The Ruins of The Severin Fortress. Where the Gates of the Roman Empire Closed Forever

DSC_0247.jpg

The ruins of the Severin Fortress is an ensemble of historical monuments located on the territory of Drobeta Turnu Severin municipality. Locality situated in the South-West of Romania, being a county seat city, located on the left shore of the Danube, and a place full of history. One passing point through which the Romans tried to completely conquer Dacia in their thirst towards enlarging the Roman empire as much as possible, and where Apollodorus of Damascus gave his thesis with his famous bridge built over the Danube, meant to help the Roman army cross the river towards what was once called Dacia, and the Dacian people.

DSC_0059.jpg

DSC_0045.jpg

DSC_0075.jpg

DSC_0081.jpg

DSC_0086.jpg

DSC_0094.jpg

DSC_0096.jpg

DSC_0103.jpg

The medieval fortress of Severin was built as a fortress against the Pechenegs and Cumans present in the region, in the medieval era, and founded by King Ladislaus I (1040-1095). Although it did not witness the wars waged by the Dacians and Romans, at the beginning of the second century, it was a real gateway between Eastern and Western Europe, and hard battles were fought for its conquest. It remained where it belongs, to the Romanian people, and was recently restored to become a tourist attraction of the area and a place for relaxation and promenade for locals, as well as tourists.

DSC_0106.jpg

DSC_0136.jpg

DSC_0143.jpg

DSC_0146.jpg

DSC_0151.jpg

DSC_0152.jpg

DSC_0155.jpg

DSC_0160.jpg

Built on the border between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, the fortress was from the beginning a military and religious dispute between the Hungarian crown, Bulgarians and Wallachian voivodes, between Catholics and Orthodox. During the maximum period of its construction, it had 6 defense towers, being surrounded by 2 concentric waves of stone and a deep water ditch. It was rectangular in shape, with walls of rough river stones glued with mortar. In the center of the fortress was a chapel built with materials taken from the Roman camp Drobeta, located a little further - the chapel was surrounded by graves. A hearth oven for processing weapons was also discovered in the fortress. In 1524, after a devastating attack by the Turks on Soliman the Magnificent, only one tower remained in the fortress; the fortress was never rebuilt...
source

DSC_0163.jpg

DSC_0164.jpg

DSC_0168.jpg

DSC_0173.jpg

DSC_0177.jpg

DSC_0178.jpg

DSC_0195.jpg

DSC_0198.jpg

The ruins that have survived today come from two enclosures - one inside and one outside, which was surrounded by a deep ditch. As a result of the excavations, square towers were revealed that flanked the inner courtyard. From the tower to the northeast, another wall is preserved, 3 floors high and 11 meters high, 9 meters long and 2.5 meters wide. The gate of the fortress was in the southeast corner. Subsequently, on the occasion of the rehabilitation through a European project, 2 more enclosure walls were found. In addition to these, there were also found: a treasure trove of 160 coins, remains of bow arrows and crossbows, fragments of cannon barrels, remains of chain shirts, a fountain full of ceramic remains, but also human bones.
source

DSC_0203.jpg

DSC_0205.jpg

DSC_0207.jpg

DSC_0218.jpg

DSC_0227.jpg

DSC_0238.jpg

DSC_0245.jpg

DSC_0247.jpg

In my opinion, an amateur one of course, the restoration works were done with care and devotion, and its maintenance is exemplary. Inside there is a museum open to the public, but which was unfortunately closed at the time I arrived there. Hopefully next time I will be able to visit it and take a few photos as well.

The view though, the calmness and meditative silence, inside it, and its full of history vibe, are worth every minute spent inside of it, but also outside to photograph it from almost any possible angle. Hope I haven't disappointed. I have to admit that I tried my new lenses for this post and the results are probably not the best possible, but my intention was to give my best.

DSC_0250.jpg

DSC_0252.jpg

DSC_0262.jpg

DSC_0285.jpg

DSC_0295.jpg

DSC_0299.jpg

DSC_0302.jpg

Wandering around this maze of a fortress I haven't even realized that the sun was already setting down, and that an hour of this day flew so quickly, and that my stomach was asking for its fuel, hence I took a couple of photos more trying my best to capture the sunset's golden hour and it was time to get back home.

It's not the first time that I been to this fortress and probably not the last time either. It's nice visiting it every time though, and also hope that this post fits the #haveyoubeenhere community. If you haven't visited it yet, and happen to visit Romania, especially the S-W part of it, I would definitely recommend you to get to this place. It's one of the few places in Romania that I can proudly talk about.

DSC_0307.jpg

DSC_0309.jpg

DSC_0311.jpg

Thanks for attention,
Adrian

H2
H3
H4
3 columns
2 columns
1 column
23 Comments
Ecency