The casino in Băile Herculane

The Drencova fortress, or rather its ruins, has been in the Danube since 1969, when it was flooded by the river's waters. Before this date, archaeologists managed to do some research and established that the fortification had a quadrilateral shape, with dimensions of 23/21 m. The walls, 1.5 meters thick and 15 meters high, are made of quarry stone drowned in mortar, and the quadrangle was built of carefully hewn blocks. Like most fortifications, the Drencova fortress also had a defensive moat, which was seen four decades ago. The fortress was built after 1419, during the reign of King Sigismund of Luxemburg and had the role of defending the Danube front against the Ottoman power. In the period 1429-1435, the fortification was included in the defense system of Banat, at that time under the rule of the Teutonic Knights. From 1439, the fortress passed into the ownership of several Romanian noble families, who were in charge of maintaining the fortifications along the Danube. Archaeological research has unearthed bronze and silver ornaments and bracelets, swords, daggers, metal vessels, a necropolis that would date from the 12th-13th centuries. It is said that the fortress was built on the model of a nearby Roman fort, but nothing is known for certain. The ruins of the Drencova fortress can be seen from DN 57, close to the town of Berzasca. Drencova was a village, also swallowed by the waters of the Danube, which belonged to this locality. It is not known how long these ruins will last in the rushing waters of the river, but they say a lot about the "engineers" who built it and about the quality of the materials used; her presence so far shows mastery. Text & photo source

The "Written Stone" or Tabula Baross (named after the Roman model) is located on the left bank of the Danube, on DN 57, about 10 km downstream from the town of Coronini. The inscription is placed on a rock in the Alibeg area (the old hearth of Coronini village - formerly Pescari). It is about 10 m long and 7.5 m wide. The text is displayed on 11 lines in Hungarian and is written in capital letters. Its translation into Romanian reads: "The regularization of the Iron Gate and the other cataracts regulated by article 26 in the Law of 1888 began under the rule of FRANCIS I, the prime minister being count IULIUS SZAPARY and the minister of commerce GABRIEL BELLUSY BAROSS, on September 15 1890. God's blessing be on this commemorative plaque and on those who contributed to its erection." The name of the inscription comes from the name of the Minister of Commerce Bellusy Baross Gabor, who financed and was responsible for these works. The definitive solution to navigation problems on the Danube in the Clisurii area was achieved nowadays by building the energy and navigation system at the Iron Gates between 1864 and 1971. Text & photo source

The Roman settlement at Berzovia was a legion fort, fortified with a mound of earth and ditches, measuring 490 m x 410 m. According to archaeologist Alexandru Fluture, this was the first large fort built by the Roman army in the first war of conquest of Dacia. Thus, the Berzobis fort, mentioned in ancient times on the maps of the Roman Empire, is located in the hearth of the village. The military construction was until 119 AD the garrison of the IV Flavia Felix legion. The first non-scientific archaeological excavations at the ruins of the great Roman fort at Berzovia were made at the end of the 16th century and were published in a magazine in Bratislava (Nenes Ungarisches Magazin) by Hoffinger. As a result of these excavations, the praetorium, the caldarium, as well as the aqueductor pipes and canals were revealed. In 1856, the official Șefan Ionescu, undertakes other excavations, during the period when the village of Jidovin was moved to the Roman camp. In 1866, in addition to the bricks with the inscription of the IV Flavia Felix and XIII Gemina Legions, various household items and money from the time of the emperors Vespasian, Trajan and Commodus were unearthed. In 1882, Kart Torma, a Transylvanian archaeologist, traveled the Roman road from Banatca Palanca to Tibiscum, also identifying the Berzobis castle yoke. As in numerous settlements in Caraș-Severin County and in Berzovia, archaeological research has revealed traces and settlements from the first Iron Age. In the hearth of the village, the oldest traces discovered are some Neolithic ceramic fragments, belonging to the early and late Neolithic. Traces of settlements from the first Iron Age were also reported, both in Berzovia and in Fizeg, a village belonging to the commune, proving the wide diffusion of cultures belonging to this period, when the foundations of the future Daco-Getic civilization were laid. Material evidence of the existence of Daco-Gothic settlements, dating from before the Roman conquest, have come to light both in Berzovia and in Fizeg, among the archaeological materials found are ceramic fragments, belonging to vessels made by hand or on the wheel (the usual cup dacian - catuia - frequent in all known settlements on the territory of Romania) Photo Text Source: https://www.primaria-berzovia.ro/istoric

