The Butchers' Bastion

The Butchers' Bastion is one of the seven bastions built about half a millennium ago, as part of the system of fortifications aimed at defending the medieval city of Baia Mare. Each such bastion was entrusted to a guild, and because the butchers 'guild was the most numerous and because this bastion guarded one of the most important entrance gates to the fortress, namely the southern one, it was called the Butchers' Bastion. This tower is also known as the Ammunition Bastion, as for a time, one of its rooms served as a place to store ammunition to protect the fortress from outside attacks. The death of the legendary outlaw Pintea Viteazul is also linked to the Butchers' Bastion. Thus, during the anti-Habsburg uprising of 1703, he was shot right next to the city's Southern Gate. Over time, the tower would undergo several restoration processes, being rebuilt in 2009-2011, as part of an extensive project. Today, the Bastion is on the list of historical monuments of national value and hosts exhibitions and fairs with ethnographic and folklore themes, immersing visitors into the troubled past of this old medieval city.