The Jósika estate in

Surduc Surduc (; ; ) is a commune in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of seven villages: Brâglez, Cristolțel, Solona, Surduc, Teștioara, Tihău and Turbuța. Etymology The name of the commune has its origin in the morphological ...

, a village in

Sălaj County Sălaj County (; ) (also known as ''Land of Silvania'', ''silva, -ae'' means "forest") is a Counties of Romania, county (''județ'') of Romania, located in the north-west of the country, in the Historical regions of Romania, historical regions of ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, consists of a low-rise

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

on the left bank of

Someș River The Someș () or Szamos ( or ''Samosch'') is a left tributary of the Tisza in Hungary and Romania. It has a length of (including its source river Someșul Mare), of which 50 km are in Hungary.tempietto built on a steep cliff at the entrance from

Jibou Jibou (; ; ; ) is a town in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania. In 2021 it had a population of 9,677. Jibou includes the town proper and other four villages: Rona (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Szilágyróna''), Cuceu (''Kucsó''), Husia (''H ...

into the village. Here lived and worked between 1834 and 1853 writer

Miklós Jósika Miklós Jósika (; 28 April 1794 - 27 February 1865) was a Hungary, Hungarian soldier, politician and writer. He is recognized as the first successful novelist in Hungarian literature, through the publishing of one of his first works, ''Abafi'' ...

, founder of the Hungarian romantic novel. Between the walls of the castle, he wrote the historical novel ', his style being likened to Scottish writer

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

. Members of the Jósika family, originating in the north of the current

Hunedoara County Hunedoara County () is a county (''județ'') of Romania, in Transylvania, with its capital city at Deva, Romania, Deva. The county is part of the Danube–Criș–Mureș–Tisa Euroregion. Name In Hungarian language, Hungarian, it is known as , ...

, contributed significantly to the erection and final appearance of the castle. It is important from a historical perspective, because here

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania (, , , Fallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the late-16th century until the mid-18th century. John Sigismund Zápolya was the first to adopt the title in 1 ...

Francis II Rákóczi Francis II Rákóczi (, ; 27 March 1676 – 8 April 1735) was a Hungarian nobleman and leader of the Rákóczi's War of Independence against the Habsburgs in 1703–1711 as the prince () of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of ...

served a last lunch with László Csáky before the

battle of Zsibó Battle of Zsibó ( ) was fought on 15 November 1705 between the Kuruc ( Hungarian) army (supported by French contingents) and forces of the Habsburg Empire, Denmark-Norway and Vojvodian Serbs in Zsibó, Principality of Transylvania (to ...

(present-day

) of 15 November 1705, lost to the Austrian imperial army led by General . The castle is included in the list of historical monuments elaborated by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

, as a monument of local importance.

History

In the 17th century, Surduc, and hence the

curia Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

, were the property of the Csáky family. From their curia built in the middle of a park has not been preserved but the servants' house. The curia was turned into castle probably in the 18th century, because in the early 19th century the building is already registered as a castle. In 1810 it became the property of the Jósika family. After his first failed marriage to Erzsébet Kállay from

Nagykálló Nagykálló () is a small town in Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary. Before World War II it belonged to Szabolcs (county), Szabolcs county. Location from county seat Nyíregyháza. History Nag ...

(

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

), writer

(1794–1865) retreated to this castle. Miklós' maternal grandmother was a descendant of the Csáky family. He built several farm buildings here, including a

stud farm A stud farm or stud in animal husbandry is an establishment for selective breeding of livestock. The word "stud (animal), stud" comes from the Old English ''stod'' meaning "herd of horses, place where horses are kept for breeding". Historically, ...

, and revitalized the estate. The castle was later inherited by Miklos' son Leó (1827–1887), who left the castle to his daughter, Baroness Irén Jósika (1853–1940). A family property inventory from 1854 records a building consisting of 17 rooms, including the writer's office, and a chapel. Legend has it was built with stone from the nearby Roman castra of Tihău. The castle had a park where subsequently were found several fountains and a statue of

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

. The entrance to the castle was guarded by two stone lions, moved in the late 1970s to the garden of Wesselényi Castle in

. On the main alley, there is a

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, and the main salon of the castle was full of remarkable pictures. The pieces of furniture were hand-carved, and the chandeliers surprised by elegance and refinement. The revolutionaries of 1848 damaged the castle, so in the last third of the 19th century other construction works were needed. The establishment of the communist regime in Romania led to the transformation of the castle into a station for mechanization of agriculture (SMA). Many valuable pieces have disappeared or were destroyed during this period. Its old ornate gate was replaced by a bulky concrete frame, while the former park was transformed into a vegetable garden. At present, the castle, together with the related land, belongs to the Agromec company, founded in 1991. In 2022, the Jósika Castle was put up for sale by

Sotheby's International Realty Sotheby’s International Realty is a luxury real estate brand founded in 1976 by Sotheby's fine art dealers. Sotheby's International Realty operates as a franchise focusing on brokering and marketing of residential real estate. As of 2018, th ...

for the price of 560,000 euros.

Jósika family's crypt

The crypt, a tempietto-like structure known locally as the "baron's crypt", was built in 1825, in the memory of Miklós Jósika's father who died a year before. On the facade can be read ''Parenti optimo pietas proculium posuit ano. MDCCCXXVII-mo'', an inscription executed in 1828 by Friedrich Hirschfeld, a sculptor from

Debrecen Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...

. Initially, in the now empty and looted crypt, there were three cast iron coffins, two of them with windows.

Architecture

The castle is simple, built on one level, the corners of the two main facades being accentuated by a

bastion A bastion is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fire from the ...

. One of the bastions is round, the other has a hexagonal shape. From the round bastion, the main entrance used to open, in front of it there was a small porch, which is no longer visible today. The semicircular door and the two semicircular windows with an opening to the main facade have been preserved. Above them are simple frames. The rear and side facades of the building are simple, without ornaments. The rear facade of the castle forms the letter U, one wing being shorter and narrower than the other. Some parts of the building are the result of later construction.

References

External links

3D model
of Jósika Castle at ''Sketchfab'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Josika Castle Castles in Romania Jósika family Buildings and structures in Sălaj County Historic monuments in Sălaj County