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FAGARAS |
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FAGARAS (Fogarasch), 54km west of Brasov, has a reputation as an
ugly town, dominated by chemical works and scarred by Ceausescu's
attempts at town planning, but it has its attractive aspects, and even
some small-town charm in places. It also has a unusually wide range of
small cheap hotels and makes a useful base for the mountains to the
south and the Saxon villages just to the north. Between 1366 and 1460,
the town and the surrounding duchy of Amlas were under Wallachian rule,
but when Vlad the Impaler was dispossessed of his fiefdom, he set out on
a murderous rampage from the Red Tower Pass, west of the Fagaras range,
towards the Burzen Land, razing the citadel of Fagaras en route. The
sturdy fortress now dominating the town centre was built on the ashes of
this citadel, and owes its Renaissance features to the early seventeenth-century
rulers Gábor Bethlen and György Rákóczi I.
From the train station , 1km south of the centre, turn left along Strada
Negoiu, and you'll pass between the market and the abandoned synagogue
to reach the modern town centre. In the middle of this square is a tiny
wooden church, a fund-raising device for a new church to be built on the
site, and beyond this is the fortress, which today houses a moderately
good museum of local history (Tues-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat & Sun 9am-3pm), as
well as a fairly classy restaurant, the Cetate , in the cellars. One
block west is Piata Republicii, the old town centre; this is the centre
of social life in the town and you'll find three cofetarie and a cinema
here. Immediately south, at the junction of Strada Eminescu and
Bulevardul Unirii (the DN1), you'll see a couple of fine neo-Brâncovenesc
buildings - the BCR bank and the high school - and the Reformat church
is immediately west on Bulevardul Unirii, built in simple Gothic style
in the early eighteenth century.
The best hotel in town is the new Montana , just north of the station at
Str. Negoiu 98 (tel 068/212 327; $10-15); opposite the station at Str.
Negoiu 125, the Meridian (tel & fax 068/212 409; under $6) is simple but
clean and friendly. In the centre, the basic Progresul , at Piata
Republicii 15 (tel 068/211 634; under $6), is very inexpensive and
welcoming enough; there's a shared bathroom where hot water is provided
"as required". For better facilities, head for the two hotels on Strada
V. Alecsandri at the east end of the new town centre: the Roata , at no.
10 (tel 068/212 415; under $6), is warm and friendly, with recommended
cooking, while the Flora at no. 12 (tel 068/215 103; $6-10) is not such
good value, but both have en-suite facilities and constant hot water.
The best restaurant in town is the Don Giovanni pizzeria, just east of
Piata Republicii.
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