The castle was built around 1850, by the order of Count Bethlen Balázs. The land where the castle was built has a surface of 16.5 hectares and it includes 3 buildings and an arboretum. In the arboretum there are 150 species of native and exotic plants. The main building was built about 150 years ago and it is the only castle in Transylvania which presents elements of the Moorish and the Byzantine style at the same time.
The castle hosts a conference hall with a surface of 80 square metres, which means 70 spectators capacity, a presentation room with a surface of 40 square metres, which means 25 spectators capacity, a study room with a surface of 40 square metres and a Francophone library with a surface of 25 square metres.
The arboretum surrounds the castle on 16 hectares and the 150 species of plants include the following: fir tree, spruce, pagoda tree or Japanese pagoda tree and many other species of shrubs and spears from all around the world. The arrangement of the park is very special: there are spruces, acacias and hornbeams lining up along the paths and promenades, which form not only routes, but also labyrinths in some places.
The castle from Arcalia was nationalized in 1947 and it was functioning as the village’s shop, after that as the stationing point of agricultural machines and then, until 1963, it was used as accommodation for the pioneers’ camps. Then it became the property of Babeș-Bolyai University. The Biological and Geological Research Centre was functioning here for 3 decades and many students practiced here during summer.
The Centre became the location of many scientific symposiums, spectacles, creative camps, summer courses and, besides all this, visitors are also welcome. Visitors are not allowed access to the castle’s main building, but they can explore the arboretum.
https://castleintransylvania.ro/

Bethlen Castle (Arcalia)

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Biserica fortificată din Lechința este un ansamblu de monumente istorice aflat pe teritoriul satului Lechința; comuna Lechința. În Repertoriul Arheologic Național, monumentul apare cu codul 33444.05.
Ansamblul este format din următoarele monumente:
Biserica evanghelică C.A., azi biserica reformată (cod LMI BN-II-m-A-01664.01)
Turn clopotniță (cod LMI BN-II-m-A-01664.02)
Zid de incintă (cod LMI BN-II-m-A-01664.03)
Localitatea
Lechința (în maghiară Szászlekence, Lekence, în dialectul săsesc Lachenz, în germană Lechnitz, în trad. "Pârâul uscat") este satul de reședință al comunei cu același nume din județul Bistrița-Năsăud, Transilvania, România. Localitatea apare în datele istorice prima dată în anul 1285, cu numele Lekicencha, ca și o moșie vândută lui Hermann, fiul lui Hermann de Fata, magistrul spitalului de la Bistrița, de către Dominicus fiul lui Nicolaus și Nicolaus fiul lui Zegheu.
Biserica
Biserica fortificată din Lechința e amplasată pe dealul de lângă centrul localității. Este înconjurată de un zid de incintă construit din piatră, cu un plan neregulat, ovoidal, cu guri de tragere pentru puști. În mijlocul incintei se ridică una dintre cele mai mari și mai importante biserici gotice din regiune. Volumetria bisericii este una mai deosebită: o navă de tip sală, relativ scurtă, dar lată, la care se racordează dinspre est corul poligonal mai îngust. Pe fațada vestică a bisericii se poate observa faptul că nava laterală este o extindere ulterioară.
Interiorul conține mai multe piese valoroase: altarul înalt din epoca modernă, cu retablul flancat de coloane, tabloul central, din a doua jumătate a secolului al XIX-lea, fiind opera lui A. Dörschlag. Pe predela altarului se vede Cina cea de taină, iar pictura superioară înfățișează Învierea. Cele două strane ale corului datează din 1884, iar lângă altar se află o cristelniță de marmură realizată în 1889.

