| Teleki Castle | |
|---|---|
| Native name Romanian: Castelul Teleki din Gornești | |
 Entrance to the Teleki Castle | |
| Location | Mures County, Romania |
| Nearest city | Gornesti |
| Coordinates | 43°54′03″N 25°58′26″E / 43.90083°N 25.97389°E |
| Built | 1778 |
| Built for | ? |
| Original use | ?? |
| Restored | ? |
| Current use | ?? |
| Architect | Andreas Mayerhoffer József Mayerhoffer |
| Architectural style(s) | Baroque |
| Governing body | Ministry of Culture and National Patrimony (Romania) |
| Type | Architectural Monument of National Interest |
| Designated | 2004 |
| Part of | National Register of Historic Monuments (Romanian: Lista Monumentelor Istorice (LMI)) |
| Reference no. | MS-II-a-A-15689 |
  Location of Teleki Castle in Romania | |
The Teleki Castle is a Historic Monument located in Gornești, Romania, situated 17 km from Targu Mures. It was built by the Teleki Family. It was built in the Grassalkovich style which was very common in Hungary. It was designed by the architect Andreas Mayerhoffer, from Salzburg. As a result, it resembles other castles designed by him, such as Godollo and Pecel. It is located in the middle of an impressive dendrologic park filled with several statues.
History edit
The city of Gornești is first mentioned in documents under the name Knezeg in 1319 when King Carol Robert of Anjou donates the area to the Voivode of Transylvania, Széchenyi Tamás. Years later, the area is owned by the family of Erdélyi of Somkerék. Between 1462 and 1465, Erdélyi István builds a medieval castle surrounded by five towers and a defense groove filled with water from the river Mureș. To get to the castle one had to use a bridge made up of two parts, one fixed and another one mobile. In the year 1477, the castle is mentioned in official documents under the name of Castrum Nostrum (regis) Gernyezegh. (1)
In the second half of the 17th century, the domain is passed to the Teleki family through Mihály Teleki de Szek, who was a chancellor of Transylvania during the rule of Apafi Mihály. He was also one of the most influential personalities surrounding Apafi. As a result, he received the castle of Gornești in the year 1675. (1)
An interesting aspect regarding Teleki is that, on the 14th of April, 1685, he signed, in Apafi’s name, the Cârțișoara convention. This was a document through which the principality recognized the sovereignty of the Habsburg Empire, gave up external politics and allowed the Habsburg army to have their garrisons on their territory, all in exchange for religious freedom and the maintenance of historical privileges. As a result, in the same year, Teleki Mihály is raised to the rank of Count by Emperor Leopold I. (1)
Between the years 1686 and 1687, Teleki modifies the Gornești castle, by building a new wing, elevating and decorating the towers with stone carved in the Transylvanian Renaissance style. In his memoires, he also describes his gardens with flowers and vegetables. Teleki Mihály dies in 1690 in the battle of Zărnești and the castle is passed on to the new generation, represented by his youngest son, the Count Teleki Sándor. (1)
From this point forward and for the next century, the history of the castle is related to the history of the Teleki family. Sándor was married twice – the first time to Júlia Bethlen, with whom he had four children and, after her death, he married Zsuzsanna Nagy with whom he has two sons, Sándor and Samuel. It is Samuel, the youngest, who will become the founder of the first public library in Transylvania. (1) (2) As time went by, the castle in Gornești was neglected and became almost inhabitable. László Teleki, the second of Sándor’s sons decides to revive it and transform it into a baroque style castle. He chooses Andreas Mayerhoffer as the architect and the plans for the new castle are created between the years 1769 and 1772. The architect dies in 1771 and the work is taken over by his son, Johan. In 1772 the old castle is demolished to make room for the new building. László Teleki does not have a chance to see the castle finished, as he passes away in 1778. His son, József, takes over the work. He also inherits his father love for books and contributes to building a library. During one of his trips in Europe, between 1759 and 1761 József meets Voltaire and Rousseau. (3) While the work to the castle continues, József also works on the space that was initially the defense groove. Here he creates a French garden, a work that he begins in 1789 and will be finished in 1792. The garden is impressive, as it is very different from those in Western Hungary at the time. In 1790 a greenhouse is also built named “The Great House of Flowers”. By the time József dies, in 1796, the work to the castle and the garden is finished. (1)
The castle continues to be passed down through generations, with some renovations and improvements being made by each owner. In 1849, the Teleki Castle, like many others in Transylvania, is partially destroyed by Russian troupes who were helping the Habsburg Empire stop the revolution. Charles Boner, writes about these events in his book, “Transylvania: Its products and its people” (4). He recalls how the place suffered a lot during the revolution – the paintings were all destroyed, the pavements were torn apart, the furniture was stolen, and most of the books in the library were destroyed. The windows were also broken. In short, nothing was left intact. He also mentions the place was beautifully repaired so that, not too long after, it was hard to tell such horrible events had taken place there. (4) Another British traveler who mentions Gornești in one of his books is E.C. Johnson. In “On the track of the Crescent – Eratic notes from Piraeus to Pest”, he describes the inside and outside of the castle, its luxurious furniture and the impressive paintings on the walls (5). Through this book, Gornești drew the attention of the famous writer Bram Stoker who was looking for inspiration in creating the castle for his Count.
