Ugron Castle

With a long but eventful history, Ugron Castle in Zau de Câmpie is best known in the area for its "calendar-castle" structure, which suggests, through its architectural elements, units of time measurement. Its story retraces a fragment of the history of the glorious period of Hungarian noble families.

István Ugron, the man behind the name of the castle, was an important politician of his time, as well as a great art collector, with the castle at one point hosting artworks of great value. The history of the castle's construction is also linked to his personality, with even a romantic legend suggesting it was built out of the count's love for a distant princess.

Like most monuments of this type, the recent history of the castle has been tumultuous and devoid of romance. It has been, in turn, a grain collection center, primary school, agricultural vocational school, and a placement center. Nowadays, efforts are being made by the authorities to prevent its degradation and find solutions to restore its past splendor and charm.

Transmitted through oral tradition on the village streets, the story of the castle's construction undergoes many variations, and its veracity is uncertain, but like all legends, it has a special charm. According to this tale, István Ugron was in love with one of the daughters of Tsar Nicholas II. It is said that the ambassador courted the princess in countless ways, trying to impress her. At her request, Ugron paved the alley that still climbs to the castle with gold coins. However, in the middle of the work, the princess changed her mind and asked for the money to be placed in the alley on edge, so that their value would be even greater and so that no one would step on the emperor's crown inscribed on the coin. When rebuilding the road, István Ugron ran out of money and had to give up courting the princess, unable to fulfill her wish. Shortly afterward, however, the princess died along with her entire family during the Russian Revolution of 1917, leaving the count mourning forever.

The castle was built at the beginning of the 20th century, between 1908 and 1912, combining several styles, with neogothic and neoromanesque predominating. In its design, renowned architects and engineers of the time contributed alongside István Ugron (Lajos Pakei, Janos Banffy, and Gyorgy Koncz), as well as several craftsmen and sculptors hired by Ugron to create decorations, coats of arms, and the impressive spiral staircase inside. Built in the shape of the letter L, with a length of 50 meters, the castle is decorated with towers of various shapes and sizes, and the facades have terraces of varied forms. The facade is impressive, with protrusions, stone-carved coats of arms, and neogothic windows. The few existing vintage photographs reveal the elegance and richness of the furniture that adorned the interiors.

Tourists who come to the area can also enjoy a visit to the Bujorul de Stepă - Zau de Câmpie Natural Reserve, a protected area covering 3.49 hectares, located at an altitude of 450 meters. It is the highest point in the world where the steppe peony has managed to develop, and there are around 350 species of rare plants in the reserve. Being a delicate flower that blooms only 7 days a year, the steppe peony fascinates and delights groups of tourists who choose to visit the reserve year after year.