Poienari Citadel
Poienari Citadel is situated in Capatenii Pamanteni village (Arefule commune) close to Vidraru lake, being situated on the top of a mountain on an altitude of 850 meters. It was part of the fortification system, destianated to defend the Northern borders of Tara Romaneasca. The road to the citadel is made through a beech forest, climbing 1490 cement stairs. In the 13th century on the place where the citadel lies now there was only a tower made of brown stone, following that in the 16th century the surface of the fortification to include the entire top of the clif with thick walls made of broken stone, being filled with bricks in their superior parts.
The citadel looks like a long fortification, having thick walls of 2-3 meters and 5 defending towers, covered with shingle and the interiors were decked with bricks. The entrance in the tower was positioned at the first level, the acces being made using a mobile scale. The Nordic portion of the wall fell as a result of the earthquake from 1915.
The citadel mentioned for the first time in 1453 had been attacked only once, by the Turkeys, in Summer of 1462. It is supposed to have served as a refugee, because it is situated in a deserted place, far from the commercial roads or as a prison, as a shelter for the treasury of the country.
It was property of Vlad Tepes’ family; there is also a legend that says that as a result of his enthroning in 1459 he arrested all the nobles families who participated on killing his father, and some of them were impaled, the others being forced to walk from Targoviste to Poienari and build a fortress on the old ruins of the outpost.
Photo galery
