[3] Rupea Fortress stands on one of the oldest archaeological sites in Romania, the first signs of human settlements dating from the Paleolithic and Early Neolithic (5500–3500 BC).

Archaeological investigations have revealed objects from this era, testimony of settlements in the region: stone tools, pottery, funeral urns, etc.

[citation needed] In the 14th century it had a key strategic role, being the main linking point between Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia.

[citation needed][dubious – discuss] Between 1432 and 1437 the fortress was attacked and robbed by Turks, and finally abandoned in 1643 after a devastating fire turned it into ruins.

[citation needed] From the 13th through the 17th century, the fortress expanded as a result of population growth, which led to the final outline comprising three baileys.

[citation needed] After that, the fortress was left in ruins, although Rupea became a major Saxon cultural center in the interwar period.

[citation needed] During the Communist regime, the authorities planned the demolition of the fortress to exploit the basalt that forms the hill.

[7] Each is characterized by a particular belt of brickwork, corresponding to the era of its construction, marked by the evolution of weapons, siege techniques, or level of development of the settlement and the governmental seat on which the financing of work depended.

The different elements of the fortress exhibit various proportions and architectural features: the oldest had battlements in rectangular zigzags (which still need to be preserved), and the most recent had more decorative semicircular merlons.

[7] The embrasures took the form of simple slots, and the openings for firearms were made to allow the most excellent possible angle of fire, or, at the base of the walls, fit in prominent niches, with arrangements of stepped pyramids.

[8][3][dubious – discuss] The entrance to the upper fortress was a narrow corridor, the gate under the Gunpowder Tower (Romanian: Turnul Pulberăriei).

The first event took place in the summer of 2013, a festival dedicated to composer Wilhelm Georg Berger, born in 1929 in Rupea.