Castles, Fortresses and Strongholds

Aghiresu,Cluj County.
Bosckay Castle, 1572, was built in Renaissance style. Partly in ruins, the castle impresses due to its stone frames.

Aiud, Alba County.
The Voivodes’ Palace since the 16th – 17th centuries is one of the most beautiful edifices. It was owned by Prince Gabriel Bethlen (1612-1629).

Arcus,Covasna County.
A neo-Baroque style castle of the 19th century, located inside a dendrologic park. It is a sculpture camp.

Ardud, Satu Mare County.
Fortress, the 15th century. It was one of the strongest senorial fortress in the north of Transylvania. It has a polygonal plan with bastions on the corners. The Roman Catholic Church from 1482, rebuilt in 1860 and 1959, preserves traces of Gothic architecture.

Beclean, Bistrita Nasaud County.
Bethlen Castle, 1768, in Baroque style. It has sculptured stone frames; and a decoration in stucco. It also has a vaulted first floor, and a single level. It has a rectangular general plan.

Blaj, Alba County.
The Episcopal palace, a former noble residence in the 16th – 18th centuries, is today the Theology Academy building (Bazilians Monastery, the 18th – 19th centuries).

Bontida, Cluj County.
A rectangular-plan castle with round towers on the corners, built by the Italian Agostino Serena. Due to the architect J. Fisher von Erlach, it was rearranged in Baroque style. The plan received two new wings positioned in a U-shape. In 1850, the architect A. Kagerbauer built a new wing. The statues which decorate the gate and the stables were made by J. Nachtigall (1748-1753).

Bran, Brasov County.
A castle meant to guard the commercial road that connected Transylvania to Wallachia, built by the citizens of Brasov in 1377-1378. For a short time (1412-1419), it was owned by the Wallachian voivode Mircea the Old and by his son Dan. Since 1498, it has been the property of Brasov Municipality. Those two defence towers were added between 1622 and 1625. In 1920, after the Great Unification, Brasov municipality gave it to Queen Mary, who transformed it with the help of the architect Carel Limann into a Romantic residence, but without altering the architectural line. The building is developed on a few levels, around an interior courtyard with a strange cliff, preserved from the natural rocky land. ( Read More in Wikipedia )

Brancovenesti, Mures County.
A castle built in Transylvanian Renaissance style, between 1537 and 1555. It has a rectangular shape, and it was strengthened with defence channels between 1599 and 1600.

Bucharest
Cantacuzino Palace. Built in the first years of the 20th century by the architect I. Berindey, in a style that combines the French Academism with Rococo traces and Art Nouveau elements. It was owned by the conservative politician Gh. Gr. Cantacuzino (the Nabab). It preserves monumental paintings made by G. D. Mirea, Costin Petrescu, Artur Verona and Nicolae Isidor Vermont, and a sculptural decoration by Fr. Storck and Em. W.Becker.
Cotroceni Palace. Built on the nucleus of Cotroceni Monastery, a foundation of Voivode Serban Cantacuzino, it is the result of three stages of construction: 1) The works were begun by architect Paul Gottereau, on King Carol I demand, in a French Academism style; 2) They were continued by architect Gr. Cerchez, who made the residence of Prince Ferdinand and Princess Mary. It was also built during King Carol I’s reign; 3) Other works were done by a team of architects headed by N. Vladescu, in Nicolae Ceausescu’s times. It was at the same time as he ordered the demolition of the church from the old monastic monument. Today, the first two wings host Cotroceni Museum, and the third the Presidency.
Ghica Tei Palace. It was the residence of Grigore Ghica IV, the fist native voivode in Wallachian, when the Phanariot regime was ended. The building, in a neoclassic style, was first located outside the city limits, and later incorporated. It has in the neighbourhood an interesting neoclassical chapel with a central plan, where the founder was buried, under an interesting funerary monument with decorations from the beginning of the 19th century
The Royal Palace. Located downtown, the palace, today the National Art Museum, was built in a neoclassic style on five levels. It was built between 1927 and 1937 by one of the most important architects in Romania: D. Nenciulescu
Mogosoaia Palace. The most representative construction of Brancoveanu style in the Bucharest area. Built at the end of the 17th century as a residence on the road connecting Bucharest to Targoviste, the palace shows all Brancoveanu-sytle features: a gorgeous stone sculpture with a vegetal motive dominant, a modest figurative sculpture (in general, only mythological characters), columns ended with impressive capitels etc
Elisabeta Palace. It was built almost at the same time as the Royal Palace by Corneliu M. Marcu, in a Moorish Spanish style. The palace is impressive due to the simplicity of its shapes and lines, and the beauty of the park surrounding it (near the Village Museum).
The Parliament Palace. It is completely different from the architectural point of view, the construction time, the purpose of the works. It is located downtown and was built between 1984 and 1989, under the name of People’s House. This building is the biggest European administrative edifice, and the second in the world. The figures related to this building are impressive: a surface of 265,000 m²; two monumental galleries – 150 m in length and 18 m in height; 480 large rooms etc. Today, it hosts the Romanian Parliament sessions. The area is open to visitors.

