Sarmizegetusa Regia

About this place

Sarmizegetusa Regia is an archaeological site in the Orăștie Mountains of Hunedoara County, central Romania, near the village of Grădiștea de Munte. It was the capital of the Dacians and their chief religious and political centre, about 67 km in a straight line from Sibiu. The city was built on a 1,200-metre mountain top, its fortress made up of six citadels. It should not be confused with Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, the Roman city some 40 km away. The sacred zone holds some of the most important and largest Dacian sanctuaries, circular and rectangular, the bases of their columns still visible in regular rows, along with a stone disc called the «Andesite Sun» that seems to have served as a sundial. In a wide green clearing amid tall beech forest, neat rows of stone column bases and stone pavements are laid out around a large circular sanctuary outlined in stone. A shaded forest path leads in, with wooded mountains beyond. The road up is mountainous, and it is about a half-hour uphill walk from the car park. Do not walk on the ancient stones, and expect cool weather on the mountain.