Mikes Castle, Zăbala
Castelul Mikes · Mikes-kastély (Zabola)
sat Zăbala; comuna Zăbala, Covasna · 437
historic castle park, approx. 50 ha as stated by the estate
Operates as a guesthouse with office hours daily 07:30-23:00; old castle is private
Summary
A Renaissance manor in Zăbala (Covasna County) with a major 1867 rebuild and a 1910-1912 'new castle', long the seat of the Mikes counts. Restituted to the family, it has been restored and runs as the Zabola Estate guesthouse and event venue, with the old castle kept as a private residence.
Legal status
Nationalised in 1949; family regained ownership in 2005 ↗
History
The Mikes family is first recorded at Zăbala in 1566 and King Matthias granted it two fairs in 1478. A Renaissance manor replaced an earlier structure in the 17th-18th centuries, and in 1629 it hosted a wedding attended by Prince Gábor Bethlen. Count Benedek Mikes had it rebuilt in 1867 with a mansard level and a three-tier porch, and around 1900 the landscape architect Achille Duchêne worked on the park. Count Ármin Mikes built the 'new castle' in 1910-1912, linked to the old one by a tunnel. After his death in 1944, the family found the castle looted when they returned after the war, and it was nationalised in 1949; the state used it as a farm headquarters, holiday home, orphanage, sanatorium and psychiatric hospital. The family regained ownership in 2005 and the sons of a countess of the Mikes family began restoring it in the early 2000s.
Transactions & prices
Listed components
- Castelul Mikes, azi locuință — sec. XVII, ext. 1867 (CV-II-m-A-13331.01)
- Parc — sec. XIX (CV-II-m-A-13331.02)
Sources & links
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