Capidava, the Roman Fortress at the Bend of the Danube

Capidava, the fortress at the bend, stands on the right bank of the Danube, between Harsova and Cernavoda. It is one of the best known Roman fortresses of Dobrogea, and one of those places where you want to stay a whole day, looking at the river and the old walls, with hardly a trace of the present around you. At every step you walk on centuries of history.

A Roman fort on the Danube frontier

The fort was an important part of the Roman defences along the lower Danube. It was built at the beginning of the 2nd century AD, under Emperor Trajan, by detachments of the V Macedonica and XI Claudia legions. Standing on a rocky bluff, it watched over the river and the crossing between the Getae and Dacians of Dobrogea and those of the Wallachian Plain.

The fortress had a rectangular plan, with large towers and thick walls. Towards the Danube it continued with terraces; outside the walls were the baths and other military buildings, and on the river bank stood the harbour, the storehouses and their annexes. The fort was abandoned during the Avar and Slav invasions, and was occupied again in Byzantine times.

What the archaeologists found

Excavations have uncovered the graves of soldiers, often buried with their weapons, with offerings, funerary inscriptions and bronze coins. In 2015 archaeologists found a medieval cemetery of about a hundred graves from Byzantine times.

History brought to life

Capidava is also a place where history is brought to life. Groups of historical reenactors sometimes camp here, recreating the battles and the daily life of the past, and these are good days to visit.

Around it all flows the Danube, the same as ever, calm and steady, keeping watch over the fortress.

Original text in Romanian by Mihaela Alexandra Preda.