While the modern state of Romania has only existed since 1877, its history stretches back much, much further. This means that there are many historic sites in Romania to explore, which visitors to this beautiful country can see without the huge crowds that have flooded other major European destinations in recent years.

Interested in learning more about the history of this diverse land? Keep reading for our guide to the most fascinating places to visit in Romania, broken down by region to help you plan your trip.

Transylvania

Let’s start with the most famous part of Romania, forever tied together with the legend of Dracula thanks to Bram Stoker’s iconic novel.

Transylvania is Romania’s central region, bordered by mountain ranges and dotted with medieval settlements – you will really feel like you’ve stepped back in time as you explore.

Home to a number of the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Romania, there is much more to Transylvania than Count Dracula, including:

Sighişoara

The old town of Sighisoara is a UNESCO World Heritage site for good reason. This stunning medieval town in the north of Transylvania was founded in the 12th century when a group of German Saxons were invited to settle here and assist with the defence of the region.

The town’s position on the frontier of Transylvania meant it became an essential stop for anyone traveling through this part of Europe, with Sighisoara’s impressive architecture a testament to it’s importance.

As it was on the boundaries, a strong defensive position was necessary to repel the many raids and military invasions, so a series of towers were built around the town. Nine of the fourteen towers built still stand today, including the stark Clock Tower which you can climb up for amazing views of the town and surrounding area.

Other sights in Sighisoara include the Church on the Hill, which looms large over the whole town from its high vantage point, the Venetian house with unusual architectural elements and the Dracula house, which is where Vlad the Impaler, the historical inspiration for the character, was supposedly born.

 

Transylvania’s Fortified Churches

Next up is another of Romania’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, the villages with fortified churches.

While there are many fortified churches across the country, this collection of seven villages with them are particularly special.

As with Sighisoara, when these villages were built, their defensive capabilities had to be strong. As the focal point of any medieval village, the church was the most important building and so these distinctive representations of Romanian architecture came into being.

In each of the seven villages, Biertan, Câlnic, Dârjiu, Prejmer, Saschiz, Valea Viilor and Viscri, you will find a fortified church. These were built to withstand attacks and house the villagers for long periods when under siege, so on the outside do not have the type of ornate decoration we see on churches in Italy or France.

On the inside however, the sculptural detail, art work and decorations are beautiful. Take the altar of the fortified church in Biertan for example, with 28 decorative panels that date back to 1515 or the mural paintings at Dârjiu, and you will understand that while the outer layer was nothing but practical, inside was another story.

Bran Castle

Next up is Bran Castle, the most visited spot in Romania – although so many people visit for the wrong reason.

Bran Castle has absolutely nothing, yes, nothing, to do with Dracula. It is not Dracula’s castle, it does not bear any resemblance to the castle Bram Stoker describes in his novel and there is no evidence Vlad the Impaler even visited, let alone lived there.

However, Bran Castle does have a fascinating history that makes it worthy of a visit, because of two royal women who made it their home.

Originally the site of a wooden castle built in 1212 and replaced with a stone structure in the late 1300’s, Bran Castle was just another one of the many castles in this region of Eastern Europe. It wasn’t until after World War I when the castle became a royal residence that it started to stand out.

Queen Marie of Romania was gifted the castle in 1920 and she spent 10 years renovating and modernising the building, turning it from a stark fortress into a beautiful home. She was incredibly passionate about the project and opened the castle up to public every Sunday so her people could share in its beauty.

Queen Marie’s daughter, Princess Ileana, inherited the castle when she died in 1938. Ileana had a deep connection to the castle but due to the outbreak of World War II and her unpopular marriage to an Austrian archduke, she only moved to Bran with her children in 1944. Sadly she was forced into exile from Romania in 1948 when the Communist regime took control of the country and was only able to return in 1990 when the regime had finally fallen, shortly before she passed away.

