Originally built in the mid 1200s as the residence of the heavy-armed Sasha Chyl of Kelling, who also gave the village its name, the fortress of Câlnic was designed with a massive tower-dungeon, used as a dwelling, surrounded by walls forming an oval enclosure, with a tower to the south and a gate tower on the north side. The defence system was completed by a moat surrounding the fortress.
A noble residence until 1430, the fortress was then sold to the peasants of Câlnic, who in the first half of the 16th century began building a new belt of walls, strengthened the gate tower and built the chapel in the inner courtyard. Also in the inner courtyard, attached to the wall, were built storerooms for provisions. On completion of these massive expansion and reinforcement works, the fortress took on its present appearance.
The fortification was restored in 1961-1964. In 1998, the site was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is now the site of an international cultural centre under the patronage of the Institute of Archaeology and History of Art of the Romanian Academy in Cluj-Napoca and the "Ars Transsilvaniae" Association.
Inside the fortress, right next to the gate tower, where the Saxon food pantries used to be, two rooms with three beds each have been set up to accommodate tourists. The rooms share a bathroom.
