The current structure of the fortress of Tîrgu-Mureș is the result of building works during the first half of the 17th century and may be included in the pre-modern fortresses' category, as it bridges the medieval military architecture – corresponding to the Gothic style – and the modern one, contemporary of the Baroque. Its evolution begins in 1492 when Prince Stefan Bathory orders for a castle-fortress to be erected around the Franciscan monastery and church in order to ensure better control during potential popular revolts. The area between these first two curtain walls is in the South-Western corner (the one towards Petofi Square) and is much smaller than the current surface of the fortress. A few of the initial elements still exist to this day, namely wall fragments on the Southern and Western sides, which marked the North-Western corner of the old fortress, the tower on the Southern wing, attached to the furriers”™ bastion, and ruins of the South-Western tower included nowadays in the tanners”™ bastion. The structure of these towers and the fact that they are square-shaped are indicative of a medieval type military architecture. The second turning point in the evolution of the fortress is the beginning of the 17th century. During major internal turmoil caused by the involvement in the war between Mihai Viteazul (i.e. Michael the Brave) and general Basta, the city was subject to punitive campaigns. Thus, the need for a larger fortification becomes apparent. Borsos Tamás, the city judge, took the initiative and appealed in 1603 to the members of local guilds to contribute to the rebuilding of the old curtain walls destroyed by the invasions. Construction works did not advance significantly until 1613. Several earth reinforcements were built, as well as defense ditches, but they were all temporary. Only during the reign of Gabriel Bethlen (1613 – 1629) the actual works begin on the future fortress. Its building was mainly a local initiative that came at a time when the community was recovering from a significant crisis. It is, therefore, easily explainable why the fortress of Tîrgu – Mureș is not completely in line with similar buildings in Western Europe. Nevertheless, the replacement of the towers with bastions is an innovation specific to the new concept of modern military architecture. Structure-wise, the bastions are defensive entities adapted to new types of weaponry (i.e. artillery) and new military strategies. They are larger and more massive than the towers of medieval churches, and are made out of bricks which are not as brittle as stone when hit by ammunition. The new fortress had six bastions placed at wall junctions. The bastions were built between 1613 and 1640, starting with the bastion of the gate, placed above the entrance from the city center (Western side). According to the inscription on one of the wooden beams inside and to the chronicles of Ferencz Nagy Szabó, this two-storey bastion was built in the spring of 1613 while Nagy Szabó János was city judge. The tanners”™ bastion in the South-Western corner was built in 1620, and included the ruins of the old tower. Due to its massive, over 1 meter thick walls, the irregular polygonal plan with several angles and its three levels, the fortress presents itself as an evolved example of defensive architectural system. The side of the bastion that faces the inside of the fortress remained open for practical reasons, namely to facilitate the dissipation of the gunpowder smoke. In 1628, the third bastion of the new building was attached to the old four-sided tower on the Southern side. This is the furriers”™ bastion, built based on the same principles as the tanners”™ bastion, but far larger. Divided into four levels, the vast interior space allowed for several craftsmen”™s guilds to function here. In addition to the furriers”™ guild after which the bastion was named, the locksmiths”™ and goldsmiths”™ guilds also had their seats in it. The next bastion, built between 1632 and 1633, is that of the coopers, in the South-East corner of the fortress (toward Petru Maior University). It has four levels and two entrance doors: one on the ground floor that leads to the basement by an interior staircase and another one on the first floor which connects to the next floor through a flight of stairs. On the same side of the fortress, but in the opposite corner, the butchers”™ bastion was built in 1633. Structure-wise, it is similar to the coopers' bastion with regard to the elevation, the way levels are connected to each other and the entrances. The last bastion, in the North-Western corner, was built between 1638 and 1640. The inscription on the exterior wall certifies the years during which it was built and the name of the local authorities at that time (judge Petrus Szabo and Paulus Litteratus de Turda). Each bastion has firing holes for cannons on lower levels and for hand-held weapons in the walls of the first and second floors. The erection of surrounding curtain walls took until the second half of the 17th century. In the South-Western part, from the gate bastion to the furriers”™ bastion, the walls are double due to the restoring of old walls and building of new walls at the same time. The rest of the fortress”™ walls are simple in structure.  The inside of the walls are provided with archways supported by posts that sustain the guard path that is on the same level as the firing holes. There may have been defense ditches on the outside which were covered in time as they were not used. The fact that Transylvania lost its status of autonomous principality and became part of the Hapsburg Empire entailed a series of changes in what concerns military architecture. Modern, Vauban type fortresses were built in many Transylvanian towns such as Alba-Iulia, Oradea, Timișoara etc. The political changes in the principality were not without consequence to the fortress of Tîrgu - Mureș. The houses inside the fortress were demolished to make place for the military headquarters and bakery. Following the restorations of 1962 – 1965, the walls and bastions reclaimed their initial form as the parts added in the 18th and 19th centuries were removed. Among these is a sumptuous, neo-gothic portico at the entrance toward the Reformed Church. Its shape and location was known from early 20th century photographs.

Bibliography:

Ioan Eugen Man, Tîrgu-Mureș, istorie urbană de la începuturi până în 1850, Tîrgu-Mureș, Ed. Nico, pp.81-89.

Andrei Adrian Rusu, Castelarea Carpatică, Ed. Mega,Cluj-Napoca, 2005, p. 24.

Kovács András, Késő reneszánsz épitészet Erdélyben 1540-1720, Budapest-Kolozvár, 2002, pp. 63, 68, 74.