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The Finiș Fortress stands on the border of the Finiș village (close to the city of Beiuș, in Bihor), on a hilltop, but unfortunately, nowadays only ruins remain.
The Finiș Fortress is recalled under this name in all medieval documents. A genuine feudal castle, the citadel is a medieval fortification of refuge and defense. It meets all the qualities needed for defense: view, obstacle and shelter, as it is accessible only from one side. What stands to note, is that Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave) once took shelter here for two days, on his road to Vienna.
Constantine mentions that “in November 1599 Michael the Brave takes hold of the Finiș Fortress”. Historical data point to the fortress’ important role in the fights with Turks and rebels. King Bela the IVth’s notary records, in the “Gesta Hungarorum” chronicle, that this fortress was originally built with wood, by Menumorut, but was later reconstructed with stone during the reign of King Bela the IVth, soon after the tatars’ invasion (1241). Because of its strategic position, the fortress used to protect the access into the city of Oradea and the SW parts of Transylvania, but also the silver centres in the Beiuș area, and the iron and copper mines in Băița and Pietroasa. During the rule of Bela the IVth, the fortress held gatherings between the Hungarian leaders.
Now only ruins, the fortress is a complex of three tower, with the tallest one being visible from the village. The walls are built with rugged, bulky rocks, the walls hold a distance of 6 9 m between each other and they’re surrounded by moats.
We’re left with the duty to respect these parts at our every step, keep them clean and pristine for generations to come, and for us as well, because in Nature, “the tourist comes to gladden his eyes, the thinker encounters a grand book where every rock is a letter, where every lake is a phrase, where every village is an accent and from whence a smoke of ancient memories emerges”. (Victor Hugo)
