Sarmizegetusa Regia — Attraction in Orăștioara de Sus

Sarmizegetusa Regia is the old Dacian capital. (The Dacian are, to make it simple, the original Romanian.) Don't confuse this site with the Roman settlement Ulpia Traiani Sarmizegetusa, which is not too far away. That one was built by the Roman conquerors, after they had destroyed Sarmizegetusa Regia. This is worth seeing as well, but it's Roman, comparable to many others. Sarmizegetusa Regia is unique, almost incomparable. It was given the by-name "Stonehenge of Romania", and I believe that it bears that name with full right; I personally believe that it is even better than Stonehenge. It is bigger, showing many different structures, fortress, living area and sacred district. It is in ruins, but is constantly being reconstructed. In my eyes, it's a must-see when you are in the area, and even worth the trip to just get there. One of the best archaeological sites I have seen, but still not known...

This is a site with a powerful significance to Romanian history, heritage, and culture. It is unfortunate that Hunedoara County leaders do not know how to cherish it and facilitate the access to the site. In other countries places with a lesser significance are better advertized and are more accessible. The road to the site is substandard, and plain dangerous. The asphalt is in poor condition, with numerous holes, the vegetation on the side is overgrown making the road even narrower and obstructing the visibility on the numerous curves. I encourage drivers to take extra caution when visiting the site. We went in July 2023, weeks after a storm dumped mud, rocks, branches, and other debris on the road making stretches of the road unusable. There was no sign of any effort or intent to clean it. That being said, I think the significance of the site trumps the road challenges and I do...

I know this site is important for Romanians, but I'm sorry, most of it is archeologists' creative fantasy. The stones were carved around 2000 years ago, the rest is reconstruction. While I visited, workers were even building a new "Dacian monument", and I believe the Dacians built better walls than the sloppy reconstructed one. The "mini stonehenge" is made from wood and admittedly a concept. The curb is interesting, since Romanians for whatever reason like to build it along all their roads - apparently it comes from their Dacian blood - but it certainly wasn't collecting thousands of liters of sacrifical blood - a fantasy inspired by 16th century South America. There were many visitors there on a weekday - but amazingly there is no food stand or anything. So the best part is the spring water at the...