13 km from Reghin, in the center of Gurghiu, right at the foot of the Citadel Hill stands the Rákóczi-Bornemisza Castle architectural ensemble.
The beginnings of the castle date back to Prince I. Gheorghe Rákóczi I (1593-1648), who wanted to establish a more accessible residence for the hunting parties organized in the Gurghiu Mountains, in which he often participated.
In 1717, the castle was leased out to Vice-Chancellor Ioan Bornemisza and his descendants for 99 years. The Bornemisza family made a lot of investments, erecting new buildings around the castle: in 1740 the chapel with an elliptical design (rarely found in Transylvania) was built. Between 1754 and 1756, the paper mill was rebuilt and was operational until 1872; a glass factory and a porcelain work-shop were also established.
The events of the 1848 Revolution did not spare the Gurghiu domain. The castle was besieged by the serfs, many goods being destroyed. The family restored the buildings, constrained by the fact that the domain had to be returned. Upon expiration of the lease, the Bornemisza family refused to return the property, demanding payment of all the investments made, and consequently the Austrian state brought them to justice. The lawsuits lasted for 27 years and in 1869 the two parties came to an agreement, the Bornemisza family binding themselves to return the property by the end of 1870.
Since 1880, the domain has been used directly by the state, the castle and its annexes undergoing a renovation process to transform the whole place into a hunting castle for the successor prince Rudolf of Habsburg. After the Mayerling drama, when the heir prince is alleged to have committed suicide in the hunting lodge, the destination of the castle changed, so it became a foresters’ school in 1893.
The dendrological park of the Rákóczi-Bornemisza Castle is among the last arranged “English Parks” and is characteristic of the Mureş nobility residences of the 18th-19th centuries. Set in 1740 on the initiative of Leopold Bornemisza, it includes over 100 species of native and exotic trees (originating from Australia, Japan, South America and North America). The park offers the visitors the opportunity to relax in a natural setting, and botanic enthusiasts the opportunity to improve their knowledge.
https://reghincity.ro/

Rákóczi-Bornemisza Castle

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Kemény Castle, situated at the foot of the Călimani Mountains on the right bank of the Mureș River in Brâncovenești, Mureș County, Romania, is one of the finest examples of Renaissance architecture in Transylvania. It was built using the remains of a Roman fortification situated not on the site of today's building but in the adjoining orchard.
History
The first written mention about Brâncovenești was almost eight centuries ago. In this village on the right bank of the Mureş River, on the top of the hill they built a small fort already in Roman times which was destroyed during the migrations. Its name according to inscribed stones which were found in the ground was: Ala Nova Illiricorum. Its few remnants can be seen in the current castle`s former orchard.
The castle was built from Roman stones at the beginning of the 13th century, when the territory belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. The earliest remaining document from 1228 gives its name as castrum Wecheu, when King Andrew II of Hungary took it from Simon Kacsics and gave it to Denis Tomaj. The ancestors of the Bánffy de Losoncz noble family inherited from them and held it for one and a half centuries. In 1467 the family took part in the rebellion against King Matthias, and thereby they lost their possession. The king gave it to one of his relatives from Hunyad County, John Ongor. It subsequently became the property of the wealthy and influential Michael Szobi. After his death, John Szapolyai gave all the Szobi properties to Stephen Werbőczy.
In the following years the castle changed its owners many times. The sequence began with Ferenc Kendi, one of the leading figures of the time, then Sigismund Báthory left it to his uncle, Bocskai István. Around 1612 the castle became the property of István Wesselényi. The castle was also owned by Gabriel Bethlen, who passed it on to Peter Bethlen, but after his death it went to George I Rákóczi. In that period, the castle owned seven villages: Brȋncoveneşti, Săcalu de Pădure, Luieriu, Vătava, Ideciu de Jos si Ideciu de Sus, Cuieșd, and one part of Suseni. George I Rákóczi meant to give the castle to John Kemény, but only his son George II Rákóczi managed to do it. On 28 November 1648 the castle together with five villages was donated to John Kemény and his descendants. From this moment Brȋncoveneşti became John Kemény's property for three hundred years. From the summer of 1926 on, writers of the "Erdélyi Helikon" had their annual meeting in the Castle. At the end of World War II the local population completely ransacked the building, all the valuables were taken. Following its earlier nationalization, it became a reformatory, and it was then converted into a home for women and children with disabilities. As a result, the building was not open for a long time.
On 8 November 2014, the Kemény Castle from Brâncovenești was opened for visitors. Once again, the property has been returned to the Kemény family after a period of 70 years.
Description
The castle has a square-shaped plan, courtyard and corner towers, two larger and two smaller. Several windows have frames in Renaissance style. Built above the entrance is a picturesque stone balcony on consoles. The consoles can be seen at the floors of the towers. The entrance is on the north side, on a bridge over the outside ditch of the castle. Old documents show that the former citadel (13th century) was protected by moats, walls and towers positioned below the plateau on which the castle was built. These were destroyed during post-war reconstruction work.