Brașov

Nestled in the Carpathian mountains, the town and surrounding area of Brasov are a must visit part of Romania.

The town itself is filled with charming medieval buildings and the huge Black Church, which is over 600 years old. You can still see the remnants of the fortifications that used to surround the old town, but the historic centre is now surrounded by more modern buildings.

Near Brasov you will also find the Râșnov fortress, high up on a hill above the town of Râșnov. Close to the Bran Pass that allowed people (and armies) to cross the southern Carpathians, this heavily fortified fortress was a place of safety for the villagers who lived nearby.

Built sometime in the late 1200’s (there is no record of the exact date), this fortress was a crucial defensive location for hundreds of years before it was finally abandoned in the 1850’s. Even with some of the structure in ruins, Râșnov is well worth a visit.

Southern Romania

Neighboring Transylvania, southern Romania is home to the capital city Bucharest, which is relatively modern in comparison to other European capital cities, being first mentioned in documents in 1459.

Prior to Romania being formed, this region was called Wallachia, and a lot of the best historic sites date back to the period when the concept of the state of Romania was emerging, including:

The Monastery Of Horezu

On UNESCO’s World Heritage list, the Horezu monastic complex was founded in 1690 by Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu of Wallachia. His vision for the monastery was one of architectural purity and balance, with rich decorations and religious compositions, at a time when the lands that would become Romania were under attack by the Ottoman empire.

The prince fought hard for his land and his people, but he and his four sons were captured and executed by the ruling sultan in 1714 as they refused to denounce their Christian faith and convert to Islam.

Now known as Brâncovenesc style in the prince’s honor, it is deemed to be a truly original Romanian art style and the monastery is an excellently-preserved example. You can see more of this style at the Mogosoaia Palace.

The Sinaia Monastery

Located in the Carpathian mountains, Sinaia monastery was founded in 1695 by Prince Mihail Cantacuzino. He had recently completed a pilgrimage to the holy lands of Nazareth, Jerusalem and Mount Sinai in Egypt and was inspired by the beautiful churches and monasteries he’d seen on his journey to build something similar in his home lands.

Part monastery and part stronghold on the road between Bucharest and Brașov, Sinaia monastery is a must-see in Romania. The buildings in the complex are fascinating and the art and decorations inside are breathtaking, especially in the Old Church.

The first king of Romania, Carol I, was very fond of this area and started using the monastery as his summer residence. He renovated the New Church (also known as the Great Church) in the late 1800’s to make it suitable for regular use by the royal family, which continued even after he built Peles Castle nearby.

Peles Castle

Peles Castle was officially completed in 1883, but would be continually improved and added to for years after. Carol I was a strong advocate for modernity, so the castle had electricity (a first for Europe), a central heating system and an elevator. He was also keen that the new country be able to stand proud with his European equivalents, so the castle was more like a palace, with hundreds of rooms lavishly decorated with everything from a concert hall to a vast armoury collection on site.

As with all Romanian royal properties, Peles Castle and the nearby Pelisor Castle were seized by the Communist party and they would no longer be used as a palace or a residence. During the Communist era the castles were briefly opened as a museum but that didn’t last long, and from 1975 no one was allowed to enter the estate. It was only in 1990, after the Communist regime had fallen that people were once again able to see this magnificent cultural complex.

Maramureș

The small northern region of Maramures is also known as ‘the land of wood’ because of the way its people have used wood in their architecture, from great wooden churches to gates and houses.

The ancient beech forests which stretch across multiple other countries in Europe make this part of Romania deeply forested, and the people of Maramures have kept the traditional skill of log building alive for centuries.

This long tradition is on display everywhere, but is best exemplified with the wooden churches of Maramures:

The Wooden Churches

There are nearly 100 wooden churches across Maramures with a distinctive style that were built in response to a ban on stone Orthodox churches.

Northern Romania was part of the Kingdom of Hungary for centuries, but the local people were largely allowed to practice their own religion and rule themselves without much involvement. This all changed when the Hungarian kingdom collapsed in on itself after they lost a crucial battle against the Ottomans.

