In the Footsteps of Vlad the Impaler – Bonus 3: Fortress Oratea

Welcome to the third and last bonus episode of our journey through Romania, in the footsteps of Vlad Tepes. Unfortunately, not so much is known about our location of today. Moreover, it’s quite difficult to reach and to photograph it unless you have a drone. Nevertheless, let’s introduce you to Fortress Oratea.

Little is known about the history of the fortress. Researchers think that building started between the 12th and the 14th century and it’s unknown by whom. On the other hand, the oldest archeological finds found in and near the ruins date from the 14th – 15th centuries. Quite a mysterious place, to say the least…

What you want to know is, of course, the link between this place and Vlad the Impaler. It is a historical fact that Matthias Corvinus (son of John Hunyadi) captured and imprisoned Vlad Tepes around 1462, after a disagreement between the two rulers. Legend has it that he spent some time as a prisoner in Fortress Oratea. For how long? Nobody knows. By the way, after Vlad’s release, Corvinus married him off to his cousin, Justina Szilágyi.

As I told you before, it’s not easy to find the fortress. But the Arges county, where it is located, has some breathtaking landscapes!

According to Wikipedia, this is the exact location of the ruins of the fortress:

Oratea Fortress (in some documents is called Oratia ) was built on “Dealul Sasului”, 1.5 km north of Podu Dâmboviței village, Argeș county , about 300 m east of Câmpulung – Brașov road ( DN73 ), 6 km north of Rucăr and 2 km from the Dâmbovița river . (translated from Romanian, by Google)

Driving on the DN73, Lars and I did find the viewpoint that you can also see on the map.

And then you need to descend a very high and incredibly steep hill to reach the ruins. I decided to use my 200mm lens instead.

Unfortunately, this is all I can tell and show you about this destination. And this is also the end of our Vlad Tepes adventure in Romania! On Wednesday, we will take you to a small village in the Czech Republic and on Friday, we will do some urban exploration in Belgium!