PHOTOS: Beautiful Hungarian castle renewed

Hungary is full of beautiful castles built in Baroque style in the 18th century. One of them belonged once to the Historic Bánffy family officials and military leaders of the Habsburg Empire Hungary was part of. Now, their castle in Válaszút was renewed with the help of the Hungarian government.

Válaszút is a small village of less than 1,800 inhabitants 25 km from Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca) in Romania. Roughly 15% of the locals are Hungarians, the rest are Romanian nationals. Interestingly, the village had a Romanian majority even before the Peace Treaty of Trianon (1920), with more than 58% Romanians. And why can it become a tourist hotspot? Because the settlement hosts one of the most beautiful Hungarian castles, once belonging to the Historic Bánffy family.

There were six different Bánffy families in Hungary’s history. Three of them died out. One in 1357, the other in 1644, while the third in 1950. The latter is the “losonci” Bánffy family, the castle belonged to them once.

Beautifully renewed Hungarian castle close to international airport

According to travelo.hu, the renewed castle belongs to the Council of Cluj (Kolozs) County. It was renovated because the institution would like to create a cultural centre. The reconstruction took more than five years, during which both its interior, the facades and the park were restored with the help of EU and council sources.

After WWII, it functioned as an orphanage. That is when its state rapidly deteriorated.

The renewed castle was inaugurated by Andrei, the Orthodox archbishop and Metropolit of Kolozsvár (Cluj Napoca), but representatives of the Roman Catholic and Reformed churches also attended the celebration.

István Vákár, the Hungarian VP of the Council, said the inauguration was a historic moment and a real milestone in rescuing the Hungarian-related buildings in Cluj County. He said the castle was a jewel.

The castle’s value is that its wooden interior remained intact. Unfortunately, in 99% of the Transylvanian castles, the opposite is the case. Furthermore, the building has its unique and original tile stove awarded at one of the Paris world fairs.