Câlnic (; Hungarian/ Turkish: ''Kelnek'') is a commune in

Alba County Alba County () is a county (județ) of Romania located in the historic region of Transylvania. Its capital is Alba Iulia, a city with a population of 63,536. Name "Alba", meaning "white" in Latin and Romanian, is derived from the name of the ...

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, composed of two villages, Câlnic and Deal (''Dál''). Câlnic village is known for its castle, which is on

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

's list of

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

The castle

Câlnic Castle Câlnic or Calnic may refer to several places in Romania: * Câlnic, Alba, a commune in Alba County * Câlnic, Gorj, a commune in Gorj County * Câlnic, a district in the city of Reșița, Caraș-Severin County * Calnic, a village in Valea Crișu ...

, first mentioned in 1269, is very well preserved. Built as a defensible residence for the local Saxon "Gref" or count, it was bought in 1430 by the likewise Saxon village community and further fortified as a

refuge castle A refuge castleCreighton, Oliver (2015). ''Early European Castles''. Bloomsbury. or refuge fort (, also ''Fluchtburg'', ''Volksburg'', ''Bauernburg'' or ''Vryburg'') is a castle-like defensive location, usually surrounded by Rampart (fortification ...

or ''Fliehburg''. It consists of a large court surrounded by walls and some buildings adjacent to the walls. In the middle of the court there is a large

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

as well as a chapel. The castle differs from most other constructions of this type in that it is not situated on a hilltop but rather in a depression, much lower than the surrounding hills. This position, clearly inconvenient in case of a

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

, can be explained by the castle's first function as a residence, not meant as a defensive construction.

Bibliography

Liviu Stoica, Gheorghe Stoica, Gabriela Popa - Castles & fortresses in Transylvania: Alba County / Castele și cetăți din Transilvania: Județul Alba, Cluj-Napoca, 2009,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calnic, Alba Communes in Alba County Localities in Transylvania Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania

The castle

See also

Bibliography

References