Calnic, Alba County.
A fortress that has had documentary certification from the 13th century. It was owned by the nobles from the Kelling family, on whose time the initial nucleus – an oval precinct, two defence towers, a chapel, and the paralellipipedic dungeon (Siegfried tower), mentioned already in 1270 – 1272 – was built. During the 15th-16th centuries, it was turned into a peasant fortress. To it was added an exterior belt of walls, a barbacana and a round tower

Campina,Prahova County.
Located in the neighbourhood of Bucharest, the palace is famous both due to the builder (one of the most famous Romanian historians and writers from the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century), and the architectonic style (a fortress with three corpuses, the central one being the highest). Called also the Spirit Museum, the castle is a museum today.

Carei, Satu Mare County.
Karoly Castle, built from the nucleus of the first Vauban Transylvanian fortress from the 17th century, and rebuilt in 1794, when the defensive system was abandoned, and the interior spaces were adapted to the new residential needs. It has a rectangular plan with decorative towers on the corners and a covered interior courtyard. It has four levels of building, including the vaulted basement. The monumental reception hall is decorated with paintings and sculptures. In 1894, the castle suffered changes, and the exterior was redecorated in neogothic style

Cetatea de Balta, Alba County.
Bethlen-Haller Castle, 1615-1624, has a quadrilateral plan with corner round towers, with no defensive role. The general location reproduces to a small-scale the central corpus of the Chambord Castle. It was restored in 1769 and 1773.

Cluj Napoca, Cluj County.
Banffy Palace, Baroque edifice, built around a rectangular court between 1774 and 1785. Today, it is the Art Museum in town.

Cris, Mures County.
A castle built in the Transylvanian Renaissance style. It was a noble residence with two levels (1559) with an imposing circular tower (the archers tower) and a loggia with semicircular vaulted openings, supported on cylindrical short columns. The access to the loggia is provided by the honour staircase, added in the 17th century. A residential corpus fills the structure on the eastern side. It has stone frames in the Renaissance style.

Deva, Hunedoara County.
A fortress of 13th century-origin was transformed by Ianco of Hunedoara in the 15th century as a noble residence, and extended later in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It fell into ruin after an explosion in 1849. Francis David, the founder of the Unitarian reform, was imprisoned and tortured here.

Fagaras, Brasov County.
A fortress dating from before 1310, when it replaced a clay stronghold with walls from the 9th –10th centuries. In the 15th – 17th centuries, the building of the castle with a quadrilateral plan and towers on the corners was completely remade in Renaissance style. To the interior court, on one of the castle wings, large loggias on two levels are open. During the 18th century a Vauban-type precinct was built, being surrounded by a water ditch. The restoration works were interrupted before they were finished

Feldioara, Brasov County.
Between 1211 and 1215, it was the residence of the Theuton Knights during their stay in Transylvania. Called also the Theuton Fortress, it has an oval plan and is strengthened by defence towers. In the 15th century, it was rebuilt and turned into a peasant fortress.
20: Garbou,Salaj County. The Castle (Burg) was built in the 18th century. It is a Baroque edifice which incorporates the Residential Pavilion, the church, the gate, and the fountain.

Garbova,Alba County.
One of the oldest castles in Transylvania, from the 13th century, is composed of a dungeon and a circular precinct, similar to Calnic Castle. Today in ruins, it preserves a Romanic basilica from the 13th century with three halls, a belfry, and a tribune on the western edge of the central hall.

