Almaș Fortress appears in documents, for the first time, in 1370. It is recognized as one of the strongest fortresses in Transylvania. The name preserved by tradition refers to a nobleman Desiderius, belonging to a branch of the Borșa family, who lived around the beginning of the century, being the son of the Transylvanian voivode Gyork. The fortified complex, most likely built between 1247-1278, consisted of a palace, a ladies' house, a house for guests, a house for porters and a kitchen. In 1658, the fortress suffered a final siege, being set on fire by the Tatars. Because of this, the fortification suffered a lot. The fortress was only partially preserved, to the north of the town, on a plateau protected from the south and west by steep slopes. The component elements are kept only in a small proportion.
The story of the place
Throughout the 15th and 16th centuries, the fortress was subjected to sieges resulting from the conflicts between the Transylvanian nobility and the Hungarian king. An important moment in the history of the fortress is the 15-year war, when General Basta together with his army besieged the fortress and offered its defenders freedom in exchange for surrendering the fortress. But they did not keep their word, and Basta's soldiers killed all the inhabitants of the city. A little after the middle of the 17th century, the fortress suffered the last great siege, being occupied by the Tatars who came from the direction of Cluj and went towards the Meseşana Gate. The besiegers enslaved the locals and burned down the fortress, for the last time in its history.
Recently, in 2023, archaeologists unearthed the walls of the "Optatiana" Roman Fort at Sutor from the Roman Era, dating from 106-270, built during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. Some legends state that the fortress of Almaș was built with castrum stone given from hand to hand.
Unique experiences
The area is rich in cultural tourist objectives. Csáky Castle in Almașu is among them. We know from documents that the predecessors of the Csáky family settled in the village at the end of the 16th century, when Báthory Zsigmond, prince of Transylvania, donated the estate to István Csáky, the commander of the Transylvanian army. He started building a classical style castle in 1808. At that time that castle was the most prestigious building in the whole region. Another special monument is the reformed church in Stana. It is located in the center of the town, surrounded by a low stone wall.
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