The Transfăgărășan (''trans'' + ''Făgăraș''; Hungarian: Transzfogarasi út) or DN7C is a paved mountain road crossing the southern section of the

Carpathian Mountains The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe and Southeast Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Ural Mountains, Urals at and the Scandinav ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. It has national-road ranking and is the second-highest paved road in the country after the Transalpina. It starts near the village of

Bascov Bascov is a Communes of Romania, commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of eight villages: Bascov, Brăileni, Glâmbocu, Mica, Prislopu Mic, Schiau, Uiasca, and Valea Ursului. The commune lies on the , an area of foothills le ...

, near

Pitești Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș (river), Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in th ...

, and stretches to the crossroad between the

DN1 DN1 () is an important national road in Romania which links Bucharest with the northwestern part of the country and the border with Hungary via Borș. The main cities linked by DN1 are Bucharest, Ploiești, Brașov, Sibiu, Alba Iulia, Cluj-Napoc ...

and

Sibiu Sibiu ( , , , Hungarian: ''Nagyszeben'', , Transylvanian Saxon: ''Härmeschtat'' or ''Hermestatt'') is a city in central Romania, situated in the historical region of Transylvania. Located some north-west of Bucharest, the city straddles th ...

, between the highest peaks in the country,

Moldoveanu Moldoveanu Peak (, ; "Moldavian Peak"), at , is the highest mountain peak in Romania.Negoiu Negoiu Peak ( ; ) is a mountain peak in the Făgăraș Mountains of the Southern Carpathians, located in Sibiu County, Romania, with an elevation of .Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

and

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

History

The Transfăgărășan was constructed between 1970 and 1974 during the rule of

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( ; ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian politician who was the second and last Communism, communist leader of Socialist Romania, Romania, serving as the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 u ...

as a response to the 1968

invasion of Czechoslovakia On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The in ...

by the Soviet Union. Ceaușescu wanted to ensure quick military access across the mountains in case of a Soviet invasion. At the time, Romania already had several strategic mountain passes through the

Southern Carpathians The Southern Carpathians (also known as the Transylvanian Alps; ; ) are a group of mountain ranges located in southern Romania. They cover the part of the Carpathian Mountains located between the Prahova River in the east and the Timiș and ...

, whether inherited from the pre-communist era (the

and the high-pass

DN67C Public roads in Romania are ranked according to importance and traffic as follows: *motorways (autostradă – pl. autostrăzi) – colour: green; designation: A followed by one or two digits *expressways (drum – pl. drumuri express) – col ...

) or built during the initial years of the Communist regime (the

DN66 Public roads in Romania are ranked according to importance and traffic as follows: *motorways (autostradă – pl. autostrăzi) – colour: green; designation: A followed by one or two digits *expressways (drum – pl. drumuri express) – col ...

). These passes, however, were mainly through river valleys, and would be easy for the Soviets to block and attack. Ceaușescu therefore ordered the construction of a road across the

Făgăraș Mountains The Făgăraș Mountains ( ; ) are the highest mountains of the Southern Carpathians, in Romania. Geography The mountain range is situated in the heart of Romania, at . The range is bordered in the north by the Făgăraș Depression, through wh ...

, which divide northwestern and southern Romania. Transfagarasan

Built mainly by military forces, the road had a high financial and human cost. Work was carried out in an alpine climate, at an elevation of , using roughly of dynamite, and employing junior military personnel who were untrained in blasting techniques. Many workers died; official records state that only 40 soldiers lost their lives, but unofficial estimates by workers put the number in the hundreds. The road was officially opened on 20 September 1974, although work, particularly paving of the roadbed, continued until 1980.

