Bánffy Castle, Bonțida
Castelul Bánffy de la Bonțida · Bánffy-kastély (Bonchida)
sat Bonțida; comuna Bonțida, Cluj · 152-154
Wikimapia outline “Bánffy-kastély egykori parkjának a helye, Bonchida” (user-drawn, approximate)
Open to visitors and events
Summary
The Bánffy family seat at Bonțida near Cluj, a Renaissance core with Baroque, Neoclassical and Romantic additions, once called the 'Versailles of Transylvania'. Burned by retreating German troops in 1944 and left to decay, it is being restored by the Transylvania Trust Foundation and serves as a heritage-training and cultural centre.
Legal status
Nationalised after WWII; restitution to the Bánffy heir; 49-year concession to Transylvania Trust (dated 2008 by Wikipedia; c. 1999 by a 2019 press report) ↗
History
King Sigismund gave the estate to the Bánffy family in 1387. Dionisie Bánffy II began the present fortified complex in 1668-1674, and Dionisie Bánffy IV led the Baroque rebuilding of 1747-1751, with sculptor Johann Nachtigall and park designer Johann Christian Erass; the west facade was given a neo-Gothic look by Anton Kagerbauer in 1855. It was damaged in 1704-1711 during Rákóczi's war and in 1944 retreating German troops looted and burned it, destroying furniture, portraits and the library. After nationalisation it decayed, a cooperative used one wing, villagers took bricks, and a 1963 film-crew fire did more damage. In 1999 it entered the World Monuments Watch and the Transylvania Trust began restoration under a Romanian-Hungarian ministerial agreement; its restoration centre in the Miklós building opened in 2005 and won a Europa Nostra award in 2008. The Bánffy heir signed a 49-year concession with the Trust in 2008 (a 2019 report puts the 49-year use right about 20 years earlier). In 2018 the Hungarian state granted 950,000 EUR; full restoration is estimated at 6-7 million EUR.
Transactions & prices
| Date | Type | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Lease / concession | — | 49-year concession from the Bánffy heir to Transylvania Trust Foundation (per ro.wikipedia; 2019 press dates it ~1999) ↗ |
Listed components
- Corpul 1 al castelului — 1652, amplif. 1750 - 1850 (CJ-II-m-A-07534.01)
- Corpul 2 al castelului — 1652, amplif. 1750 - 1850 (CJ-II-m-A-07534.02)
- Corpul 3 al castelului — sec. XVI (CJ-II-m-A-07534.03)
- Moară — înc. sec. XIX (CJ-II-m-A-07534.04)
- Zidul de incintă al parcului castelului — 1952 (CJ-II-m-A-07534.07)
- Grânarele — sec. XIX (CJ-II-m-B-07534.05)
- Parcul — sec. XVIII (CJ-II-s-A-07534.06)
Sources & links
Found a mistake, or know more about this building? Write to us at contact@conace.eu.
