The abbey at Cârța was established in 1205, or maybe next year by the Cistercian monks at the behest of Hungarian king Emerich, who was continuing a project of the Arpad dynasty of colonizing Transylvania. Prior to that, these monks, coming from Burgundy, a region in the east of France had established the first monastery […]

This rocky hill has been defended since the time of the Dacians, more than two thousand years ago, according to some archeological findings. The Teuton knights, who were under a contract with the Hungarian king to defend this border region of Transylvania, also built some fortification here in the 14 century. But we have no […]

The oldest site in the city of Făgăraș is not the most famous castle in Romania but can offer some of the best exterior images, thanks to the way it is maintained by the local authorities. It does not rest on a high hill with romantic towers emerging from a rock like the Hunyadi Castle, […]

Some of the few tourist attractions offered by Târgoviște, a city 80 km NW of capital Bucharest, are found in Chindia Park. Here are grouped the ruins of the former royal residence, a watchtower, that is the emblem of the city, an Italian garden with a small lake and a modest zoo garden, that used […]

Eclipsed in fame and size by Dubrovnik on the same Adriatic coast, Trogir is like a very expensive perfume, kept in a tiny bottle. It would have been hard for a film crew to recreate such accurate sets for bringing to life an aristocratic society of hundreds of years ago. But Trogir looks perfect and […]

With a name that seems predestined for a stone wall, the village of Ston, Croatia, claims to have the longest stone wall in Europe. The wall, that also has some imposing forts on top and can be walked upon, was built by the republic of Dubrovnik to protect the land and still has 5,5 km […]

The tower of Thessaloniki is a souvenir of the lasting Ottoman occupation, when the Turks fortified the city with walls against a see attack. The tower was long time used as a prison and was the scene of several massacres. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the Greeks earned their independence, the tower […]