Wesselényi Castle, Obreja

Summary

A manor-castle on the left bank of the Târnava Mare in Obreja (Mihalț commune, Alba County), begun by the Wesselényi family in the 18th century. Bought by the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church in the early 20th century, nationalised in 1948 and returned in 2005, it today houses a community of nuns.

Legal status

Nationalised 10 September 1948; returned to the Greek-Catholic Church in 2005 ↗

History

Romanian Wikipedia says Count Miklós Wesselényi began construction in 1778; a local report says the land was sold by Count Denner Eszterházy to Baron Mihail Wesselényi and that the only dating clue is the year 1901 on the main facade. A granary dated 1778 stands in ruins on the grounds. The family left around 1914, and the castle was bought by the German Bank of Sibiu in 1918 and by the Greek-Catholic Church (Metropolitan Vasile Suciu) in 1921 (Wikipedia gives 1916). From 1921 it was an orphanage and a home-economics school run by Greek-Catholic sisters, later with Basilian monks. The communists closed it in 1945-1948 and deported the nuns, and it was nationalised on 10 September 1948. It returned to the Greek-Catholic Church in 2005, when Metropolitan Lucian Mureșan donated it to the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart; a Greek-Catholic sister-physician has lived there since 2006.

Transactions & prices

Listed components

• Castelul Weselleny — 1901 (AB-II-m-B-00256.01)
• Grânar — sec. XVIII (AB-II-m-B-00256.02)

Sources & links