Lechința Fortified Church

The castle was built by the order of Count Bethlen Pál (1851–1935), the son of Bethlen Pál (1798–1859) and Countess Bethlen Mária (1827–1876).
He had been travelling after he had finished his studies, then he was a soldier for five years. By the end of the 1870s he had returned to his land in Beclean. He had a daughter with his first wife, Countess Rhédey Gabriella (1861–1883), whose name was Ida (1880–1895) and had a tragic fate. Bethlen Ida’s grave, which is situated in the cemetery in Beclean, is a unique work of art.
Before the government’s nationalizations in 1945, the main building, as well as the secondary ones surrounding it (a linen fabric was functioning here), were the possessions of Count Bethlen László. According to the documents originating from 1977, the castle had 16 premises and 8 secondary buildings. Today, only one secondary building exists, which was rearranged into a museum.
During the 1990s the community centre and the library were functioning in the building. The amphitheatre and the scene from the back were enlarged and they were redecorated accordingly to that period’s style. Today the building hosts Beclean’s Town Hall.
The two-storey castle does not have an adequate division of the premises and it shows the signs of multiple reconstructions and rearrangements. On the ground floor a big amphitheatre can be found and three smaller halls in the southern side. This unit is surrounded by smaller premises on each side, which connect the building’s centre with the two hexagonal towers situated in the two corners of the castle. The harmony of this structure was ruined in the 1980s by the enlarged amphitheatre. In the main wing of the building there is an avant-corps, which is connected to the building through a balcony with stairs. Inside of the avant-corps the stairs run to the first floor. The main wing, which was mentioned above, is connected vertically to another wing with five premises. The images which originate from the 20th century illustrate this wing too.
There are a few differences between the arrangement of the premises situated on the first floor and the ones which are on the ground floor. A significant one would be that the shorter tower is one-storey building, while the taller one situated in the southern side, is divided into three premises and it also has a first floor. Neither the northern bastion has a first floor. The enlargement of the amphitheatre is marked on the ground floor plan, but on the first floor we can only see the aerial space of the hall.
The castle was built in L shape, it has a simple hip roof, while its wings have gable roofs and the bastions have roofs made of tin. Under the building there is a basement with four vaulted premises. These cannot be visited today, but it would be important in order to be able to differentiate the numerous phases of constructions.
The main façade is situated in the western side of the castle. On the basis of some post cards several significant modifications can be observed. According to the oldest variant, the façade had the following aspect: besides the avant-corps the main wing was situated which ended in two hexagonal towers. Before the avant-corps there was a balcony with iron parapet and stone stairs. The avant-corps was divided by four decorated pilasters which held the cornice with the console stones. The middle part of the façade was decorated in Baroque style and above it the Bethlen coat of arms was situated. Above the cornice there is an attic decorated with reliefs. There are two decorated twin windows at the two sides of the entrance. Under the hexagonal tower the avant-corps was decorated with console stones’ motifs.
The main façade was rearranged during the 1900 reconstructions. Another floor was built above the ground floor. The big hall and the northern tower were not reconstructed, but the avant-corps of the entrance and the southern wing were heightened with one floor, as well as the southern tower. It is not known exactly whether this tower was rebuilt in this period or it had had that floor earlier. The balcony of the avant-corps at the entrance was preserved in its original condition, while the windows were modified. On the ground floor windows were mounted, with keystones. On the first floor the middle window has three elements, and the two windows at the two sides have eyebrow frames. The spiral structured building reminds us of the German Renaissance; it has a window with three elements and the Bethlen coat of arms. In the southern part of the façade there are two windows above which there are two double ones, and this is their original place. The façade’s aspect had not been changed until 1927. Keöpeczi Sebestyén József’s drawing illustrates this fact very well.
The reconstructions of the 1980s changed the aspect of the façade. The windows from the wing which is situated near the avant-corps, on the left side, were walled up, and this part of the building was heightened – this is how the amphitheatre was created. The architecture of the avant-corps was not modified, but the original window frames and the Bethlen coat of arms were taken off the façade. The southern bastion was significantly modified, because the traces of some windows which were walled up can be seen. On the ground floor of the southern wing there is a vaulted door which leads to the basement. The reconstructions from the 20th century ruined the harmonious composition of the buildings completely and the final aspect which thus resulted was completely inadequate. The furniture and the interior organization of the castle are unknown. In 1900 the main staircase was panelled and it had a turned balustrade. Opposite the main staircase, there is an eclectic fireplace on the first floor, with green glazed ceramic tile and late-Renaissance motifs (dentilled cornice, ornate freize, flower and fruit garlands).
The façade from the back of the castle looked on to the sophisticatedly arranged park. The trees of this park were cut down in the 1960s. Today only one of the secondary buildings exists and it is transformed into a museum. Ten years ago there were two buildings left (one for the servants and for cooking, the other for the guests) and the stables with their Baroque windows, which originated from the 18th century, most probably. Only that, these were demolished since then.
https://castleintransylvania.ro/