"A nice 13th century monument" Cilnic by codrutz

Cilnic Travel Guide: 11 reviews and 19 photos

The fortress of Calnic is one of the most interesting 13th century monuments in Transylvania. Originally built as a nobiliary residence in the last third of the 13th century by the Count Chyl de Kelling, Calnic was mentioned for the first time in a document dated 1269. The fortress of Calnic has been designed with a massive rectangular keep protected by an oval precint, fortified with defense tower to the south and a gate tower to the north. Residence of the Saxons nobles until 1430, the fortress has been sold by the last descendents of the nobiliary family to the peasant community of Calnic, who, in the first half of the 16th century, started to build a new set of walls, fortified the gate tower with a barbican, and inside the walls built a chapel. Inside the chapel are fragments of fresco from the beginning of the 16th century. The building of a new set of walls in the 16th century required the addition of two or more floors to the keep, which becomes now a mere defense tower but reaches more than 20 meters, giving more efficiency to fire weapons beyond the outside wall. The fortress has been restored between 1961 - 1964 by the Historical Monuments Department.

Inside the fortress there have been organized exibitions of documents and art, while the chapel is often a conference or concert hall where medieval, Reinassance or baroque music is played. The old parohial house shelters the documentary library of the Association. In the future, summer courses of art history, creation camps and international scientific symposia are expected to take place here.

Intro Updated Sep 8, 2004
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Reviews (11)

Inside #5 Favorites (11)

Near the door there is a panel which holds a sample of the traditional romanian wear for this region. more travel advice

Inside #3 Favorites (11)

In this kind of chests the families used to keep the valuables which were supposed to become the bride's "belongings"... more travel advice

Inside #2 Favorites (11)

Notice the small door. I always wonder why they made back then the doors just over 1m .. and I found the answer here -... more travel advice

Inside #1 Favorites (11)

There is the space where the remain of the old chimney can be seen. One can see the traditional pottery from various... more travel advice

Comments (7)

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Mikebond Jul 30, 2007 at 2:37 AM

Nice Transylvanian village! This page has now 950 visits, not 184 anymore, if you want to update your homepage.
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raduienciu Jun 28, 2007 at 2:17 PM

Hi Codrutz, Your page brings back lots of nostalgic memories, as I used to spend my summer and winter breaks at my grandparents house in Cilnic. Me and my cousin were playing a lot around and inside the fortress (of course we weren’t allowed to…).
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nickandchris Feb 24, 2006 at 9:14 AM

This looks wonderful. Must return for more of Romania.
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Mariajoy Feb 13, 2006 at 10:39 PM

Hi Codrutz! Hope you are having a wonderful birthday! Love this page, fascinating!
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vesna04 Oct 11, 2005 at 12:03 PM

LOOKS NICE, somewhat similar to the villages in my country.Cheers:)
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matcrazy1 Jan 3, 2005 at 3:17 PM

Very interesting off the beaten path!
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globetrott Dec 8, 2004 at 1:06 AM

an interesting page about quite an unknown place ! ....one I day I hope to be able to explore your country with my motorhome...