Slimnic Stronghold

Slimnic (German Saxon: Stulzembrich, Stűltsembriχ; German: Stolzenburg; Hungarian: Szelindek, Nagyszelindek) is a commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. Around 1930, a treasure containing 18 golden coins minted between 1050 and 1350 was found in the territory of Slimnic. 12 of the coins were from mints located half way down the river Elba. It can therefore be assumed that some East-German colonists lived on these lands in the 14th century however the Saxon community here is known to be much older than that.

The stronghold of Slimnic is set on the hillock called Burgbaesch (or Burgbäsch). From this hill, that dominates the village below, the fortress was supposed to guard the way from Mediaş to the residence of the seat of Sibiu. Because of the deteriorating effects of historical events on the fortress, a set of ruins are all that remain today. The peasant citadel was built by the locals, who have used it for defense in harsh times or to maintain their supplies. The first mantle walls, built of uncut stone, were erected in the 12th century, at the time of the great Tatar invasion.


In Front of the Stronghold

This construction was replaced in the 15th century with a stronger construction made of brick. The Gothic chapel in the north of the citadel was then transformed into a defense tower. Besieged several times, the city was conquered by Ioan Zápolya in 1529, and Mózes Székely in 1602. It was besieged also by the Turks in 1658.


The Inner Court

The red brick walls formed two polygonal precincts which have both been preserved to this day. The southern one though, enclosing a well, was badly damaged by the kuruc at the beginning on the 18th century. They had attacked on behalf of Prince Ferenc II Rákóczi and were led by Lorenz Perki. The tower in the northern precinct had walls up to 3.5 m thick at the base, but had no machicolation, battlement or wall passage.


The Way to the Tower

During the 14th century was built, but unfinished, the Gothic basilica, on west-east axis of the stronghold. All that remains of the church today are its walls, except for the northern one, which has been destroyed. Because of the unusual plan and the elevated choir, under which there was a tunnel communicating with the gate tower, it is difficult to speculate on how the church was intended to look.


In the Tower

After 1717 the fortress was repaired several times. The stones taken from the demolition of a part of the church in 1855 were not used as planned for building a new school, but were instead used for a new cemetery wall. In 1870, the little tower between the inner and outer courtyard and part of the wall that guarded the southern entrance collapsed, as did the circular ones surrounding the well, only two years later. During World War I was taken the very precious bell. In the late 1950s the bell tower, the southern walls, and the north-western defensive tower were restored.

Google Maps

From Fortified Churches from Transylvania and other sources.

Panoramas by Michael Pop, from www.360trip.ro.

Alba Carolina fortress

Alba Iulia is situated in the heart of Romania and is the spiritual capital of the country. Alba Iulia is the site of the ancient Apulum, founded by the Romans in the 2nd century A.D., and destroyed by Tatars in 1241. From 1599 to 1601, Alba Iulia was the capital of the united principalities of Walachia, Transylvania and Moldavia. It was the site of the proclamation of Transylvania's unification with Romania (1 December 1918) and of the coronation of King Ferdinand in 1922.


The Alba Carolina fortress was built between 1714 and 1738 and it is considered to be the most representative baroque, Vauban-type star fortress in Romania and one of the largest of this kind in Eastern Europe.


The fortress was designed by the Italian architect Giovanni Morando Visconti, who worked under the supervision of the general Stefan de Steinville and was later completed under General Weiss. The work at the fortification of Alba Iulia has began on the 4th of November 1715, when the foundation of Carol bulwark, dedicated to the emperor Carol VI and situated on the Northern side was made. 20.000 serves built the walls. Between the 18th and 19th centuries the fortress served as the military headquarters of Transylvania and also as a general armament repository. It was once one of the most powerful citadels in southeastern Europe, and served in the line of defense meant to keep out Turkish invaders from Central Europe. The leaders of the peasants’ revolution of 1784-85 were jailed, tried and executed here. Later, in 1848, the citadel was attacked by Hungarian revolutionary forces led by general Bem, but did not fall into their hands. Naturally, at the dawn of the 20th century, the citadel became obsolete, as modern warfare made its appearance on the European scene.


The perimeter of the outside walls is about 12 km. The fortification has seven bastions or bulwarks (Eugene of Savoia, St. Stefan, The Trinity, St. Michael, St. Carol, St. Capistrano and St. Elisabeth) that make it into a star-shaped, Vauban-style fortress. The largest bulwark is the Trinity (116m on 132m). On the whole, the fortress stands out between the most important Baroque architectural ensemble in Romania and Europe.


The walls were made of bricks, quarry stones, or out of the Roman ruins, measuring 3 m at the base and 1.20 m at the top and being sustained by abutments. The fortress is outstanding both for its decorative elements and for the beauty of its gates, unique in European military architecture. The fortress has six gates, three towards the town and the other three towards the western training fields. The gates are richly adorned, decorated with statues and reliefs by sculptors like Johann König, Johann Vischer and Giuseppe Tencalla, and have been a model for the 18th century Transylvanian architecture. The gates are looked upon as extremely valuable samples of early and plastic figurative Baroque. Today, only three gates preserve the original look.