The Rákóczi-Bánffy Castle in Gilău, Transylvania Renovated

Hungary Today 2023.12.20.

The technical handover of the Gyalu (Gilău) Castle in Transylvania, Romania, has taken place. The castle will be open to visitors after the inauguration ceremony, scheduled for next spring, reports Maszol.ro.

The castle has been renovated as a result of a long process and is now back to its centuries-old glory, despite the fact that the building still needs to be furnished. After Elek Nagy, a Cluj-born businessman, bought the castle from the Barcsay family heirs, he donated it to the Transylvanian Heritage Foundation. In 2015, on his initiative, the architectural design firm Tektum Arta & Architectura and the project consultancy RegioConsult dreamed up the restoration of the castle. In 2017, the castle won an EU tender, and the following year the restoration work started with the help of ADD Concept and Kvadrum Axis.

Photo: MTI/Kiss Gábor

The entire project is worth more than EUR 6 million, most of which is EU funding, with the remainder coming from the Hungarian government and the foundation founded and chaired by Elek Nagy. The latter amount exceeds EUR 3 million.

The renovation will continue in 2024 with the restoration of the castle park, a project funded by a EUR 2.15 million tender. The plan is to turn Gyalu Castle back into one of the jewels of Transylvania, as a multifunctional cultural center. At the same time, the aim is to make the castle an important tourist destination in Cluj County (Kolozs County) and Transylvania, highlighting the centuries-old historical role of the complex and bringing to life its specific cultural value.

The inauguration ceremony of the restored monument will take place in spring 2024.

Photo: MTI/Kiss Gábor

Fact

The Rákóczi-Bánffy Castle in Gilău (Gyalu) is a monument of national importance. Its history dates back to the 13th century, when written sources mention a manor house as one of the centers of the extensive estates of the Transylvanian bishops west of Cluj-Napoca. The oldest parts of the present complex date back to the bishop’s castle built here in the first half of the 15th century, the representative building of which was a late Gothic palace with a chapel. This palace was modernized around 1500 by the cousin of Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus, Bishop László Geréb, and rebuilt in the Renaissance style.

The present rectangular plan of the castle, reinforced with cylindrical towers at the corners, was created in the 1540s, when the Turkish invasion forced János Statileo, one of the last medieval Catholic bishops of Transylvania, to build a modern castle. It served as one of the most important residences of the Rákóczi monarchs until the 1660s, when Dénes Bánffy acquired it for his family. The castle, repeatedly stormed during Rákóczi’s War of Independence (1703-1711), fell into ruins and was only rebuilt into a romantic castle in the 1830s, when the English park, which still largely remains today, was created.

Tamás Barcsay married Katinka Bánffy, and the Barcsay family came into possession of the castle, which was nationalized in 1948, and only in the early 2010s was the Barcsay family able to reclaim it. Perhaps the most beautiful known elements of the building were made during the reign of Bishop László Geréb, and in addition to the late Gothic pieces, there are some Renaissance carvings from the late 15th century.

Castle in Transylvania Renovated with Support from Hungarian Government

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Via Maszol.ro, Featured image: MTI/Kiss Gábor