Bánffy Castle in Sâncrai

Prepare for a fascinating journey through time, to the era of counts and elegant noble courts! The gentle hills in the Aiud area hide small architectural gems with histories spanning many centuries, and one of them is Banffy Castle in Sâncrai, Alba County.

Its history is intertwined with that of the renowned Hungarian noble family, Bánffy. The numerous counts, scholars, and politicians of this lineage have left their mark on the history of Transylvania. The current form of the castle in Sâncrai was commissioned by Baron Jenő Bánffy, who lived in the late 19th century, during a period of architectural fervor.

It combines multiple styles, based on the principles of French classical architecture, with dynamic forms inspired by Italian or Bohemian styles, incorporating elements of Art Nouveau and eclectic classicism. The building is charming, with a terrace overlooking the Mureș River. It appears in numerous early 20th-century images as a symbol of the simple yet comfortable life of the nobility of the time.

As with most castles in Transylvania, after agrarian reform and the major wars, it became a utilitarian building, serving in turn as an institute for the blind, a tuberculosis prevention space for orphaned children, and a center for social assistance for children with disabilities. Today, however, it is experiencing a new era, being gradually restored and returned to the community.

In 1890, the owner of the castle in Sâncrai was Jenő József Bánffy (1845–1903), who remained unmarried and childless. He modified the existing buildings, resulting in the castle as we see it today. After 1903, his nephew, Ferenc Bánffy (1869–1938), became the new owner of this estate, owning most of the land in Sâncrai and nearly half of that in the neighboring village of Uifalău. Then, starting in 1921, in a tumultuous economic, political, and social context, Baron Ferenc Bánffy leased the castle to the Romanian State and retired to his property in Borșa.

The castle, in its present visible form, is due to the talent of Lajos Pákey, a renowned architect from Cluj who lived between 1853 and 1921. His vision was brought to life by Carl Frigyes Maetz (1847-1896), a Saxon entrepreneur and architect. The changes made between 1890 and 1896 were conceived by the two to blend the existing buildings in the area.

The more recent history of the castle includes the period when it functioned as an institute for the blind. One of the most well-known graduates of this school was the folklorist Ion Blăjan (1911-1975), an interpreter and collector of folklore from the Secaș region. His autobiographical novel, "The Man with Black Glasses", speaks about the children here, their teachers, and daily life at the institute housed in Banffy Castle in Sâncrai. The book was originally written in Braille and was reissued in 2021, on the 110th anniversary of the author's birth.