Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle (
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
*** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...
: ''Castelul Huniazilor'' or ''Castelul Corvinilor;''
Hungarian: ''Vajdahunyadi vár''), is a
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
-
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
castle in
Hunedoara
Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș (''Grós' ...
, Romania. It is one of the largest castles in Europe and is featured as one of the
Seven Wonders of Romania.
History
![Burg Vajad Hunyad (Rumaenien)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Burg_Vajad_Hunyad_%28Rumaenien%29.jpg)
Corvin Castle was laid out in 1446, when construction began by order of
Voivode of Transylvania
The Voivode of Transylvania (german: Vojwode von Siebenbürgen;Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77. hu, erdélyi vajda;Zsoldos 2011, p. 36. la, voivoda Transsylvaniae; ro, voievodul Transilvaniei) was the highest-ranking official in Transylvania wit ...
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
( hu, Hunyadi János, ro, Iancu or Ioan de Hunedoara), who wanted to transform the former keep built by
Charles I of Hungary
Charles I, also known as Charles Robert ( hu, Károly Róbert; hr, Karlo Robert; sk, Karol Róbert; 128816 July 1342) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1308 to his death. He was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and the only son of ...
. The castle was originally given to John Hunyadi's father, Voyk (Vajk), by
Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
and
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, as severance in 1409. It was also in 1446 that John Hunyadi was elected as the regent governor by the
Diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
.
The castle has three large areas: the Knight's Hall, the Diet Hall and the circular stairway. The halls are rectangular in shape and are decorated with marble. The Diet Hall was used for ceremonies or formal receptions whilst the Knight's Hall was used for feasts. In 1456, John Hunyadi died and work on the castle stagnated. Starting with 1458, new commissions were being undergone to construct the Matia Wing of the castle. In 1480, work was completely stopped on the castle and it was recognised as being one of the biggest and most impressive buildings in Eastern Europe.
The 16th century did not bring any improvements to the castle, but during the 17th century new additions were made for aesthetic and military purposes. Aesthetically, the large new palace was built facing the town. A two-level building, it hosted living chambers and a large living area. For military purposes, two new towers were constructed: the White Tower and the Artillery Tower. Also, the external yard was added for administration and storage.
The current castle is the result of a fanciful restoration campaign undertaken after a disastrous fire and many decades of total neglect. It has been noted that modern "architects projected to it their own wistful interpretations of how a great Gothic castle should look". In 2021 Corvin Castle attracted around 276,000 tourists.
Structure
![CorvinCastleMid19th](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/CorvinCastleMid19th.jpg)
Built in a
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
-
Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
style and constructed over the site of an older fortification on a rock above the smaller
Zlaști River
The Zlaști is a left tributary of the river Cerna in Romania. It discharges into the Cerna in the city Hunedoara
Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in south ...
, the castle is a large and imposing structure with tall towers, bastions, an inner courtyard, diversely coloured roofs, and myriad windows and balconies adorned with stone carvings. The castle also features a double wall for enhanced fortification and is flanked by both rectangular and circular towers, an architectural innovation for the period's Transylvanian architecture. Some of the towers (the Capistrano Tower, the Deserted Tower and the Drummers' Tower) were used as prisons. The Buzdugan Tower (named after a type of
mace) was solely built for defensive purposes and it had its exterior decorated with geometric motifs. The rectangular towers have large openings to accommodate larger weapons.
As one of the most important properties of John Hunyadi, the castle was transformed during his reign. It became a sumptuous home, not only a strategically enforced point. With the passing of the years, the masters of the castle had modified its look, adding towers, halls and guest rooms. The gallery and the
keep - the last defense tower (called "Neboisa" which means "Don't be afraid" in
Serbo-Croatian
Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...
), which remained unchanged from John Hunyadi's time, and the
Capistrano Tower (named after the saint, Franciscan friar from the
Battle of Belgrade in 1456) are some of the most significant parts of the construction. Other significant parts of the building are the Knights' Hall (a great reception hall), the Club Tower, the White bastion, which served as a food storage room, and the Diet Hall, on whose walls medallions are painted (among them there are portraits of
Matei Basarab
Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was a Wallachian Voivode (Prince) between 1632 and 1654.
