Mount Tâmpa

Mount Tâmpa is a limestone massif located right in the middle of the city of Brașov, part of the Postăvaru Massif, in the Curvature Carpathians. Its summit reaches 960 m, rising about 400 m above the city, which almost entirely surrounds it. The mountain is made up mainly of limestone, formed by the folding of the Earth's crust. Tâmpa has been a nature reserve since 1962, one of the few reserves located inside a city. Covering around 1.5 km², the protected area, a Natura 2000 site, is home to remarkable biodiversity: brown bear, lynx, wolf, many birds and about 35% of Romania's butterfly species, alongside rare and endemic plants such as Bârsa brome and the windgrass. On the slope facing the city stands the "Brașov sign", the inscription with 6 m letters installed in 2004 and rebuilt in 2006, visible from tens of kilometres away. The summit ridge preserves the ruins of Brașovia Citadel (13th–15th centuries), one of the oldest fortresses in the Burzenland, which gave the city its name; the fortification, strengthened in the time of the Teutonic Knights, was considered almost impregnable. Tâmpa is reached both by marked trails climbing from the old town and by cable car. From the belvedere platform and the Panoramic Restaurant on the ridge, one of the most spectacular views over medieval Brașov and the Burzenland unfolds. The mountain is worth visiting for its panorama over the city, the citadel ruins and its unique character as a nature reserve in the heart of a city.