In Gornești there is also the crypt of the Teleki family, built in 1886. Interestingly, it is located at a considerable distance from the castle, in a building considered by many worth visiting. It has a triangular façade and is located in a palm of trees. The crypt has a marble door with two corinthian caps with the inscription, “Sirban nincs fajdalom / Nincs Elet! “, meaning “in the grave there is no pain, there is no life”. (1)
The statues located in the dendrologic park were brought there by Teleki Domokos 2nd. There was a total of eleven sculptures – seven representing the deities of the Antiquity and four statues of dwarves, caricatures of personalities of the French Revolution. The seven deities were Junona, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Ceres, Bachus and Ganymede, while the caricatures represented Louis the 16th, Mirabeau and another woman, and the fourth one representing a Sutler – a woman who followed the army and sold provisions to soldiers. However, today the statues are degraded, unkept, the statue of Junona for instance, has been completely destroyed. (1)
The last owners of the castle, before World War II, were Teleki Mihály (1921-1988) and his wife, Countess Tisza Aimée (1914-1991). (6)
The Communist Era edit
At the end of World War II, the building was robbed and the library inside it destroyed. Only a part of the books was saved and kept in the Teleki-Bolyai Library from Targu Mures and the Museum of Arad. In 1949 the building was nationalized and in 1956, after a tuberculosis epidemic, it became a tuberculosis preventorium for children. As a result, the castle was renovated between 1961 and 1962 to be suitable for its new use. Over the years, several improvements were made, such as central heating, replacing old windows, and painting the children’s rooms. (2) (7)
Post-Communism edit
In 2011 the castle was given back to the Teleki family who decided to allow it to become a touristic attraction. The castle can now be visited by the public (6). Count Kalman Teleki recounts in a 2015 interview how the renovations were made by the family from their own finances, despite their wish to have the building become a national (and international) touristic attraction (2). In the same interview, he talks about the difficulties in regaining the castle, and the five-years trial that they had to endure. Those five years, he says, were extremely detrimental to the castle, as no renovations were made, the building was left to degrade slowly and many of the valuable things were either destroyed or stolen. (2)
Despite the fact that there has not been a huge publicity for the castle in Romania, the castle is visited more and more each year, having approximately 5000 annual visitors. There are also several events that are held here that have helped with the visibility of the castle as a tourist attraction. Some of the best known are The Annual Ball of the Castle and the Castle Day, but there have also been several concerts, expositions, creation camps for artists, designers, architects, and history camps (4). The Teleki family is still working on promoting tourism at the castle, but also in the surrounding region, so it is expected that the number of visitors will keep increasing in the next years. (2)
Bibliography edit
1. Leca, Irina. Gornești - Teleki. Monumente Uitate. [Online] [Cited: April 12, 2019.] http://www.monumenteuitate.org/ro/monument/235/Gornești-Teleki.
2. Castele și conace revitalizate: Castelul Teleki din Gornești . Monumente Uitate - Castele și conace revitalizate . [Online] September 8, 2015. [Cited: April 12, 2019.]
https://monumenteuitate.blogspot.com/2015/09/castele-si-conace-revitalizate-castelul.html.
3. Castelul conților Teleki din Gornești . Hoinari Romani. [Online] July 25, 2013. [Cited: April 12, 2019.] http://www.hoinariromani.ro/2013/07/castelul-contilor-teleki-din-Gornești/.
4. Booner, Charles. Transylvania : its products and its people . London : Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer, 1865.
5. Johnson, E.C. On the track of the crescent; erratic notes from the Piraeus to Pesth. . London : Hurst and Blackett, 1885.
6. Ciornei, Alina. Castelul Teleki din Gornești – Când se poate vizita “Cel mai frumos castel din Ardeal” sau “Comoara Mureşului”? Jurnal de Hoinar. [Online] June 19, 2015. [Cited: April 12, 2019.] https://jurnaldehoinar.com/2015/06/19/castelul-teleki-din-Gornești-cand-se-poate-vizita-cel-mai-frumos-castel-din-ardeal-sau-comoara-muresului/.
7. Castelul Teleki din comuna Gornești, județul Mureș. Locuri din Romania. [Online] [Cited: April 12, 2019.] https://locuridinromania.ro/judetul-mures/comuna-Gornești/castelul-teleki-din-Gornești.html.