The conflict between the Ottomans and the Hungarians continued for nearly 200 years before the Ottomans were decisively pushed out, but by this time, the Hungarian empire was being ruled by the Austrian Hapsburg dynasty.

The Hapsburgs were intrinsically linked with the Catholic faith, with many of their family being crowned Holy Roman Emperor over the centuries. They were not happy with the idea of their Romanian subjects continuing to follow Orthodox Christian teachings, and so banned the building of new Orthodox churches.

There was a loophole however that the local people were quick to identify. The assumption was that any new building would be built with stone or brick as the use of wood had largely died out elsewhere in Europe, but of course, the people of Maramures had not left this construction method behind.

Some of the churches were brand new and others were built on the site of older churches but all of them have a unifying cultural and architectural style. Eight churches were designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites because of their particular features, all of which are worth visiting:

• Bârsana – the former monastery church of the Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple was built in 1720 and has some incredible artwork inside, as well as a collection of icon painting.
• Budești Josani – the church of Saint Nicholas dates back to 1643, sitting on top of a hill with the classic slim clock towers that are characteristic of these wooden churches.
• Ieud – the altar of the Upper Church of Ieud is where the Codex of Ieud was discovered in 1921, which is one of the oldest written examples of the Romanian language.
• Poienile Izei – the Saint Parascheva Church is one of the oldest of the churches, and one of the best preserved, with intricate frescoes inside.
• Rogoz – the Church of the Holy Archangels has particularly well preserved, brightly colored paintings inside.
• Desești – the slightly later church here has some unique elements in its painted decorative works, including vivid scenes at the Last Judgement.
• Plopiș – the Church of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel with its unusual three-domed roof is still the only church in Plopis and used for the community’s religious services.
• Șurdești – at 72 meters tall, this church is one of the tallest oak buildings in the world, built so tall because the local people believed the taller their church was, the closer they would be to God.

 

Bucovina

Romania’s most northern region is Bucovina, whose history was shaped by the constant influx of people traveling through. The natural beauty of this part of the country is unmatched, it’s home to two national parks and primeval beech forests.

Bucovina is also home to two more of Romania’s UNESCO World Heritage sites (yes, they have a lot of them!), one dating back to the time of the ancient Romans:

Dacian Fortresses

The six Dacian fortresses of the Orastie mountains were built between the 1st century BC and AD as a means of defending against the advance of the conquering ancient Roman empire.

This part of Europe was then inhabited by the Dacians, a loose term for a multitude of tribes living in central and eastern Europe. A Dacian kingdom had been created around the same time as the Roman empire was seeking to expand its boundaries, with a number of campaigns dispatched by the Romans to take control of the mountains and beyond.

The Dacian fortresses were designed to act as a bastion against these campaigns, and the ruins that still survive today paint an evocative picture of this ancient people. Under emperor Trajan the Romans eventually defeated the Dacians – the panels on Trajan’s Column in Rome tells the story of his successful conquest.

The Painted Churches

Jumping forward 1500 years, the other UNESCO World Heritage sites in Bucovina are a collection of beautiful painted churches.

Unlike the other churches in Romania we’ve talked about here, these are covered in stunning frescoes on the outside as well as on the inside.

The medieval masterpieces differ from church to church but all of them are exceptionally well preserved, which is why we make sure to visit those at Voroneț and Modovita locations on our Romania tour itinerary. The vivid colors and depictions of biblical scenes like those below at Voronet are simply incredible:

Romania’s rich history has created a land filled with historic sites to visit, our selection here really is only scratching the surface of the different places you can see during your travels.

Interested in exploring Romania in more detail? Our Authentic Romania tour takes you off the regular tourist path and gives you an insight into this wonderful country, or we can arrange a custom itinerary based on your interests – contact us today to start your adventure.