (1834-1849) the citadel was protected and in 1866 was declared a historical monument. Between 1968-1972, the walls were reinforced, without the reconstruction of the missing portions. Nowadays, the fortress represents one of the most visited objectives of the region.
This blog represents the work of a team of students and teachers from Secondary School no. 1 Luduş, Romania. Join us to an imaginary trip through people, facts, and places from Romania...
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