Ruginoasa Palace

Ruginoasa is a commune in Iaşi County, Moldavia, Romania. In the late 17th century, Sturdza boyar family bought the Ruginoasa estate from ruling prince Duca, owning it for almost 200 years. In the early 19th century, the Sturdza family possessed an estate in Ruginoasa of over 8,000 hectares.

The palace

In 1804, the grand treasurer of Moldavia Săndulache Sturdza hired the Viennese architect Johann Freiwald to build a luxury residence on the old home place of his ancestors. Also, the German gardener Mehler had to fit around the palace a park with alleys lined with statues, benches hidden in the labyrinths of greenery and even a pond surrounded by willows. The palace was built by in Neoclassical style, characteristic to the civil architecture in Moldavia at that time. It is a square building with a floor, with four nearly symmetrical facades with wide and straight platforms and balconies on all sides supported on stone slabs. In 1811, Săndulache Sturdza built behind the palace a church, on the place of a wooden church. This results from the inscription that was placed at the entrance and which was destroyed during the Second World War.

The church

The palace was inherited by Costache Sturza, Săndulache's son and cousin of ruling prince Mihai Sturdza (1834-1849). During 1847-1855, he brought here by the architect Johann Brandel which restored palace in Neo-Gothic style. In April 1857, Alexandru Sturdza, son of Costache, made a loan of 60,000 ducats to the Bank of Moldavia, mortgaging the palace. Because he wasn't able to paying the loan, the bank auctioned the palace. In 1862, Alexandru Ioan Cuza, ruler of the United Romanian Principalities, bought the palace and restored it.

Alexandru Ioan Cuza

Although the prince spent a few time at the palace, there lived his wife, Lady Elena Cuza (1825-1909), who took care of furnishing and decorating the garden and outbuildings. She hired craftsmen to repair the building and German gardeners to restore the park around the castle. The central staircase was built of marble, the walls were covered with silk from Paris, were built fireplaces and were brought expensive chandeliers. The furniture was commissioned in 1863 in Paris. The Ruginoasa palace was officially inaugurated by Prince Cuza, during the Easter holidays from April 1864.

Went into exile in 1866 after he was forced to abdicate, Prince Cuza continued to look after the estate in Ruginoasa. He leased the estate in 1866 with 5000 ducats a year to get the money to support its exile. Meanwhile, he refused to take a capital of 500,000 francs, deposited in the the Rothschild Bank by the new leadership of the Principalities. The former ruler died on 15 May 1873 in the city of Heidelberg (Germany), and his earthly remains were brought to Ruginoasa on 29 May 1873 and were buried in a tomb near the church. His remains have been displaced several times: in 1907 were moved in the crypt of the church in a silver box located in an oak coffin, in spring 1944 were removed from the church by a soldier from Ruginoasa and moved to Curtea de Argeş, then in 1946 were moved again in a crypt in Three Hierarchs Church in Iaşi.

Alexandru Cuza, the son of the Prince, left the estate in Ruginoasa to his wife, Maria Moruzzi. In 1921, the palace was donated to the "Charity" Hospital for Children in Iaşi. Part of the furniture was donated to the Military Museum. In subsequent years, began the building damage, which was exacerbated by the war. The palace was badly damaged during the battles fought nearby in World War II, remaining only some enclosure walls and the ruins of the castle. It was reconstructed during 1968-1978, when was restored the palace, a part of the enclosure wall and a stronghold in the north-west. In 1982 was officially inaugurated the Memorial Museum "Alexandru Ioan Cuza", with history and ethnography sections. The palace impresses its visitors today with the stories hidden within its walls, stories that point to Ruginoasa as a cursed palace in popular belief. The superstition arose following the death (including a suicide) in the palace of several young people.

Bulci Castle

Bulci is a village in Bata commune, Arad county, Banat, Romania. Older names: Bulch, Bulchu, Bulciu, Bulcz, Bulţ, Bulţi, Bulczy, Bols, Bolş Bwlch, Wulch, Vulci.

Since the Roman period there was a Roman camp and a castrum belonging to the Legion XIII Gemina. Bricks bearing the inscription of the legion, were used to build a medieval monastery of the Benedictine monks, dating back at least the 13th century, one of the oldest and richest in the Banat. In 1241, many monasteries in Banat were destroyed by Tatar invasions. Attracted by the grandeur of the abbey and church, Tatars attacked them and terrible battles were fought here. Monastery of Bulci was destroyed by the Tatars, and was rebuilt by Bishop Bulcsú, from whose name comes the name of the village. In 14th century monastery became an important cultural center where working clerk, from which was kept a codex containing the texts of the Roman historian Titus Livius. Later in the 16th century (1551-1552), Bulci monastery was subject to the Turkish attacks in Transylvania, and the village was almost entirely destroyed. Who escaped with their lives fled to other cities of the Mureş Valley, living over one hundred years away from their village, but still keeping their Catholic faith. In 1749, the monk Berecky Hiarion founded again Bulci village, seeking the descendants of those who left the village during the Turks and rebuilding the old church. In the mid 18th century Bulci belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

