Fellegvár- Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca)
History
The Citadel in Cluj-Napoca is a fortress situated on a 405-meter-high hill originally called Kőmál, next to the Little Someș River (Kis-Szamos). It was built between 1715 and 1735 with the aim of consolidating Habsburg rule in Transylvania following the defeat of Rákóczi’s War of Independence. In addition to military facilities, the fortress also included a prison.
Its designer was Giovanni Morando Visconti, a military architect of the imperial troops stationed in the Principality, who surveyed and designed several Transylvanian fortresses according to contemporary military engineering standards. After his death in 1717, the Citadel was built with minor modifications based on his plans. The fortress originally had three gates—northern, eastern, and western—but only parts of the western gate have survived.Style
The Citadel is a characteristic example of the pentagonal "star fortresses" associated with the name of French military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban. Its four Italian bastions and a half-bastion on the steep southern slope were connected by earthwork curtains and protected by a dry moat. A ravelin (shield wall) was also constructed in front of the northwestern curtain.
Notable Features
The southern, steep side of Kőmál—known as Sáncalja—was considered a notorious slum area until the 1960s. However, the Cluj Beautification Society had already begun efforts to improve it by the end of the 19th century. They purchased numerous shacks and replaced them with the Erzsébet Promenade, commissioned a statue of Queen Elisabeth (by Alajos Strobl), and built the Erzsébet Bridge, which connected the promenade (Sétatér) to the Citadel.
Starting in 1901, statues of the Hungarian leaders Árpád, Lehel, Vérbulcs, and Örs were erected along the city-facing promenade, but these were destroyed in 1919.
Present day
Of the original star-shaped fortress, today only the armory, gunpowder magazine, three gate buildings, and the defensive earthworks remain. Parts of the surrounding area were already turned into parkland in the early 1900s, but the construction of the Belvedere Hotel in 1969–70 resulted in the destruction of the southern side.
Attention to the long-neglected park and surviving military structures only resumed in the 1990s. In November 1995, a 26-meter-high metal cross was erected on the city-facing edge of the Citadel. Restoration of the remaining buildings is ongoing, and plans are in place to fully redevelop the surrounding green area.