Gherla, Cluj County.
A fortress-castle in a Renaissance style, architect Domenico da Bologna’s (1540-1551) masterpiece was the Cardinal Martinuzzi’s property, and reveals Renaissance features. Four wings are ordered around a central courtyard with a well studied symmetry.

Gornesti, Mures County.
Teleky Palace, 1772-1778, with a U-plan, is one of the most representative pieces of Baroque architecture in Transylvania, built perhaps by the architect Andreas Mayerhoffer. It has a park with Baroque statues.

Hunedoara, Hunedoara County.
Corvin Family Castle, it was the most important monument of Gothic civilian architecture in Transylvania. Initially, a Royal castrum was located here, received as a gift by the Romanian Ruler Voicu. The castrum was extended and redesigned in a Gothic style by his son Iancu of Hunedoara, and his nephew, Mathas Corvin, the King of Hungary. The latter added a wing in the Renaissance style. In time, it had many owners from 20 noble families in Transylvania, being restored often after periods of ruin. The castle has an interior courtyard. The most elegant wing from the artistic perspective is that which includes the Diet Hall and the Knights Hall. It has also a fountain directly dug in a rock providing water for the inhabitants.

Iasi, Iasi County.
The old palace of the Moldavian voivodes is not preserved anymore, on its foundation being built by the architect I. Berindei the Culture Palace, in a neogothic style, at the beginning of the 20th century (1906-1925). It contains a network of 365 rooms, connected through corridors and impressive halls.
The Old University (the former Callimachi Palace) was, first, the Treasurer Ion Cantacuzino’s residence. Later, it was bought by the municipality who offered it to the Voivode Alexandru Callimachi.
Cantacuzino-Pascanu Palace, today a hospital, has an amazing resemblance to the plan of the Old University

Jibou, Salaj County.
Castelul Wesseleny, din prima jumatate a secolului al XVIII-lea. Tipic pentru barocul din Transilvania. Doua nivele; plan rectangular alungit, cu centrul si extremitatile mai proeminente. Doua pavilioane dispuse lateral simetric delimiteaza colturile unei curti de receptie in directia gradinii.

Lipova,Arad County.
The Castle was built by Iancu of Hunedoara and his son, Mathias Corvin, in the 15th century. It has a quadrilateral plan, a precinct with square corners, and defence towers. It is today in ruins.

Miercurea Ciuc, Harghita County.
Miko Fortress, a residential castle since 1621, was renovated in 1714. It has a quadrilateral plan around a central courtyard.

Mogosoaia.
Brancoveanu Court built from 1688. It incorporates the church, the palace, the defence wall with the gate tower, chuhnia (the kitchen) and the former Elchinge Villa (for a while a creation house, where writer Marin Preda passed away in 1980). The palace, Princely Residence since 1702, has a façade with a loggia to the lake, and to the interior courtyard a façade with a watchtower and an exterior staircase. Today’s look with false brick façades and windows with trefoil arches is the result of the restoration workers. The Voivode was kidnapped by Turks from this palace in 1714, and executed in Istanbul with his sons. The last owner of the palace, writer Marta Bibescu, restored the palace with the help of the architects Domenico Rupolo and G.M.Cantacuzino. The place has a three-floor elevation, which includes a monumental vaulted basement with a central pillar. In Constantin Brancoveanu’s times, the rooms had mural paintings. The loggia and the watchtower with their inimitable stone decoration give Brancoveanu-style personality to the building.

Oradea, Bihor County.
The Barco Palace from Oradea, today’s Crisurilor Country Museum, is the largest edifice in Baroque style in Romania and was built in 1762-1770. The originality of the palace is given by the number of windows, 365, one for each day of the year

Potlogi,Dambovita County.
Brancoveanu-style palace, built by Constantin Brancoveanu, in 1698, on the foundation of a former boyar manor. The façade oriented to a lake has a double loggia. On the opposite façade, to the courtyard, the composition is dominated by a watchtower with an exterior staircase as in Mogosoaia. The decoration of the palace included floral motives of Persian inspiration. In Potlogi, they are made in stucco.

