Racos, vulcanul ( volcano ) - Brasov, Romania

One of the last eruptions of the Racos volcano, during the Carpathian orogenesis, trapped in a red matrix a rich and diversified marine fauna. As the stream cut through the mountainside, the fossil beds are exposed in several spots and beautiful samples are washed downstream. Near by, just behind the village of Racos, as you descend into the volcano (now extinct) you can walk through the bright red, purple, orange, yellow, brown geological layers, attesting the intense level of paleo-volcanic activity in the area. A few hundred meters away, hidden at the bottom of a cliff, one can admire the majestic and imposing arrangement of several formations of basaltic columns (now, a national natural monument). In the village of Racos itself, as you walk around picturesque streets with 300 years old houses, you will discover the castle and fortified Saxon church built at the end of the 14th century and modified throughout the next 400 years.