Fortress
Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains
🇷🇴 Romania · 1st century BC
Built in murus dacicus style, the six Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains (Romanian: Cetăți dacice din Munții Orăștiei), in Romania, were created in the 1st centuries BC and AD as protection against Roman conquest, and played an important role during the Roman–Dacian wars.
Their extensive and well-preserved remains present a picture of a vigorous and innovative ancient civilization. Today, treasure-hunters sometimes search the area, as Romania lacks legislation in this domain (see Archaeological looting in Romania).
The six fortresses — Sarmizegetusa Regia, Costești-Cetățuie, Costești-Blidaru, Piatra Roșie, Bănița, and Căpâlna — that formed the defensive system of Decebalus were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. All the sites are in Hunedoara County, except for Căpâlna, which is in Alba County.
Text adapted from “Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains ranks #737 of 7,044 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #7 of the 95 mapped in Romania. Founded c. 50 BC, it is older than 99% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 8 atlas entries founded in the 1st century BC. See how Romania compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →Frequently asked questions
Where is Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains?
Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains stands in Romania, at 45.6231°, 23.3119°.
When was Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains built?
The atlas dates its founding to c. 50 BC. Earlier structures may have stood on the site; this is the earliest documented founding year.
How famous is Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains?
In this atlas's fame ranking: #737 of 7,044 worldwide, and #7 in Romania. Fame here combines how many Wikipedia language editions cover a landmark with how many people read them.
What is the nearest castle to Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains?
Sarmizegetusa Regia, about 1 km away.
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