Cetatea Soimos, Transylvania, Romania

4.5 (49 reviews) Spent Ranking #1 in Western Romania Historic Sites • Ancient Ruins

Soimos Fortress

High above the river Mures (west of Romania, district: Arad, city called Lipova) on a cliff lies the Fortress of the Hawk; in Romanian it is called "Cetatea Soimos", because "soim" means "hawk". The fortress was already mentioned in the year 1278.Nowadays the proud fortress has become a ruin. You can go there by trian, by car, motorcycle. It is not difficult to arrive there. Many tourists climb up to the fortress, for playtime, for a picknick, for the beautiful overviews, for a dangerous climbing on the walls. Not far away there is a great franciscan monastery called Radna Monastery. From the fortress you can go by walk. Local people are very nice and kind.
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Address

Dn7 Soimos, Lipova 310320 Romania

Mobile

+40 743 012 666

Website

http://www.cetatesoimos.ro/

Email

[email protected]

Current local date and time now

Thursday, May 09, 2024, 2:10

User Ratings

4.5 based on (49 reviews)

Excellent
49%
Good
37%
Satisfactory
10%
Poor
4%
Terrible
0%

Reviews

  • 4Tiberiu_Baranyi 5:00 PM Jun 1, 2022
    A ruin worth visiting.
    Pity those who don't remember their history and pity those who don't care for their heritage. Indeed , the fortress of Soimos is one the historical place in the area of Arad - amongst others - that would deserve a much better fate. The fortress walls are overrun by the growing bushes and trees, and the walls are crumbling away, the grass and others weeds are growing waist high and if you are not careful you can easily run into a clump of nettles - nothing dangerous, unless you are allergic to nettle - and that can be annoying. A bit of history : build in the middle ages first was mentioned in documents during 1278 .., than over the centuries has served as fortress guarding the entrance to the Mures Valley, in 1456 was in the possession of John of Hunedoara, the regent of Hungary, was sieged in the peasant uprising of 1514 ; was used by John of Zapolya (King of Hungary known as John II ) and his mother Isabela ....the Turks have held it in the late 1500 , was property of Mihai "the Brave" in the period of 1599-1600 , abandoned in 1788 it slowly decaying since. Nowadays it is a popular spot for people from Arad and Timisoara for a picnic or a very short hike during their holidays. For getting there you park your car at the edge of the village of Soimos and you take the steep trail by foot, wear boots the terrain can be very demanding with your ankles, the climb is fairly short - somewhere around 20 and 30 minutes, unless you are an athlete and you run up the hill. Either ways be careful of the bushes neat the path since you can get some nasty scratches. Once you arrived to the top of the hill - but even from the trail - the views are well worth the effort spent during the climb - you can have beautiful views towards the Mures valley and/or the cities of Lipova and Radna. Overall a great place, pity that is not better taken care off ... either ways is definitely worth visiting - if you are in the area I recommend you pay a visit to this ruined fortress.
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  • 5Nenad_Bgd 5:00 PM May 6, 2012
    Nice outdoor experience
    Definitely worth to visit. Some 100m above ground level (referring to Google Earth) with fascinating view to surrounding landscapes - once you manage to climb to the fortress remains :) Pay attention, there are actually two paths to the top. One you see when approaching the hill - steep and demanding, and the other one, much more pleasant for easy walking especially when returning down. The second one is hidden, alongside the concrete wall on your left hand side, when you are standing in the foot of the hill :)

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