Corvin Castle Architectural Ensemble

Corvin Castle is not just a historic monument, it's a journey into the past. Step through its gate, and you'll feel like you're in another time, in another realm. You can almost hear the sounds of the horn, the horse's hooves, and the dance of the maidens.

Discover the captivating history of Corvin Castle, this remarkable 15th-century monument, known as the Living Legend of Transylvania.

Its story, along with the Corvin family's, is also fascinating. Do you know why there's a raven holding a ring on the family crest? According to legend, John Hunyadi was the illegitimate son of Sigismund of Luxembourg, King of Hungary, with a beautiful maiden from Țara Hațegului, Elisabeth. When Sigismund learned that she was expecting a child, he gave her a golden ring symbolizing the promise to recognize the boy as his heir and married her to a Romanian nobleman named Voicu. When John was a child, a raven allegedly stole his play ring during a hunting party, but his uncle, skilled in hunting, managed to shoot down the raven and retrieve the precious ring. As John grew up, Elisabeth took him to the royal court to claim his birthright, and upon seeing the ring, the king recognized him as his son, granted him a vast fortune, and bestowed upon him the raven with a gold ring in its beak as their coat of arms.

Hence the family name, derived from the Latin "Corvus," meaning "raven," symbolizing wisdom and longevity. For many other tales and terrible stories, such as the one of the fountain carved into the rock by Turkish prisoners, we encourage you to visit Corvin Castle and discover them within its walls.

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Short historical overview:

The history of Corvin Castle is a complex one, spanning centuries. What was in the 14th century a stone fortification evolved over the years into an impressive medieval citadel.

The decisive moment in its fate was when Voicu, the father of John Hunyadi, became the ruler of the citadel and the entire Hunedoara domain in 1409. Subsequently, between 1440-1452, John Hunyadi initiated extensive construction works, and since then, the castle gradually began to transform into the imposing monument we see today.

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Architectural features:

The building bears the imprint of its numerous owners with different visions, each contributing to its current appearance. Thus, the monument became a true museum that exhibits at every step the history of Hunedoara and architectural elements such as Gothic, Neo-Gothic, Baroque, and Renaissance.

Corvin Castle underwent several construction stages before reaching its current form. It began with the expansion of the citadel by adding walls and towers for defense and residence purposes, such as the Capistrano Tower, housing a Gothic fireplace, or the Buzdugan Tower, decorated with exterior frescoes. In the centuries that followed, modifications and additions to the construction continued constantly.

On the western side are the Knights' Hall and the Diet Hall, where octagonal marble pillars, ornate consoles, and cross ribs can be found. On the eastern side stands the chapel, with a narthex and a gallery supported by columns.

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Prominent figures:

This place has certainly seen many prominent figures throughout history, but two of them are by far the most emblematic.

As we've realized so far, the first figure directly linked to the castle is John Hunyadi. He was born into a noble family in the service of the King of Hungary, Sigismund of Luxembourg. John Hunyadi was throughout his life an important military commander and political leader, playing a crucial role in defending Christianity against the Ottoman expansion. He served as the boyar of Severin, voivode of Transylvania and as governor and regent of Hungary.

The second significant name that marked the castle's history was Matthias Corvinus. He was the son of John Hunyadi and one of Hungary's most prominent kings, as during his reign, Hungary experienced its greatest territorial extent in history.