Reign
Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1637 ...
, rulers from
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
, and
Vasile Lupu
Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595–1661), was a Voivode of Moldavia of Albanian origin between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and managed to hold it for twenty years. Va ...
, ruler of
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and for ...
). In the wing of the castle called the Mantle, a painting can be seen which portrays the legend of the
raven from which the name of the descendants of John Hunyadi, Corvinus came.
Legacy
![Corvin_Castel](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/Corvin_Castel.jpg)
Tourists are told that it was the place where
Vlad the Impaler
Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most im ...
,
Prince of Wallachia
This is a list of rulers of Wallachia, from the first mention of a medieval polity situated between the Southern Carpathians and the Danube until the union with Moldavia in 1859, which led to the creation of Romania.
Notes
Dynastic rule is hard t ...
, was held prisoner by John Hunyadi, Hungary's military leader and regent during the King's minority. Later, Vlad III entered a political alliance with John Hunyadi, although the latter was responsible for the execution of his father, Vlad II Dracul. Because of these links, the Hunedoara Castle is sometimes mentioned as a source of inspiration for
Castle Dracula
Castle Dracula is the fictitious Transylvanian residence of Count Dracula, the vampire antagonist in Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel ''Dracula''. The first and the last events of the plot take place there. The inaccessible stronghold, which init ...
in
Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel ''
Dracula''. In fact, Stoker neither knew about Vlad's alliance with Hunyadi, nor about Hunyadi's castle. Instead, Stoker's own handwritten research notes confirm that the novelist imagined Castle Dracula to be situated on an empty top in the Transylvanian
Călimani Mountains
The Călimani Mountains ( ro, Munții Călimani, hu, Kelemen-havasok) are the largest volcanic complex of the Carpathian Mountains in Transylvania, Romania. Geologically they belong to the Căliman-Harghita Mountains group of the Inner Eastern Ca ...
near the former border with Moldavia.
In the castle yard, near the 15th-century chapel, there is a well. According to the legend, this fountain was dug by 3 Turkish prisoners to whom liberty was promised if they reached water. After 15 years they completed the well, but their captors did not keep their promise. It is said that the inscription on a wall of the well means "you have water, but not soul". Specialists, however, have translated the inscription as "he who wrote this inscription is Hasan, who lives as slave of the
giaour
Giaour or Gawur (; tr, gâvur, ; from fa, گور ''gâvor'' an obsolete variant of modern گبر ''gaur'', originally derived from arc, 𐡂𐡁𐡓𐡀, ''gaḇrā'', man; person; ro, ghiaur; al, kaur; gr, γκιαούρης, gkiaoúris, ...
s, in the fortress near the church".
The final action sequence of the 2015 Bollywood movie ''
Singh Is Bling'' starring
Akshay Kumar
Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...
was shot at the castle.
In 2018, the castle was used as the "
Cârța Monastery" in the horror movie ''
The Nun''.
See also
*
Tourism in Romania
Romania's tourism sector had a direct contribution of EUR 5.21 billion to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2018, slightly higher than in 2017, placing Romania on the 32nd place in the world, ahead of Slovakia and Bulgaria, but behind Greece ...
*
List of castles in Romania
This is a list of castles and fortresses declared historic monuments by Romania's Ministry of Culture. Banat
; Caraș-Severin (6)
* Bey's Fortress, Socolari
* Caransebeș Fortress, Caransebeș
* Cuiești Fortress, Bocșa
* Ladislau Fortre ...
*
Seven Wonders of Romania
*
Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania
The south-eastern Transylvania region in Romania currently has one of the highest numbers of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries. It has more than 150 well preserved fortified churches of a great variety of architectural s ...
References
External links
Information and images at ''Historical Text Archive''Information and images about Corvin Castle at ''Castelul Corvinilor''
{{Dracula
Castles in Romania
Gothic architecture in Romania
Hunedoara
Hunyadi family
Reportedly haunted locations in Romania
Buildings and structures in Hunedoara County
Tourist attractions in Hunedoara County
Historic monuments in Hunedoara County
Dracula