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