Luncani Castle

Luna, (Hungarian: Aranyoslóna, German: Lone) is a commune in Cluj County, Romania. Luncani, previously Grindeni (Hungarian: Aranyosgerend, or Gerend; German: Neusatz), is a village in the Luna commune.

The domain was first attested in 1268, in an act of purchase (Terra Gerende) by Peter, Jakab and Saul Gerendi (sons of Samson Gerendi) from a citizen named Cute of Turda, for the price of 15 silver marks. In 1270, Istvan, son of Bela IV (1235-1270) refers to Peter and Jakab Gerendi and to Villa Guerend in the certificate of dedication of settlements Aranyoslóna (Luna) and Hadrévet (Hădăreni). The church (originally Roman-Catholic) in Luncani was probably built by Jakab Gerendi after 1268 and it was completed in 1290. An inscription in stone in the church shows the existence of the church at that time. In 1332, "Monumenta Vaticana" refers to this settlement, calling it Gerend.

It seems that the castle was rebuilt in the 16th century. In 1547 it was attested in a "Diploma" as a property of Gerendi family. In 1553, Apafi György bought it from Gerendi Erzsébet. Gerendi Péter owned also a part of the domain. The same year, he left the castle to his son, Apafi Miklós. In 1597, Báthori Zsigmond donated the castle to Jósika István and his wife, but in the next year Jósika István was charged of treason, was beheaded and his domains were confiscated. The domain was then owned by the widow of Jósika and the Sarmasághy family. In 1600, Michael the Brave occupied the castle.

In 1630, Kemény Boldizsár bought the castle and the domain from Jósika Gabor. Two inventories from 1653 and 1661 describe the castle and the domain, who belonged to Kemény Janos during this period. The last inventory was realized after a Tartar raid. Two inscriptions from 1702 in the basement of the castle show the deployment of extensive construction. In 1824 were finished the bastions at the corners of the castle.

During the Revolution of 1848-1849, the castle was devastated. In 1857 were performed other construction works, including a general rebuilt. An engraving of this period presents the castle in its current form. In 1861 died Kemény Samuel, the last man in the Kemény family, followed by a long process of succession. In 1867, the castle was attributed to Kun Josefine, married with William Klebelsberg. Subsequently, it was inherited by Bánffy and Zichy families.

On the events that followed World War I, the castle was damaged again. In September 1944, the castle was occupied by Russian troops. In 1949, the Bánffy family members are forcibly evicted from the castle by the new communist authorities. Thereafter, there was established the site of an agricultural association. In this period, much of the annex buildings were demolished. In 1990, Bánffy Istvan recovered possession of the castle and domain, and in 2003 donated it to "Bánffy Castle Voluntary Association". The castle has 44 rooms, two annex buildings and 10 ha of terrain. Were donated also 53 valuable paintings, the furniture and other objects. The castle was transformed into a center for handicapped children.

Bánffy Castle

Bánffy Castle (or Bonţida Bánffy Castle) is an architectonic Baroque monument situated in Bonţida (Bonchida / Bruck), a village in the vicinity of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was owned by the Bánffy family, and sometimes also called "The Versailles of Transylvania". The today owner is Katalin Bánffy.


The Bánffy Castle in 19th Century
Bonţida was a significant place from the 12th century as a royal possession, belonged to the neighboring counties' royal salt mines. It became inhabited again in the 13th century, after the Mongols' invasion. The history of Bonţida links with the Bánffy family from the end of the 14th century, when King Zsigmond donated Bonţida with the localities belonging to it, to the son of Tamás named Dénes in 1387. After on, the Bánffy family possess Bonţida over centuries.



The Bánffy Castle in 1935
The once single nave church was built in the 12th century with a semi-circular sanctuary, which was demolished in the second part of the 13th century, when enlarged, the church got the new nave and the straight ending sanctuary. The walled up southern gate and the two semicircular windows belonged originally to the first, 12th century church.


