Ropemakers' Bastion (Bastionul Funarilor), Brașov

The Ropemakers' Bastion (also known as the Cordmakers' Bastion) is the oldest bastion of Brașov's medieval citadel mentioned in documents, attested in 1416. It is part of the fortification system that earned the city its fame as the "city of seven bastions", each element being, according to medieval practice, in the care of a guild. This bastion was built and maintained by the ropemakers' guild, craftsmen specialised in producing ropes and cords, and defended the southern stretch of the curtain wall, on the northern slope of Tâmpa hill. The hexagonal structure was originally 10–12 m high, with walls about 2 m thick, made of alternating courses of stone and brick, fitted with loopholes and a sentry gallery. The bastion was damaged in the fires of 1461 and especially 1689, after which it was rebuilt and used as a materials depot. In 1794 the guild built a house within it, which survives and is still inhabited today — a distinctive feature of the monument. In 1894 the bastion was sold, and in the 2000s it was restored. It stands on Aleea După Ziduri, in the southern part of the historic centre, near the Gunpowder Tower. The Ropemakers' Bastion is worth visiting as the oldest documented component of one of the most extensive and best-preserved networks of medieval fortifications in Romania, as well as for the 1794 guild house built into its structure.