Turnu Fortress

About Turnu Fortress

At a glance: Fortresses and fortifications in Turnu Măgurele, Teleorman County. The visit takes 30 min. Information verified on 10 October 2026.

Turnu Fortress stands south of the town of Turnu Măgurele, in the Danube floodplain, a few kilometres from where the Olt flows into the river. Documents mention it in the time of Mircea the Elder: a 1397 diploma of King Sigismund of Luxembourg recalls the fighting of 1394–1395 over "Nicopolis the Little". Archaeological research dates the tower, the ditch and the enclosure wall to the late 14th century, and the fortress belonged to the chain of fortifications raised along the Danube against the Ottoman threat.

After 1417 the fortress passed, in circumstances that are still unclear, under Ottoman rule and became a Turkish raya, known as Kule ("the tower"). Wallachian princes held it only for short periods, among them Vlad the Impaler and Michael the Brave, and after 1601 it returned to the Ottomans. The sources give slightly different years for some of these moments, so the exact dates should be treated with caution. After the Russo-Turkish war of 1828–1829, under the Treaty of Adrianople, the left bank returned to Wallachia, and the fortress was demolished and burned in 1829; its stone was reused as building material.

The main feature is the central tower, circular in plan, about 17 m in diameter with walls about 3 m thick, surrounded by an enclosure wall and a defensive ditch. The fortress was built on marshy ground, and the damp hastened its decay. Excavations were carried out by Grigore Florescu (1936–1943), Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino (1978–1981) and, more recently, Ionel Cândea and Ecaterina Țânțăreanu (2006–2009). From 2018 the ruin was consolidated and enhanced under a European-funded project run by the town hall.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: the fortress is ~3 km south of the centre of Turnu Măgurele, on Drumul Cetății; it is ~140 km from Bucharest (about 2.5 hours) and ~55 km from Alexandria. Enter the coordinates, or "Cetatea Medievală Turnu", in your satnav.

Public transport: the town has a railway station and a bus station; we found no public transport to the fortress itself, so the last kilometres are by taxi, by car or on foot.

Rules

Open-air ruin: do not climb the walls or take stones. Fly drones only in line with the rules in force. Wear comfortable shoes; the ground around is uneven.