August 2022

Village Bologa is situated on the river (surprise!) Bologa. Above the village on top of a steep hill lies one of the first Hungarian fortresses in Transylvania, which was known as Sebesvár. After several centuries of service the fortress was finally destroyed through explosion. Years of neglect turned it into what some sources describe as unmaintained and overgrown. If you search for older photos, you may find what it looked like before it was refurbished not so long ago. It looks much better now.

There is a viewpoint at the top of the old watchtower. When we climbed to the top, a family of tourists joined us to admire the views. Soon they all left but the teenage girl. Dmitry was piloting a drone, got blinded by the sun and did not notice that the aircraft was on a collision course with the lightning rod. The accident was not fatal, but it sparked a conversation. It turned out, the girl was not with the family, she was a local girl from Bologa village. In fluent English she told us about the village and about the festival that was going to take place in the fortress in the following weeks.

The girl followed us to the exit, but did not go outside the walls. When we looked back, we did not see her. Probably, ghosts cannot leave the area they haunt. If you are in Sebesvar and meet the teenage ghost-girl at the top of the watchtower, tell her we said hi.

Entrance to the fortress is free. Besides the Fortress you can visit a watermill in the village. There are no tickets as well, but there is a box for donations and a small souvenir shop. There is also a museum with examples of traditional handcrafting. The old lady in the museum did not speak English, but she used gestures to describe how the mill was supposed to work.

Bologa is approximately one hour drive from Cluj-Napoca. Although it is not a top destination, it is worth visiting.