Butchers' Bastion, Baia Mare

The Butchers' Bastion (Bastionul Măcelarilor), also called the Ammunition Tower, stands on Strada Izvoarelor in the city of Baia Mare. It was part of the town's medieval fortifications, together with the Red Tower, the Coopers' Bastion and the Blood Tower, on one of the main routes into the town. In 1469 King Matthias Corvinus granted Baia Mare the right to surround itself with stone walls. The upkeep of the tower and its defence in case of attack were the duty of the butchers' guild, which gave it its name. The bastion was rebuilt several times: it was partly damaged in 1567 and more seriously in 1672 and 1689, when the town was attacked by Austrian imperial troops. It was restored in 1961-1962 and again between 2009 and 2011. The tower has two levels and a total height of 13 m. The ground floor is a circular vaulted room with three air vents, used at one time to store ammunition. The wall is 1.5 m thick at the base and 1 m at the top. The upper floor, the defensive level, has eight embrasures, probably from a 17th-century intervention, and is reached by a wooden staircase set diagonally on the outside of the tower. The roof is conical. The bastion is a museum space of the Maramureș County Museum of History and Archaeology, with collections of medieval archaeology and history. The Butchers' Bastion is a class A historic monument, LMI code MM-II-m-A-04431.02, dated to the 14th-15th centuries as part of the town's medieval fortification system. It is managed by the Maramureș County Museum of History and Archaeology.