Oratea Fortress, Medieval fortress in Podu Dâmboviței, Romania.

Oratea Fortress is a medieval stone fortification perched on a hillside north of Podu Dâmboviței village, near the main DN73 highway that connects Câmpulung to Brașov. The site preserves ruins of walls and defensive structures built to guard the valley below.

Some scholars attribute the fortress to the Teutonic Knights, who may have built it around 1212 under King Andrew II of Hungary as an outpost guarding Țara Bârsei; I. Pușcariu, A. Lapedatu and Gustav Treiber supported this. Others date it to the second half of the 14th century, based on archaeology and on the customs point recorded at Câmpulung in 1368 and moved near Rucăr in 1377. Excavations in 1968–1970 found no material earlier than that period, with traces of use into the 16th century.

The name Oratea probably comes from the Hungarian word for royal castle, referring to its status as a border customs post. A 1496 letter from Radu the Great mentions the 'bridges of Oratea' and asks the judge of Brașov not to punish men who damaged them, showing the site was a crossing point on the road between Câmpulung and Brașov.

The site is accessible from the DN73 highway between Câmpulung and Brașov, located about 300 meters east of the road. Visitors should wear comfortable shoes as the climb to the ruins crosses grassland and can be steep in places.

The circular cistern in the northeast corner is 5.35 m deep and 3.40 m in diameter, lined with sandstone and sealed with a clay layer; the 1905 excavations found arrangements for collecting rainwater. The entrance on the south side, 2 m wide and 1 m above the rock, was walled up at an unknown date.