It was unveiled on June 3, 1943, representing the general in a reconnaissance with the map and binoculars in hand. It is the work of the sculptor Mihail Onofrei. Until 1918, the statue of Emperor Franz Josef I, unveiled in 1906, was placed on the same plinth. On December 8, 1860, Ioan Drăgălina was born in Caransebeș, the one who would become one of the bravest Romanian generals engaged in the battles of the First World War. He went through all the military ranks, namely captain (1893), major (1899), lieutenant colonel (1908). In the period 1908-1911, lt.col. Ioan Dragălina was commander of the Military Infantry School in Bucharest. At the beginning of the First World War he had the rank of brigadier general and commanded the 3rd Territorial Command. In April 1911, Ioan Dragălina was promoted to colonel and appointed commander of the 34th Regiment from Constanța. During this period, he was decorated with the Order of the Crown of Romania, IV class. In 1915, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. During the period of Romania's neutrality (1914-1916), he was involved in the construction of fortifications in the Prahova Valley. Text & Photo Source: http://cnipt-caransebes.ro/zona-turistica/

This fortress, located in a picturesque natural setting on the Nera Gorges, is known by various names: Socolari Fortress, Ilidia Fortress, Potoc Fortress, Bei Fortress, or Terezia Fortress. In the case of the last name, we are once again faced with a confusion in folk memory. If, in the case of other Banat vestiges, there is an erroneous attribution to the Ottoman era, although they are due, as previously mentioned, to the Habsburg period of the 18th century, this time, an older fortress is known as "Terezia Fortress," although its origins date back at least to the 16th century, but it is very likely to have an even older existence, extended until the 19th century. The existence of Bei Fortress in the superb natural setting of the area, where it harmoniously integrates with Lake Ochiul Beiului and the Beușnița Waterfall, has given rise to a series of beautiful legends. "Starting from the edge of the village (Socolari), the road first climbs a vast slope, then follows approximately the contour line, in a deforested landscape, with quite a bit of rocky terrain, desolate. It passes the thread of a stream, then circumvents Citadel Hill, where the ruins of an old fortress perched on the rocky peak of the hill dominate the stretches to the west. The fortress, apparently built during the Ottoman period, was an important strategic point." (4) Then come the legends that the Ochiul Beiului lake either originates from the tears of the lord of the fortress at the loss of his daughter, or from the tears of his daughter at the loss of her beloved. The fact that the ruins of a medieval fortress are within the protected natural reserve of the Nera Gorges only enhances their beauty and attractiveness. It contributes to the merging of natural and historical knowledge, as works dedicated to the geographic and biological framework of the Nera Gorges mention Bei Fortress, and historical writings must refer on this occasion to the splendid natural landscape of the mountainous Banat. Text & foto source

Under the name Villa Rustica lies in the village of Gornea in Caraș-Severin County, right on the edge of DN57, the ruins of a Roman farm. Caraș-Severin County is one of the counties with the largest number of archaeological sites in the country. There is almost no village without at least one site. In the village of Gornea alone, about eight such places have been officially registered. By "official," we mean the National Archaeological Repertoire.  The official name is the Archaeological Site from Gornea - "Căunița de Sus." Anonymous ensemble, civil residence. Significant archaeological excavations took place in 1976, and as a result, the settlement of Gornea was discovered. The building had a ship-like shape, similar to a church. It is assumed to have belonged to a wealthy family, somewhere in the 4th-5th centuries. Archaeological discoveries made at the site seem to have been very valuable. The monetary treasure indicates intense habitation. The farm itself represented an advanced and well-organized way of life. Elaborate brick-burning ovens were even discovered nearby, and the house was equipped with an underfloor heating system (hypocaustum) through ceramic pipes. A bronze-inscribed plaque was also found. Most of these elements are at the museum in Reșița. There isn't much left on-site today. Something stood until after the First World War; with the transition to the administration in Bucharest... things weren't great anymore... locals needed construction materials... Today, the foundation has been somewhat reconstructed, just enough to get a vague idea of what the house looked like, and a sign with the monument's name has been placed.  Source: text & photo