Reformed church - The nave from the choir
According to a military report, a fortification system already existed, that surrounded the manor house. It is suspected that on this spot a nobiliary residence existed since 14th century, when Baron Bánffy received from King Albert the permission to build a fortress. The construction of the castle started possibly after the Budai Nagy Antal revolt in 1437 by Bánffy Miklós and was finished in 1543. The construction of today’s castle was initiated by Denes Bánffy and lasted between 1638-1674, having as architect the Italian Agostino Serena. His heir, Denes Bánffy II reconstructed the castle beginning with 1745 in baroque style, following the plans of the Viennese architect Joseph Emmanuel Fischer von Erlach. The reconstruction was concentrated on the honor courtyard from the front of the gate building, and was inspired from the Viennese baroque architecture. New buildings have been constructed, such as: the stables and the homes of the servants. He was also the one who gave the castle its new shape, that of two wings in the shape of the letter U. A new wing was built in 1850 by the architect A. Kagerbauer, while Johann Nachtigall sculpted the “Metamorphosis” of Ovidius through imposing stone statues which decorated the gate. Jozsef Bánffy decided the demolition of the gate tower in 1820, uniting the renaissance courtyard with the baroque one, and from the remaining stone the close by water mill was constructed. He also decided the transformation of the baroque park into an English romantic one.



The Bánffy Castle in 1935
In 1944 the castle was evacuated of its owners by the German troups in order to use it as a military hospital. The building was seriously damaged at the end of the WWII, when the German troups that were retreating, attacked, robed and burned the entire ensemble. The entire furniture, the well known portrait gallery and the library were destroyed. The castle was neglected by the communist regime in Romania. The Art Museum from Cluj-Napoca was able to save the statues from the baroque park, keeping them under storage in the donation section, where they are to be found today. In the 60’s the Historic Monuments Direction tried to restore the castle, but the lack of funding could not lead to any concrete action. The castle was still used for the storage of construction materials, the park became a pasture zone and the trees have been cut down as fire wood.


The castle from Southwest
The castle is currently being restored by the Transylvania Trust, with funds from the European Union, Romanian Ministry of Culture, Getty Grant Programme, World Monuments Fund, NKA (Hungary), etc. The Castle of Bonţida is now being restored as a cultural center. An apartment is being prepared for the use of the Count's family. The Built Heritage Conservation Training Centre, opened on the 26th of August 2005, received the main prize for education and awareness raising by the European Union/Europa Nostra in 2008.

(Internet infos compilation, images from Magyar Elektronikus Könyvtár, Literatura.hu)

Bánffy Palace in Cluj

The Bánffy Palace is a baroque building of the 18th century in Cluj-Napoca, designed by the German architect Johann Eberhard Blaumann from Sibiu (born in Böblingen), for György Bánffy, governor of Transylvania. Built between 1774 and 1775 it is considered the most representative for the baroque style of Transylvania. The palace has façades richly decorated with pilaster-statues, highly refined cornices; sumptuously done up inner court; aristocratic taste of inner rooms embellished with marble and stucco-works, fine parquetry, mirrors and chandeliers.


The former imposing residence of the Hungarian governors, the Banffy Palace is living two lives, one as the former palace and, after 1951, a cultural life conferred by its destination as an important cultural institution. The architect designed a plan with an enclosed court and one storey building. The storey is now destined to host The National Gallery.


Since 1951, the palace has housed the National Museum of Art Cluj-Napoca, which includes, in its Virgil Cioflec collection the works of arts of many important Romanian artists, such as Nicolae Grigorescu, Ştefan Luchian, Dimitrie Paciurea, Theodor Pallady, Camil Ressu and other. The international collection features paintings of major European artists like Luca Giordano, Carlo Dolci, Jean Hippolyte Flandrin, Felix Ziem, Ivan Aivazovsky, Herri met de Bles, Károly Lotz, Mihály Munkácsy, Franz Defregger, László Mednyánszky, József Koszta and István Réti, as well as sculptures of Claude Michel, Antoine-Louis Barye and Ernst Barlach. The graphic's collection includes works of great European printmakers of the 16th-20th centuries. Among those, the museum hosts works of Salvator Rosa, Giovanni Batista Piranesi, Honore Daumier, Theodore Gericault, Edgar Degas and Kaethe Kollwitz. The 22 halls of the Banffy Palace display sculptures, graphics, weapons, furniture, carpets, and paintings.


The Gallery professional restoration performed in 1990 rendered back its original-like aspect, yet perfectly suitable for its new role. Re-opened for public, in January 1996, The National Gallery offers a four-century synthesis of Romanian art with a stress on the artistic phenomenon in Transylvania: The Altar from Jimbor (16th century), art in the style of 1900, avant-guarde, artists related to "Şcoala Superioară de Arte Frumoase" and to the "Art Center Cluj", such as Szolnay Sandor, Pericle Capidan, Catul Bogdan, Aurel Ciupe, Alexandru Popp, Romul Ladea and others.