Kemény Castle in Brâncovenești

The Estate.
 The village of Gernyeszeg (Gornesti) is situated in the valley of the River Maros between Marosvásárhely (Targu-Mures) and Régen (Reghin). The history of the village dates back 700 years and is closely connected to the life of its Landlords.
 The name of the village listed as ‘Knezeg’ appears in 1319 in documents for the first time as a donation made by the Hungarian King Károly Robert to his subject Szécsényi Simon. Later Sigismund of Luxemburg (1387-1437) gave the property in 1405 to Somkereki Antal who saved his life in the lost battle at Nikapoli in 1396.One of his sons Antal built a fortress in the village first mentioned in 1477.The fortress, mostly built of stone, had three towers and two smaller bastions. It was surrounded by a moat with a drawbridge over it. Its size was mostly similar to that of the baroque castle of today. The family died in 1642 with the widow living there until 1670. The next owner was Bánffy Dénes , but after only 4 years he lost the property in favour of Teleki Mihály.
 The Teleki Family.
 Teleki Mihály (1634-1690) received Gernyeszeg and other villages as a donation. The family originates from the ancient Garázda family. It got its Coat of Arms of an ibex jumping out of a fire from Sigismund King of Hungary in 1409. Teleki Mihály was the greatest politician of his time in Transylvania and was the closest advisor of Apaffy Mihály, the Regent of the country.
 He grounded the wealth and power of the family. He died in the battle of Zernest in 1690. After his death his five sons each received the title of count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1697. The descendants of two of the five sons were the genealogical link of the two current existing branches of the family.
His son Sándor (1679-1754), inherited the fortress and the property. He generously supported the protestant church and several protestant schools. One of Sándor’s sons, Sámuel, became the chancellor of Transylvania and built the famous Teleki Library in Marosvásárhely.
Sándor’s son, László (1710-1778), inherited the fortress at Gernyeszeg. He was a passionate collector of books. He decided to build a castle in place of the old fortress and began to have the old building demolished in 1772. The building of the new castle stood until 1802. László’s son József (1738-1796), has the same love for books as his father. Between 1759-61, he travelled abroad and met Voltaire and J.J. Rousseau among others. His library was donated by his heirs to the Hungarian Academy of Science.
József’s son József (1777-1817), inherited the estate and changed the French park into an English one. His wife, Teleki Zsófia, had a memorial errected in the park for him which can still be seen today. His son Domokos (1810-1876), was a well known politician supporting the ideas of the 1848 revolution and who later wrote books about the history of the country. One of his grandsons, Bethlen István, Primeminister of Hungary between 1921-1931, was born at Gernyeszeg in 1874. Domokos (1890-1955), his other grandson was interested in antiquity and made a museum in the castle containing many valuable objects. The most important was his collection of old Turkish carpets.
The last owner of the castle was Count Teleki Mihály(1908-1988) and his wife Countess Tisza Aimée (1914-1991). During and after World War II, the castle was devastated and in 1949 it was nationalised.It was then transformed into a nursing home for children until 2011, from which time it again has been repossesed by the exisiting Teleki family.
The Castle and the Park.
You reach the castle over the former drawbridge across the ditch. The building in baroque style resembles to some extent other castles around Budapest like at Gödöllö, Pecel and Nagytétény.
It is the so called Grassalkowich style, its main features being the „U” form, a large dome in the middle and a festivity hall beaneth.
The walls and the ceiling of the festivity hall have been painted since the beginning of the XIX. century. Above the entrance door and the door leading to the loggia one can see the painted weapons of the family. But the three chandeliers of Murano glass are the most impressive remains of the former wealth.
The park got its actual form at the begining of the XIX century.Valuable and rare trees were planted, like the gingo-biloba(right from the main entrance), lime, willow , oak-trees and cypresses.
Part of the fomer ditch became a lake with a small island in the middle.Once there were swans there too. The Margit spring cherishes the memory of Countess Géza Teleki born Countess Margit Bethlen.
There are grotesque sculptures around the lake representing some famous figures of the French revolution, like Mirabeau, Les dames des halles (market women) and Louis XVI.
There are some other sculptures in the park representig ancient gods and godesses: Ganymedes on the left, in front of the bridge, Bachus and Ceres to the left and right of the main entrance, Neptun , Pan , Venus in the park behind the castle. They were brought to Gernyeszeg in the early 20th from Budapest by Count Domokos Teleki.
http://telekicastle.com/

Teleki Castle in Gernyeszeg

Romania is home to many beautiful castles, some of which lesser known to the wider public.  One of them is the Teleki Castle in Dumbravioara, Mures county. Not only can the castle be visited, but it is also on sale by an auction house.
The castle used to belong to one of Transylvania’s richest noble families, in the XVIII and XIX centuries. Count Samuel Teleki, Chancellor of Transylvania and founder of the Teleki Library in Targu-Mures, started the castle’s construction in 1769. He started building his house after he returned from his Western European travel in the late-1760s.
The construction started with the north wing in 1769 and continued with the south wing in 1773. In this period, the aristocratic family lived in the north wing, the south rooms being reserved for household and personal purposes. Teleki lived here with his family in the following years, according to data published on Dumbravioara.ro.
Other units were built later. For example, a complex of buildings was built behind the north wing between 1781 and 1782, and a manege (enclosed area for horses) was built in 1825.
A garden was planted behind the castle during the time of Samuel Teleki. This garden was later transformed into an English park.
The Neo-baroque central wing, which connects the two buildings from the eighteenth century, was built much later, between 1912 and 1913. Samuel Teleki, the chancellor’s great-grandson and a famous explorer of the African continent, ordered the wing’s construction.
The Teleki Castle in Dumbravioara consists of several buildings and still preserves some of the decorative elements of the old days.
After the nationalization, the building was converted into a school that is still operational today.
The heirs got back the castle after a lengthy process and are now trying to sell it. The leading Romanian art auction house Artmark announced in early-2015 that it will auction some of Romania’s most famous historical buildings, including the Teleki Castle.
Dumbravioara is located 14 km from Targu Mures, and 18 km from Reghin. The distance between Bucharest and Dumbravioara is of some 370 km.
https://www.romania-insider.com/