Castelul Teleki

The ensemble consists of two monuments: the entrance pavilion, located on the north and south sides, and the Teleki Castle. It is registered in the National Archaeological Register under the code 34672.02.

The castle's visiting hours vary depending on the season: from October to March, it can be visited between 09:00 and 17:00, and from April to September, visitors are expected between 10:00 and 18:00.

Teleki Castle, a historical monument of national importance, was built on land that previously belonged to Iancu de Hunedoara, Matei Corvin and, later, the Chancellor of Transylvania Mihály Teleki. Its construction dates back to the 18th century, starting after 1746, during the reign of Count Pál Teleki de Szék. This is confirmed by the composite Teleki-Haller coat of arms above the main gate, as well as the year 1752 inscribed on the doorpost of the main building.

The castle covers an area of ​​11 hectares and was the residence of the noble Teleki family. It consists of several buildings built in different periods. The main building (called C3), consisting of two rows of rooms, each with three rooms, reflects the model of the noble curia in the Baroque style from the end of the 18th century, according to specialists.

The main entrance building (C1) was built around 1760. Later, annexes (C2, C4 and C5) were added, arranged around a rectangular courtyard, open on the western side by the positioning of the main building.

The inventory made in 1774 mentions that the halls of the castle were decorated with stucco and painted in various colors. From the analysis of the only preserved vault, it is deduced that the rooms were covered with barrel vaults with penetrations, that is, Baroque cross vaults. Four of the rooms — the dining room, the chapel, the living room and the bedroom — were decorated with stucco. The dining room was painted with figurative motifs in yellow, blue and red. The chapel was whitewashed, with figurative decorations, in keeping with its liturgical role. The living room, known as the "yellow house", had floral decoration, and the bedroom, called the "green house", was decorated with floral motifs, with a blue-painted door.

On the outside, according to the same 18th-century inventory, the building was painted blue, while the corner bosses and cornice were white.

On the castle grounds, among the secular trees, there is an oak tree over 600 years old, reminiscent of the times when the residence was surrounded by forest. Its trunk bears the year 1406, a date recorded by the Teleki family. In the second decade of the 20th century, the tree was struck by lightning twice, but was saved by Count Ernő Teleki, the tenth descendant of the family.

On April 27, 1824, a fire destroyed the castle. It is believed that this caused the vaults in the main building to collapse and the turret above the entrance to be destroyed.

In 1936, in order to enlarge the inner courtyard, Count Ernest (Ernő) Teleki, the last owner of the complex, hired the architect Lajos Meczner from Budapest to demolish the left wing of the castle. It was rebuilt a few meters away, faithfully preserving the original structure.

Until 1945, two Baroque statues, dating from 1790, were placed at the main entrance: one representing Saint John of Nepomuk and the other the Virgin and Child. They remained in the castle garden until the 1970s.

After the nationalization in 1945, according to the testimony of the last owner, the furniture and works of art were transported by cart, and the statues in the dining room and garden disappeared. They were recovered by the art historian Nagy Margit, who saved them and took them to the history museums in Bistrița and Cluj. Later, the complex functioned as the headquarters of the State Agricultural Enterprise, being abandoned after the 1989 Revolution.

In 1999, the Bistrița-Năsăud County Council took over the land and park of the estate, and in 2017 launched the rehabilitation and restoration project of the Posmuș castle. The project was financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), within the Regional Operational Program 2014-2020.

Five years later, in September 2022, Teleki Castle was reopened to the public as a multicultural center. Starting with 2023, it is under the administration of the Bistrița-Năsăud Museum Complex. In addition to its tourist role, the castle hosts exhibitions, artistic and ethnographic creation workshops, as well as conferences with cultural-artistic themes.

Sursa: www.complexulmuzealbn.ro