HUNEDOARA


HUNEDOARA is a town situated in South-Western Transylvania, in Cerna Valley in The Poiana Ruscăi Mountains within the Transylvanian Alps. It is a town with beautiful monuments and a rich past, but also an modern industrial town with a large metal processing factory. It is the most important center in the "Tara Hategului" (Hateg country) also known as the Iron Gates of Transylvania, a region with rich and unique history and traditions. Iron ores have been extracted in the area since the Iron Age and later in the Thracian and Roman times. One inscription discovered in the region by the name of "Corpus Inscriptiorum Latinorum" mentiones a local inhabitant as "natas ibi, ubi ferum nascitur", born "where the iron was born". Mentioned since the 12th century as a hub for leather tanning and wool processing, the town of Hunedoara became an important iron extracting and processing centers in Transylvania. In the 14th and 15th centuries the iron foundries and works were famous for their swords and spears. The first tall industrial furnace for iron extracting was built in 1750 in Toplita, and a later one in Govajdia in 1806. There is also a system of narrow-gauge railway built in the 19th and 20th centuries that still runs today through the breath-taking landscape of "Tara Padurenilor" (Woodlanders' country). The town is also known since the 14th century as the residence of the Corvin family. King Ioannus Corvinus of Hunedoara (Iancu Corvin de Hunedoara) built here in the 14th century the beautiful gothic style Corvin Castle which still stands today dominating the surrounding town reminding of the powerful rulers that reigned over these lands.


Corvin Castle - Side View from the valley below
Corvin Castle - Front View from the road above
Corvin Castle - Front View
 
 
 
Corvin Castle - Front View from the parking lot
Corvin Castle - Side View
Corvin Castle - Side View
 
 
 
Corvin Castle - Back View
Corvin Castle - Front View
Corvin Castle - Bridge and Gate Tower
 
 
 
The Gate Tower inside The Castle
The Inner Court with King Matthew's Renaissance Style Loggia
Ancient Gothic Style Stairway Entrance to The Diet Hall
 
 
 
Matthew's Loggia and The Chapel and The Arched Entranceway to The Second Court and The Outer Walls
The Main Court of The Castle seen from Matthew's Loggia
Ancient Windows inside The Castle
 
 
 
The Arched Entranceway to The Second Court and The Staircase To The Rooms in this Part of The Castle
The Legendary Well in The Second Court of The Castle
The Gothic Arched Interior of The Knigts' Hall
 
 
 
The Gothic Arched Marble Interior of The Grand Diet Hall
Ancient Pieces of Furniture in The Princesses' Room
Gothic Style Decorated Outer Windows
 
 
 
The City of Hunedoara seen from The Outer Walls of The Castle
The old 14th century Church (left), the Baroque Protestant Church (center) and The 15th century St. Nicholas Orthodox Church (right) in The Outskirts of The Town
Dacia Boulevard in The Center of The Town
 
 
 

Section of the Metal Processing Factory in Hunedoara The Inner Court of The Corvin Castle The Interior of The Diet Hall

CORVIN CASTLE was built on top of a 12th century old fortress in the 14th and 15th centuries, during the reign of King Ioannus Corvinus of Hunedoara (Iancu Corvin de Hunedoara) and his son, Mathias Corvinus (Mathias Rex), into a beautiful gothic style powerful and grand castle residence of the Corvin Royal family. The Corvin Castle is one of the most important Gothic Buildings in Central Europe, and the only Gothic Castle entirely preserved in Romania. It has survived many centuries of turmoil, having burned 3 times. The castle has large and sumptous rooms and halls with arms and artifacts, towers and bastions. Some of the oldest towers are the last, furthermost defence tower named "Ne boisa" (translation = Do not be afraid) and the Capistrano tower, named after the famous monk from the court. Can also be remembered the gate tower, the clubs tower, the white bastion, which was used for storage, the reception hall, the knights' hall, the family gothic chapel and Matthew's Loggia. Vlad Dracul (Vlad Tzepesh / the Impaler a.k.a. Dracula) also spent some time here imprisoned in the castle's dungeons. In the second courtyard of the castle, beside the chapel, is a well 30 meters deep, which according to the legend was dug out in the rockbed by 3 turkish prisoners which were promised their release if they found water. After 15 years, having finished the well, the promise was broken and the 3 prisoners were executed. Before their execution, they left an inscription in turkish on the wall of the chapel. It is said to say: "You have water but no soul", but the correct translation of the inscription is: "He who wrote this is Hassan, who lives as slave for the "ghiauri" (turkish term given to romanians) in the fortress near the church."




Travel the Undiscovered Lands - Hunedoara

In the Shadow of the Retezat