Central Romania: Saschiz Fortress to reopen for visitors in September

The Fortress of Saschiz, built in the 14th century, will be reopened for visitors starting September 1 following construction work.

"We hope that the Refuge Fortress in Saschiz will be officially open for visits by September 1 at the latest. We initially aimed for August 1, but there are still some issues related to the completion of the work. Certain types of work need to be redone and touched up,” said the mayor of Saschiz, Ovidiu Şoaită, cited by Agerpres.

The mayor also said that vehicles will be barred from the fortress. Instead, a parking area will be arranged nearby. However, the town is considering organizing a transport service up the hill to the fortress, especially since many visitors are foreign retirees.

"Since we do not allow access by cars or coaches, we need to organize transportation to manage everything efficiently. The access road to the Refuge Fortress is quite narrow, and congestion could occur due to overcrowding. Moreover, the life of the community will be affected by traffic and tourists driving to and from the fortress, who may or may not respect the speed limits," Ovidiu Şoaită said.

Despite construction work that is still ongoing, the fortress has already hosted events.

“Even now, in an organized manner, we allow access for events, as we have had and will continue to have very important events, including the Haferland Week and the Transylvania Bike Trails Race, which will attract around 1,000 participants on bicycles, along with family members, supporters, and everything else we have there. We estimate over 4,000 people in a very short time, during this week," Şoaită explained.

(Photo source: Ion Adrian Popa | Dreamstime.com)