The first known owners were the Varadi family (early 13th century). In the 15th century, the domain belonged to Goroy Jobt, and had approx. 1500 inhabitants. In 1664 it was owned by Janka family. In 1717, Bata had only eight houses. In 1798 it was rented by Kormelycs Karol. The castle in Bulci was built in Neo-Classical style in the early 19th century by Baron Fechtig-Fechtenberg, the owner of the domain since 1838, but received the current form around 1860. The domain was bought in March 30, 1858 by Austrian Baron Anton Mocioni (or Mocsonyi) de Foen. Subsequently, it was inherited by his son Zeno (1842-1905), who payed as a compensation to his brother Victor (who has spent his life abroad) an annual rent of 10 000 gold florins. The next owner was Baron Antoniu Marius Mocioni de Foen, MP, minister and grand master of hunting of the Royal House of Romania. The castle experienced an intense social life, so King Carol II often came here for hunting. The domain was inherited by the adoptive son of the Baron, Ionel Mocioni-Stârcea, secretary of the King. After 1940, here have been arranged rooms for Queen Mother Elena and King Michael I. Castle of Bulci was nationalized and transformed in 1949 into the seat of an agricultural association. Subsequently, here was arranged a TB preventorium. The castle was claimed by Michael Stârcea, nephew of Ionel Mocioni-Stârcea.

Located in a huge park, on the bank of Mureş River, Bulci castle is one of the most impressive buildings of its kind. On the facades of the building are two terraces with family's coats of arms carved in relief, which survived to destruction after the Second World War. Central body has a beautiful room of weapons, with a magnificent fireplace, and the park was a greenhouse. Besides the castle, Antoniu Mocioni built a church and a school for children in the village.

Săvârşin Castle

The Royal Castle of Săvârşin, Arad County, Transylvania, Romania, is the country seat of King Michael I of Romania. I didn't manage to find an exact history of the castle, so here are some alternatives...

According to 10.1 - The World of Ten, at Săvârşin there was a hunting area and the location was a hunting manor, built in 1650. Brunswick family received the domain as a donation from the Austrian Emperor. Around 1800, Franz Brunswick's daughter, Iulia, married Count Forray Andras and the castle belonged to the Forray family until sometime in the 19th century. Franz Brunswick had another daughter, Tereza Brunswick, and a very good friend: Ludwig van Beethoven. The German composer came at Săvârşin in 1807 and fell in love with Tereza. The story appears in the Săvârşin village monograph including the fact that the famous composer dedicated 'Apassionata' to Franz Brunswick and 'Sonata no. 78' to his beloved Tereza.

According to Virtual Arad, Săvârşin Castle was built between 1650 and 1680, as a manor. Subsequently, the Empress Maria Theresa donated the domain to Count Eidenchpacher. In 1780, the entire property came into possession of Count Forray. On June 9, 1784, here was kidnapped Viscount Forray Andras Sr. by the haiduci (outlaws) led by Petre Baciu. The head of the county administration was released only after the Austrian Emperor Josef II satisfied the claims of the outlaws. On November 9, 1784, the castle was burnt during the uprising of Horea, Cloşca and Crişan. Returned from exile, Count Forray managed to restore much of the building. During the Revolution of 1848, the castle was burned and destroyed.

It subsequently became the property Count Nadajdy. One of the count daughters married with a son of Karol Hunyadi. In 1860, Nadajdy and Hunyadi have employed an Austrian architect who added a new storey and designed the side wings in Neo-Classical style, works finished in 1870. In 1941, the sole heir of the family, Hunyadi Ferenc, became Minister of Interior of Hungary. How the law forbade him to own properties in Romania, in May he made a deal with Baron Ioan Mocsony-Stârcea, grand hunting master of the Royal Court. Castle of the Săvârşin came thus in possession of Mocsony, in exchange for a property which he owned near Budapest. Between 1941-1943, there were performed modernization works.

According to Wikipedia, in 1925, when he was 16 yo, Ionel Stârcea (or Styrcea) was adopted by Austrian baron Anton Mocsonyi of Foen, a family friend who had no direct descendants. On the death of Baron, Ioan Mocioni-Stârcea have received the properties and its title, becoming the owner of a large area on Mureş Valley, between Deva and Arad (including Săvârşin and Bulci castles). He became one of the richest men in Romania.

Queen Elena of Romania fell in love at first sight of the castle. As a gesture of appreciation towards the Royal Family, Baron Mocsony-Stârcea, who was also the godfather of King Michael I, gave him the palace as a gift (according other sources, the Queen bought the castle). It was in 1943 and since then many of the most beautiful memories of King Michael are related to the castle in Săvârşin. On January 3, 1948, King Michael left Romania and the castle was nationalized.

While the castle was seized from the Royal Family by Communist authorities, in 2000, a Romanian court ordered that the building be restored to King Michael I. It entered in the touristic circuit since 2003 and was restored between 2005-2007. The King wants mostly to bring back to life the settlement through a tradition and local arts encouraging programme. Apart from founding workshops, an exhibition space (the Yellow House), and a restaurant, the Royal House wishes to transform the park according to the Highgrove Garden, as arranged by Prince Charles. The works are done on a collaboration basis with a number of London's Writtle College representatives, who thought of developing an eco-horticulture area, of modernizing the green houses, and inventorying the plant species and fauna in the Săvârşin Park.

The dendrological park (arboretum) around the castle was established by Viscount Forray Istvan, who called a renowned landscape architect from the Empire in order to create the park by the year 1857. This park covers an area of 6.5 hectares and contains several rare species of trees and shrubs, monuments of nature, and a beautiful lake.