Magna Curia (Latin for The Great Court) or The Bethlen Castle is a palace located in Deva, Romania.
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, general Giorgio Basta, Stephen Bocskay, Gabriel Báthory and Gabriel Bethlen.
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 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, 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.

Magna Curia Castle

Account

by category

Login

Name

by region

Title

Name in English

The Fortress of Deva is a fortress located in the city of Deva, Hunedoara County, Romania, on top of a volcanic hill.
Position
The fortress is located atop a volcano in the Poiana Ruscă Mountain Range within the Western Carpathian Mountains of Romania. From the foot of the hill, the city of Deva spreads out, beginning with Magna Curia and the public park. Nearby are the most of the buildings of the administrative institutions of the city: the Court House, the Prefecture, the County Hall, the Finance Administration, the old police headquarters, the City Hall and two of the oldest schools in Deva: the Decebal National College and the Pedagogic Lyceum.
The fortress is connected with the foot of the hill by an inclined lift which allows tourists to reach the fortress.
History
The true story of this fortress begins in the glory days of Dacia. Here they built defense fortifications and an observation point from where they could see the Mures Valley, part of the Streiului Valley, and the Forest Land. The Roman conquerors strengthened the walls and defended this fortification, the trade road that connected with the rest of the empire, also called the salt road, passed right at the foot of the Hill. And the Mures basin experienced maximum economic prosperity at the time. In the great year 1269, Deva Fortress is mentioned in a deed of donation of the young king Stefan, son of Bela IV, who makes a donation to a Wallachian count for the bravery shown in the battle fought under the walls of Deva Fortress. Then, in 1444, Iancu de Hunedoara took possession of the Deva Fortress with all its riches: 56 villages and gold mines. Also during his time is mentioned for the first time in a written document the fair of Deva, a settlement at the base of the hill. The Corvin family took control of the fortress and domain of Deva in 1504. The first evidence of the medieval Deva Fortress dates back to the second half of the 13th century; in 1269, Stephen V, King of Hungary and Duke of Transylvania, mentioned "the royal castle of Deva" in a privilege-grant for the Count Chyl of Kelling.
The first records regarding a military operation involving the fortress dates from 1273. Under its walls, the Cumans were defeated by Peter I Csák, Palatine of Hungary (Latin: Magister Petrus de genere Chak), who was rewarded for his victory by Ladislaus IV, King of Hungary. In his letter, Ladislaus IV mentioned the facts with the words sub castro Dewa contra Cumanorum exercitur viriliter dimicavit, "fought bravely against the Cumans under the Castle of Deva".
At the end of the 13th century, the Deva Fortress was in the property of Ladislaus Kán, Voivode of Transylvania, who organized a court besides the military garrison.
The Fortress of Deva is central to the Hungarian folk tale The Wife of Clement, the Mason.

Fortress of Deva

Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle, is a Gothic-Renaissance castle in Hunedoara, Romania. It is one of the largest castles in Europe and is featured as one of the Seven Wonders of Romania.
History
Corvin Castle was laid out in 1446, when construction began by order of Voivode of Transylvania John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János, Romanian: Iancu or Ioan de Hunedoara), who wanted to transform the former keep built by Charles I of Hungary. The castle was originally given to John Hunyadi's father, Voyk (Vajk), by Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of Hungary and Croatia, as severance in 1409. It was also in 1446 that John Hunyadi was elected as the regent governor by the Diet.
Built in a Renaissance-Gothic style and constructed over the site of an older fortification on a rock above the smaller Zlaști River, the castle is a large and imposing structure with tall towers, bastions, an inner courtyard, diversely coloured roofs, and myriad windows and balconies adorned with stone carvings. The castle also features a double wall for enhanced fortification and is flanked by both rectangular and circular towers, an architectural innovation for the period's Transylvanian architecture. Some of the towers (the Capistrano Tower, the Deserted Tower and the Drummers' Tower) were used as prisons. The Buzdugan Tower (a type of mace after which it was named) was solely built for defensive purposes and it had its exterior decorated with geometric motifs. The rectangular-shaped towers have large openings to accommodate larger weapons.
The castle has three large areas: the Knight's Hall, the Diet Hall and the circular stairway. The halls are rectangular in shape and are decorated with marble. The Diet Hall was used for ceremonies or formal receptions whilst the Knight's Hall was used for feasts. In 1456, John Hunyadi died and work on the castle stagnated. Starting with 1458, new commissions were being undergone to construct the Matia Wing of the castle. In 1480, work was completely stopped on the castle and it was recognised as being one of the biggest and most impressive buildings in Eastern Europe.
The 16th century did not bring any improvements to the castle, but during the 17th century new additions were made for aesthetic and military purposes. Aesthetically, the large new palace was built facing the town. A two-level building, it hosted living chambers and a large living area. For military purposes, two new towers were constructed: the White Tower and the Artillery Tower. Also, the external yard was added for administration and storage.
The current castle is the result of a fanciful restoration campaign undertaken after a disastrous fire and many decades of total neglect. It has been noted that modern "architects projected to it their own wistful interpretations of how a great Gothic castle should look".
Description
As one of the most important properties of John Hunyadi, the castle was transformed during his reign. It became a sumptuous home, not only a strategically enforced point. With the passing of the years, the masters of the castle had modified its look, adding towers, halls and guest rooms. The gallery and the keep - the last defense tower (called "Neboisa" which means "Don't be afraid" in Serbo-Croatian language), which remained unchanged from John Hunyadi's time, and the Capistrano Tower (named after the saint, Franciscan friar from the Battle of Belgrade in 1456) are some of the most significant parts of the construction. Other significant parts of the building are the Knights' Hall (a great reception hall), the Club Tower, the White bastion, which served as a food storage room, and the Diet Hall, on whose walls medallions are painted (among them there are portraits of Matei Basarab, rulers from Wallachia, and Vasile Lupu, ruler of Moldavia). In the wing of the castle called the Mantle, a painting can be seen which portrays the legend of the raven from which the name of the descendants of John Hunyadi, Corvinus came.
Legacy
Tourists are told that it was the place where Vlad the Impaler, Prince of Wallachia, was held prisoner by John Hunyadi, Hungary's military leader and regent during the King's minority. Later, Vlad III entered a political alliance with John Hunyadi, although the latter was responsible for the execution of his father, Vlad II Dracul. Because of these links, the Hunedoara Castle is sometimes mentioned as a source of inspiration for Castle Dracula in Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel Dracula. In fact, Stoker neither knew about Vlad's alliance with Hunyadi, nor about Hunyadi's castle. Instead, Stoker's own handwritten research notes confirm that the novelist imagined Castle Dracula to be situated on an empty top in the Transylvanian Călimani Mountains near the former border with Moldavia.
In the castle yard, near the 15th-century chapel, there is a 30-metre deep (98 ft) well. According to the legend, this fountain was dug by 3 Turkish prisoners to whom liberty was promised if they reached water. After 15 years they completed the well, but their captors did not keep their promise. It is said that the inscription on a wall of the well means "you have water, but not soul". Specialists, however, have translated the inscription as "he who wrote this inscription is Hasan, who lives as slave of the giaours, in the fortress near the church".
The final action sequence of the 2015 Bollywood movie Singh Is Bling starring Akshay Kumar was shot at the castle.
In 2018, the castle was used as the "Cârța Monastery" in the horror movie The Nun.