Fortress of Deva: the ruined citadel above the Mureș valley
The Fortress of Deva (Cetatea Deva) crowns a volcanic hill above the city of Deva in Hunedoara County, Transylvania. A royal castle first recorded in 1269, it guarded the Mureș route into Transylvania for centuries, and today its ruins can be reached on foot or by an incline lift.
In August 1849 the gunpowder store of Deva Fortress blew up, killing soldiers of the garrison and bringing down the whole eastern side. The citadel was never rebuilt as a fortress.
The history of the Fortress of Deva
The hill of Deva has been inhabited for a very long time. Romanian Wikipedia mentions traces of settlement from the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, and archaeologists think that dressed stone blocks with dovetail cuts may be the remains of a Dacian fortification. The medieval citadel, built in the middle of the 13th century, is first documented in 1269, when the young King Stephen, son of Béla IV, mentioned the royal castle of Deva in a grant to Count Chyl of Câlnic for his bravery in a battle under its walls.
In 1273 a military operation is recorded at the foot of the fortress: the Cumans were defeated beneath its walls by the palatine Peter Csák. At the end of the 13th century Deva was the seat of the Transylvanian voivodes Roland Borșa and Ladislaus Kán, a sign that it was strong and large enough to hold a court as well as a garrison. After 1315 it returned to King Charles Robert of Anjou. In 1444 John Hunyadi received the royal domain of Deva, with 56 villages and the gold mines of the Apuseni Mountains, and the fair of Deva, a settlement at the foot of the hill, is first mentioned in his time. The Corvin family held the domain until 1504.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the fortress became a state prison. Bishop Francis David, the Unitarian preacher and founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, was imprisoned here for heresy and died in his cell on 15 November 1579. Prince Gabriel Bethlen built a bastion that served as a prison and place of torture, and at its foot a Renaissance residence, the Magna Curia palace. The Ottomans occupied the fortress in 1657. From 1713 it was converted into a bastion fortification and renewed again in 1752. In 1784 insurgents of the Horea uprising attacked it without success.
After that the fortress lost its military role and fell into decay, until Emperor Francis I, visiting in 1817, ordered it repaired; the work lasted 12 years. During the 1848–1849 revolution it was held by Hungarian forces, and on the morning of 13 August 1849 the gunpowder magazine exploded. The blast destroyed much of the fortress, killed soldiers of the garrison and brought down the whole eastern side. The ruin was never rebuilt. After years of delay, a large restoration began in the spring of 2013, financed by the European Union, the Romanian government and private donors, and was planned to end in December 2014.
Curiosities about the Fortress of Deva
- The fortress is central to the Hungarian folk tale The Wife of Clement the Mason.
- The European horned viper is native to the castle hill, according to the German Wikipedia.
- Francis David, founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, died in the fortress prison in 1579.
- A gunpowder explosion on 13 August 1849 destroyed much of the citadel and brought down its whole eastern side.
- The fortress is linked with the foot of the hill by an inclined lift, which the German Wikipedia gives as 278 metres long.
- The complex has three enclosures of different shapes on the summit and part of the north slope: one oval, one irregular oval and one roughly semicircular.
Tours near Fortress of Deva
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting the Fortress of Deva: what to see
- You can walk up the hill or take the incline lift from the foot of the hill, a convenient way to reach the top.
- The ruins offer a view over Deva and its public park, with the Magna Curia palace and the town’s main administrative buildings below.
- Look for the three enclosures of different shapes and the later bastion walls of the 18th century.
- The monument was restored between 2013 and 2014, so parts that were once closed, such as the inner courtyard, may now be open; check the current opening hours before you go.
- Densuș Church, about 35 km away, and Costești-Blidaru Dacian fortress, about 32 km away, are the nearest other places on this site.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Fortress of Deva is
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Photos of Fortress of Deva
Questions
Where is the Fortress of Deva?
It stands on a volcanic hill above the city of Deva in Hunedoara County, in the Poiana Ruscă area of Transylvania.
How do you get up to the Fortress of Deva?
On foot, or by an incline lift that connects the foot of the hill with the fortress.
When was the Fortress of Deva built?
The medieval citadel dates from the middle of the 13th century and is first documented in 1269.
What happened to the Fortress of Deva in 1849?
On 13 August 1849 the gunpowder magazine exploded, destroying much of the fortress and bringing down its eastern side. It was not rebuilt.
Who was imprisoned in the Fortress of Deva?
The Unitarian bishop Francis David was held here and died in his cell in 1579. Prince Gabriel Bethlen also built a bastion that served as a prison.
What can you see near the Fortress of Deva?
Costești-Blidaru Dacian fortress is about 32 km away, Densuș Church about 35 km, and Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa and Sarmizegetusa Regia about 42–44 km.
Also nearby
Costești-Blidaru Dacian Fortress
Hunedoara · Dacian hill fortress with six towers, UNESCO
32 km away
Densuș Church
Hunedoara · medieval church built of Roman stones
35 km away
Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa
Hunedoara · ruined Roman capital with amphitheatre and forum
42 km away
Sarmizegetusa Regia
Hunedoara · Dacian capital with sanctuaries, UNESCO site
44 km away