The Fortress of Rupea is another example of a Saxon fortress in Transylvania. It is located in the town of Rupea, on the main road between Brasov and Sighisoara.
The location of this fortress is known in Romania as one of the earliest inhabited places in the country. The first traces of human presence here date back to 5500 B.C. The fortress was obviously created much later, during the 14th century by the local community. It was used in the Middle Ages by the inhabitants of the village and surrounding settlements for asylum while invaders were pillaging Transylvania. Around the 15th century the economy inside the fortress began to develop, and it became an important center for trade and craft in southern Transylvania.
The fortress has had some trouble resisting the effects of time over the centuries. The communist government wanted to destroy it completely, in order to take the basalt used to build it a few centuries earlier. The residents resisted, and the fortress remained in ruins until 2010, when a restoration project was begun.