Brașov is just another town of Transylvania established by the Germans, in this case, the Teutons, who were defending this regional periphery. The necessity for defense walls grew in the 13 century with the invasions of the Tatars (Mongols), but the constructions were extended and improved for almost six centuries after. In the 15 century, […]

This stronghold is outside the walls of the fortified city, but it is now right in the center of the modern town of Brașov. You get to it very simple, coming from Calea București, the main road to the capital of Romania, than taking the boulevard Iuliu Maniu from the round about, than follow the […]

This rocky hill has been defended since the time of the Dacians, more than two thousand years ago, according to some archeological findings. The Teuton knights, who were under a contract with the Hungarian king to defend this border region of Transylvania, also built some fortification here in the 14 century. But we have no […]

The oldest site in the city of Făgăraș is not the most famous castle in Romania but can offer some of the best exterior images, thanks to the way it is maintained by the local authorities. It does not rest on a high hill with romantic towers emerging from a rock like the Hunyadi Castle, […]

This is the best preserved Roman building in Italy’s capital, used almost without interruption since 123 AD, when emperor Hadrian commissioned it as a personal tomb. Very short after, the beautiful bridge over Tiber was built. It connects the mausoleum with the center of Rome, and also offers an easy access from the city to […]

The fall of Constantinople must have been the greatest event in the history of the Middle Ages. Though the Ottoman Empire was already spread around the town, it was thought that its walls were impenetrable. It was the greatest city of its time, in an age when Paris was a collection of villages and Rome […]

Kale fortress of Skopje dominates the capital of Macedonia from a high hill where it rests on very solid rock. River Vardar, the most important river in the former Yugoslav republic, flows right down the walls of this fortress, that also offers views of the modern neighborhoods of the capital, with blocks, factories and corporate […]

The fortress of Golubac was built seven hundred years ago in a strategic point on the Danube, before the Iron Gate Gorges, an area included in Derdap National Park today. The purpose was to guard both the Danube and the coast road and to offer taxation. For this purpose there existed even a great iron […]

The tower of Thessaloniki is a souvenir of the lasting Ottoman occupation, when the Turks fortified the city with walls against a see attack. The tower was long time used as a prison and was the scene of several massacres. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the Greeks earned their independence, the tower […]