After it underwent revamping works for the past three years, Deva Fortress is ready to open its gates again for visitors as of April 1st. During the last 3 years, the access to the fortress was restricted to a belvedere area.
The local authorities from Deva plan to turn the fortress into a cultural venue to host several open-air events, thus also counting on boosting the city tourism. “Opera Nights” open-air opera festival might be also hosted here.
According to Deva Mayor, 130,000 tourists visited the fortress last year, while they expect 300,000 this year.
A complete tour of the fortress lasts two hours. There are several tours available to visit the monument, on foot or by cable car, while encompassing the artillery hall, the bastion and the three precincts.
The rehabilitation works of the Deva Fortress mounted to RON 38.42 million, with RON 21.96 million provided by the European Fund for Regional Development and the rest by the city hall and the state budget.
The Fortress of Deva is located in the city of Deva, Hunedoara County, on top of a volcanic hill. The volcano belongs to the Poiana Ruscă Mountains range within the Western Carpathian Mountains of Romania.
The first evidence of the medieval Deva Fortress dates back to the second half of the 13th century.
The first records regarding a military operation involving the fortress dates from 1273. At the end of the 13th century, the Deva Fortress was in the property of Ladislaus Kan, ruler of Transylvania who organized a court besides the military garrison.
The Fortress of Deva ‘stars’ in the Hungarian folk tale ‘The Wife of Clement, the Mason.’
The citadel hill has been declared a nature reserve in 1958, with rich vegetation and its rocks being home of the placid but venomous nose-horned viper , aka. horned adder. At the bottom of the hill there are mineral waters (a-thermal bicarbonate chlorosodical waters, 18 C) used for salt baths.