Rasnov, Brasov County.
Built over a period of almost 300 years, from the 14th century to the 17th century, the fortress is composed of many precincts allowing an efficient defence of the inhabitants. The fortress was like a miniature-city, hosting all the buildings necessary: the church, houses, workshops, school etc.

Remetea Chioarului, Maramures County.
The ruins of Chioarului Fortress are to be found at the edge of Berchezoaia village. It was a defence fortress from the 13th century owned by the voivodes from Maramures. It was demolished in 1718.

Ruginoasa, Iasi County.
Al. I. Cuza Palace, 1811, neogothic style, was the property of the Sturza family. Today, it is a museum.

Rupea, Brasov County.
A refuge fortress for the inhabitants of the area. It was built in the 14th – 17th centuries. The defence walls define four precincts, strengthened in different moments with defence towers.

Savarsin, Alba County.
A neoclassic style from the 18th century. Located on the foundation of a former hunting manor, the castle was bought by the last king of Romania. Today, it is a museum.

Sanmiclaus,Alba County.
Bethlen Castle is a representative edifice of the late Renaissance in Transylvania. It was built between 1668 and 1683. The southern façade is treated as a double loggia with six archways in the centre of each level.

Sibiu, Sibiu County.
Brukenthal Palace is a Baroque-style construction (1781-1785) is on three levels, with two interior courtyards, one of them having a gangway guarded by atlant-statues.

Sinaia,Prahova County.
Peles and Pelisor Castles (1875-1883, and finished in 1914, when King Carol I passed away), was the summer residence of King Carol I and his wife, Queen Elisabeth. Built initially on the plans of the architect Doderer, in the end too expensive, it was finished by Carl Limann, who made also Pelisor Castle for Ferdinand and Mary (today, both of them are museums).
The third Royal residence and, at the same time, the newest, Foisor (Watchtower) Castle is not yet included in the museum circuit. From the stylistic point of view, those three edifices are completely different, reflecting the changes of mentality and taste in those times, from Carol I’s luxurious Peles Castle to the Art Nouveau luminosity from Pelisor. The original works coexist with the well done copies of the famous originals. An impressive collection of guns feed the Romantic Medieval aura that surrounds the palace. In exchange, Pelisor Castle was built on a line between a villa and a castle. Not only are the decorations different, more modest, closer to the middle class life-style, but, at the same time, they plead for the redimension of the interiors, the lack of emphasis, in accordance with the progressive visions of Queen Mary and the proverbial shyness of King Ferdinand. The objects which decorate the interiors are often in an Art Nouveau style. In the same spirit, but still an exception due to the studied and precious refinement, is the gold room, an amazing space covered by a large monastery vault gilt in gold, in whose key a sky light is placed, its rays entering the cutout of a Celtic cross. This was the preferred meditation place of Queen Mary. She even died here in July 1938.
40: Suceava, Suceava County. The works were started at the end of the 14th century, during Voivode Petru Musat reign’s (1374-1391). In the 15th century, the most famous Moldavian voivode, Steven the Great, strengthened it adding more specific buildings, but turning the central nucleus of the fortress into a Princely residence. In the 17th century, the Ottomans ordered its demolition.

Tauti, jud. Alba.
Cetatea Tauti, 1276, construita din initiativa episcopului Petru de Alba Iulia. Plan neregulat, triunghiular; donjon patrulater. In 1320 si in secolul al XVI-lea a fost suplimentata fortificatia cu noi ziduri de incinta. Starea actuala de ruina se datoreaza demantelarii de catre armatele austriece in 1553-1556. Ruinele ei domina valea Ampoiului..

Targu Mures, Mures County.
Built at the beginning of the 10th century in a Secession style (otherwise, as the main constructions of this time on the Romanian territory), the palace has its façades decorated with statues and bassreliefs. It has a famous Venetian mirrors hall. The organ from the concerts hall is one of the biggest in Romania with more than 4,600 pipes.

Targu Neamt, Neamt County.
Neamtului Fortress, built at the end of the 14th century as well as Suceava Fortress, by the same Voivode Petru Musat, was first an important customs point. It was first mentioned in 1395. Being an important defence point for Moldavia, it was strengthened by Steven the Great (the 15th century). Because it was never conquered, the Ottomans ordered its demolition in the 18th century (as it happened with Suceava).