Lázár Castle
Castelul Lázár · Lázár-kastély
sat Lăzarea; comuna Lăzarea, Harghita · 709
Open to visitors since 2022
Summary
A fortified Székely noble residence at Lăzarea (Gyergyószárhegy) with a 1532 gate tower, a rectangular curtain wall from 1626-1631 and a castle rebuilt from 1711 after a fire. The gate tower and Great Palace were restored with the help of an art camp begun in 1974, but the House of the Ladies remains badly ruined; the castle reopened to visitors in 2022 after a long ownership dispute.
Legal status
Heirs filed a restitution claim in 2001; building closed in 2013 over the ownership dispute and reopened in 2022. Another account says a county cultural centre operated there until recently. ↗
History
The Lázár family held Lăzarea from the early 15th century, and a 15th-century manor stood here before the present castle. The gate tower carries the date 1532, and István Lázár enclosed the manor with a large rectangular defensive wall in 1626-1631. Imperial troops burned the residence in 1707 during the Rákóczi War, and Ferenc Lázár rebuilt it from 1711. Fires in 1748 and 1872 damaged it again, and the castle stood empty from the 1820s. From 1974 an art camp helped restore parts of it, including the gate tower and the Great Palace (now called the Knights' Hall), and a county cultural centre operated there until recently. Heirs of the Lázár family claimed the castle in 2001; it was closed in 2013 because of the dispute and reopened in 2022.
Transactions & prices
| Date | Type | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Restitution | — | Heirs of the Lázár family filed a claim ↗ |
Listed components
- Corpul porții (casa veche) — 1532, sec. XVIII (HR-II-m-A-12854.01)
- Sala cavalerilor (sala dietei) — 1532, sec. XVIII (HR-II-m-A-12854.02)
- Casa doamnelor — 1532, sec. XVIII (HR-II-m-A-12854.03)
- Bastionul sud-vestic — 1532, sec. XVIII (HR-II-m-A-12854.04)
- Bastionul sud-estic — 1532, sec. XVIII (HR-II-m-A-12854.05)
- Bastionul nord-vestic — 1532, sec. XVIII (HR-II-m-A-12854.06)
- Bastionul nord-estic — 1532, sec. XVIII (HR-II-m-A-12854.07)
- Temnița — 1532, sec. XVIII (HR-II-m-A-12854.08)
- Zidul de incintă și ruinele fostelor clădiri din interiorul incintei — 1631 - 1632 (HR-II-m-A-12854.09)
Sources & links
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