The Pojejena Roman fort is located on the territory of Pojejena, Caraș-Severin county. The place chosen by the Romanians for the construction of the fort with the adjacent military vicus is ideal for the control of navigation on the Danube, being in the area of visibility of the Divici and Coronini fortresses. At the same time, the place had many times in history been a guard point for crossing the Danube from the south to the north, a veritable bridgehead. Even Count Marsigli, who visited the area at the end of the 17th century, noted the connection between the Roman ruins from the Serbian Pojejena and those that were visible opposite, on the southern bank of the Danube, next to the Turkish Pojejena. In the area of ​​the castle between the furrows of freshly plowed land, a coin, with a dull appearance, issued by the emperor Gallienus was discovered. This relevant discovery may be a sign that at the end of the 3rd century the fortification was still being used intensively. In the area of ​​the civil settlement, the land looks like more affected by agricultural and gardening works, a fact that complicates the research. However, the land offers many traces of masonry, Roman ceramic fragments, especially from the II-III century AD and even if the area was "haunted" by poachers for years , ancient metal objects also appear. The stratigraphy here does not exceed 0.80 cm and the ancient layers are often destroyed by modern and medieval habitation. The archaeological potential of the area is huge and there are still patches of land that have not been disturbed very much by the contemporary habitation that overlaps the ancient Pojejena, surfaces that should be protected and researched like an authentic archaeological reserve. Text source Photo source

The fortification from Divici-"Grad" is located on the Danube Gorge, between river kilometers 1065-1066, on the last heights of the Almaj Mountains, occupying a triangular massif, with an area of ​​7000 square meters, which dominates with approx. 100m river course. Surrounded on three sides by steep slopes, it is accessible only on a narrow saddle from the north, barred in Antiquity with two defense ditches, having an opening of 6 and 10m, respectively, separated by what seems to have been a wave of earth. In the immediate vicinity of the fortification, on a series of anthropic terraces located on the eastern slopes of the promontory, numerous traces of habitation were observed - at the foot, on the banks of the Danube, there was also a contemporary civilian settlement, currently flooded as a result of the construction of the dam from The Iron Gates (Gumă et alii 1987; Gumă et alii 1995; Gumă et alii 1997; Glodariu 2004; Rustoiu 2005; Rustoiu 2006-2007). Being at the congruence of two worlds, the Dacian warriors on the Danube Gorge built solid fortifications, integrated into a coherent system, aimed at controlling access to the key crossing points of the Danube. Consolidating their power through trade, but also through robbery, they were in the front line in front of the advance of the Roman armies towards the Danube, managing to resist until the time of the great Daco-Roman confrontations. The curved weapons discovered in the ruins of the Dacian fortress at Divici, an important border fort, shed a strong light on the importance of this border point. It is probable that the garrison stationed here, in an obvious relationship with the power center in the Orăştiei Mountains, was made up of elite soldiers, the armament, the type of fortification, the tower itself, the geographical position converging towards this hypothesis. Divici-"Grad" has the widest visibility area, controlling access to the Danube over a distance of approx. 25 km. It has a good view of the plains that climb the slopes of the Almaj Mountains, but also of the right bank of the river. The area where it was located is a widening area within the gorge, where the water of the Danube could be crossed in relative safety - more than that, in winter, in this sector, there is a tendency for ice bridges to appear. Merchant caravans or war bands in search of booty, once they reached the southern bank, could head to the wide valley of the Pek River, from where they could easily reach one of the most important commercial and military routes of the time - the Morava Valley. To the east, the wide valleys offered enough land for agriculture, the proximity to the mountain area also offered plenty of wood and stone, which were also used to build the fortification in the second and third phases of its existence, and fishing or hunting they could always become additional sources of food. Text source Photo source

Between 1870-1880, on the hill that separated Ilidia and Socolari in the modern era, traces of a fortified stone settlement could be seen. Although its exact origin is not known, based on archaeological discoveries and information from sources that support the Dacian and then Daco-Roman continuity in the mining settlements in the Carășan region, it can be concluded that it is a construction that belonged to those ancient times.