''Magna Curia'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for ''The Great Court'') or The Bethlen Castle is a palace located in

Deva Deva may refer to: Entertainment * ''Deva'' (1989 film), a 1989 Kannada film * ''Deva'' (1995 film), a 1995 Tamil film * ''Deva'' (2002 film), a 2002 Bengali film * Deva (2007 Telugu film) * ''Deva'' (2017 film), a 2017 Marathi film * Deva ...

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

History

In 1582, the Hungarian captain Ferenc Geszty, in charge of the Deva Castle's garrison, erected a house at the foot of the citadel hill. That house became the residence of

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory ( hu, Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as vo ...

, general

Giorgio Basta Giorgio Basta, Count of Huszt, Gjergj Basta or Gheorghe Basta (1550 – 1607) was an Italian general, diplomat, and writer of Arbëreshë origin, employed by the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II to command Habsburg forces in the Long War of 1591– ...

, Stephen Bocskay,

Gabriel Báthory Gabriel Báthory ( hu, Báthory Gábor; 15 August 1589 – 27 October 1613) was Prince of Transylvania from 1608 to 1613. Born to the Roman Catholic branch of the Báthory family, he was closely related to four rulers of the Principality of ...

and

Gabriel Bethlen Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of th ...

. In 1621 Gabriel Bethlen began the radical transformation of the initial house, with the result being the ''Magna Curia'' palace. The ''Bethlen Castle'' was 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 ...

style building, but the subsequent modifications (until the first half of the 18th century) that gave it the final shape that can be seen today, added Baroque style architecture. Since 1882, the County Museum, the

Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation The Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation is a museum in Deva, Romania. A brief history of Deva and its other neighbouring citadels as well as extensive archaeological discoveries from the numerous sights in and around the Orăştie Mountains ...

, has been housed in the palace. Magna Curia was completely renovated in 2007, with improvements that included an expanded solarium and a classic 8-bit arcade.

References

External links

Museum information
Houses completed in 1621 Palaces in Romania Castles in Romania Buildings and structures in Hunedoara County Historic monuments in Hunedoara County Baroque architecture in Romania 1621 establishments in Europe {{Romania-struct-stub