Banffy residences in Transylvania

One of the oldest Hungarian noble families in Transylvania, the Banffy family has left behind impressive buildings.

Christine Leșcu, 17.02.2018, 14:42

One of the oldest Hungarian noble families in
Transylvania, the Banffy family has left behind impressive buildings, which are
now landmarks of the region’s architectural heritage. Many castles, mansions
and villas, spreading all across Transylvania, built by members of various
branches of the Banffy family as early as the 15th-16th
Centuries, stood the test of time and are now part of the Romanian cultural
heritage. An inventory and description of these properties have recently been
made by architects Dan-Ionuţ Julean and Dana Julean, who published a book
entitled The Heritage of the Banffy Family in Transylvania.

The most famous Banffy residence today is located in
Bonţida, some 30 kilometres from Cluj-Napoca. The castle in Bonţida has been
dubbed Transylvania’s Versailles, due to the impressive decorative artefacts,
pieces of furniture and other items collected by the Banffys along the 500
years of this family’s uninterrupted dwelling in Bontida, as Ionuţ Julean has
pointed out:

The Banffy family first established their
residence in Bontida in the 15th Century. The castle, in its current
form, does not date back to those times. It has undergone many changes, the
most important being the Baroque stage, in the second half of the 18th
Century. But important and interesting changes, relevant for the history of
architecture in Romania, were made in the 19th Century, under the
influence of Romanticism. Practically, an entire wing was rebuilt, completely transformed
at that time, under the influence of English Romantic park landscaping and the
cult of ruins. As a result, the new wing was smoothly integrated into the
English park that replaced the old Baroque park. Unfortunately, almost
everything was lost during WWI, during the withdrawal of fascist troops.

The commune of Bonţida also includes a smaller
village, called Răscruci, where another Banffy residence is located. This
village, which has been the property of the Banffys since the 15th
Century, was housing a Renaissance castle, built in the 17th
Century, which apparently was replaced by a Baroque one in the 18th
Century. The Baroque building was preserved until 1870, when it was owned by
baron Adam Banffy, as Ionuţ Julean has told us:

The castle inRăscruci is one of the
eclectic neo-classical architectural gems of Transylvania, being almost
entirely created by the young baron Adam Banffy who, during a rather short
life, managed to create a place which is also tale-telling of the vibrant
artistic life of Transylvanian aristocracy in the second half of the 19th
Century. After having inherited this estate, he started to implement there his
views of a modern residence, using all the artistic elements in fashion at the
time. He brought his personal touch to the castle, as he designed and actually
made all the decorative elements himself, with the help of only two craftsmen
whom he had trained for that specific purpose. There were also two main
carpenters: a Hungarian one and a Romanian one. In a nutshell, after a series
of extension works, a unique castle in Transylvania finally took shape. The
works on the Castle in Răscruci started in 1875, and its architectural style is
a mixture of the German-Neo-Renaissance style with fantastic elements, deriving
from heraldic themes, particularly the armorial bearings of the Banffy family,
featuring a crowned griffin, specific to medieval families and taken over by
the aristocracy of the Hungarian kingdom.

This castle is in a fairly good condition
nowadays, but its state is worsening by the year. Currently owned by the Cluj
County Council, the castle is surrounded by an impressive park, where secular
trees can still be seen.

The Banffy family had properties not only in
Cluj County, but also in Alba, for instance a small castle and court in
Ciuguzel, that have recently been returned to one of the young Banffy heirs.
Ionuţ Julean:

It has a Baroque, western appearance,
combining elements of Austrian fine art, and French influences. This building
can be considered a small architectural gem. There is a variety of elements
concentrated on a rather small surface, in an adequate amount, and the final
result is a beautiful composition, pleasant to look at, and a matching
history.

Unfortunately, many of these noble residences
are severely deteriorated, and the volume The Heritage of the Banffy Family
in Transylvania is intended both to sound the alarm on this, and to
highlight these cultural heritage landmarks.