Route

The road climbs to an altitude of , making it the second highest mountain pass in Romania after the Transalpina. It is a winding road, dotted with steep

hairpin turn A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal ha ...

s, long S-curves, and sharp descents. It is both an attraction and a challenge for hikers, cyclists, drivers and motorcycle enthusiasts. Due to the topography, the average speed is around . The road also provides access to

Bâlea Lake Bâlea Lake (, ; ) is a glacier lake situated at an altitude of 2,034 m (6,673 ft) in the Făgăraș Mountains, in central Romania, near Cârțișoara, Sibiu County. There are two chalets opened all year round, a meteorological statio ...

and Bâlea Waterfall. The road is usually closed from late October until late June because of snow. Depending on the weather, it may remain open until as late as November, or may close even in the summer; signs at the town of

Curtea de Argeș Curtea de Argeș () is a municipiu, city in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass ...

and the village of

Cârțișoara Cârțișoara (also ''Cârța Românească''; ; ) is a Commune in Romania, commune in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of a single village, Cârțișoara. Bâlea Lake is located on the territory of Cârțișoara. The commune is ...

provide information. The Transfăgărășan has more

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

s (a total of 5) and

viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...

s than any other road in Romania. Near the highest point, at

, the road passes through Bâlea Tunnel, the longest road tunnel in Romania at . Along the southern section of the road, near the village of Arefu, is

Poenari Castle Poenari Castle (), also known as Poenari Citadel (''Cetatea Poenari'' in Romanian), is a ruined castle in Romania which was a home of Vlad the Impaler. at the Wayback Machine The citadel is situated on top of a mountain and accessed by climbing ...

. The castle was the residence of Vlad Tepes, also known as

Vlad the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ) or Vlad Dracula (; ; 1428/31 – 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian hi ...

, who is said to have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker's

Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...

. However,

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...

never stated that Tepes was the inspiration for Dracula and Stoker himself never visited

. The castle that Stoker used in his novel for illustration wa
Castelul Bran
the only castle in the region that remains intact. The northern section is used for annual cycling competitions, including the

Tour of Romania The Tour of Romania (or "Little Loop") is a cycling competition held in Romania. It is organised as 2.1 race on the UCI Europe Tour. The tour is organized by the Romanian Cycling Federation. History Inspired by Tour de France, the monthly publi ...

, and the section to Bâlea Lake has been used since 2011 for the

Sibiu Cycling Tour The Sibiu Cycling Tour (Cycling Tour of Sibiu until 2015) is a 2.1 category professional bicycle road race held in Sibiu, Romania. Its first edition took place in July 2011, as part of the UCI Europe Tour. The race is organised with the support o ...

. These sections are considered to be similar in difficulty to

hors catégorie ''Hors catégorie'' (HC) is a French term used in stage bicycle races to designate a climb that is "beyond categorization". The term was originally used for those mountain roads where cars were not expected to be able to pass. The HC climb is th ...

climbs in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

Appearance in ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...
''

The Transfăgărășan was featured in a segment of the British TV show ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...

'', in the first episode of

Series 14 The Series 14 – NYSE Compliance Official exam is a qualification examination administered to compliance officials at New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) registered broker-dealers. The 110-question test is intended to ensure that individuals designa ...

(November 2009). Host

Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English television presenter, journalist, farmer, and author who specialises in Driving, motoring. He is best known for hosting the television programmes ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), T ...

proclaimed that the Transfăgărășan was "the best road in the world," a title the presenters had previously given to the

Stelvio Pass The Stelvio Pass ( or ; ) is a mountain pass in northern Italy bordering Switzerland at an elevation of above sea level. It is the highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps, and the second highest in the Alps, below France's Col de l ...

in Italy. The road has also been dubbed "Ceaușescu's Folly".

Gallery

File:Transfagarasan-north.JPG, Northern part of the road, seen from the pass File:Transfagarasan in 1974.jpg, Transfăgărășan in 1974 File:Transfagarasan twisty road.jpg, Same section of the road in 2007 File:Transfagarasan, Arges.jpg, Viaduct File:Wide view over the northern Transfagarasan.jpg File:Transfagarasan road with Bilea Lake.jpg, Aerial view of Transfăgărășan and

File:BaleaLac4.jpg,

File:Brown bears on Transfăgărășan roadside.jpg,

Brown bears The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share th ...

roaming Transfăgărășan

References

External links

* Map sources for the summit:
Transfăgărășan Photo Gallery

Riding a Motorcycle on the Transfagarasan

Transfagarasan Road
{{DEFAULTSORT:Transfagarasan Roads in Romania Sibiu County Argeș County Mountain passes of Romania