When I found a $22 ticket from Vienna to Bucharest, I knew I was headed to Transylvania. After a few days in Bucharest, I ventured north first to Braşov, then to Sighişoara and eventually to Sibiu on one of the most insane train rides of my life. Someday I'll write about hanging out of an empty, graffiti covered Communist train in rural Transylvania—but that’s not for this post. No, this post features the hauntingly historic Corvin Castle.
I had originally wanted to stay in Braşov a few extra days to try to get to Poenari Fortress. See, I have an obsession with all things Dracula and Poenari is his real castle. Braşov has all the kitsch and trinkets, but Poenari is the fortress is where Vlad Tepes—the Impaler—enslaved Saxon nobles to build the strategic castle to save Christendom from the imposing Ottomans. Here, Vlad saw his revenge watching the nobles slowly slide down the blunt end of a pole, impaling them alive and gaining his nefarious reputation. So, I had my heart set on seeing the mountaintop fortress with my own eyes.
Right before I left Austria, I was browsing through some reviews on Google when I found what has to be the best review ever. See, the fortress was often temporarily closed due to roaming bears known for their aggressive nature. On top of that, there were apparently packs of wild dogs. One clever reviewer found them to be quite the bodyguards after feeding them some chips and enlisting them in fighting off angry bears. I thought for a second about what a great story a wild bear/dog fight would make for my grandchildren but eventually decided against it. #bearfightforthegram just felt clickbait anyways.
Disheartened but unmauled, I searched for another epic Transylvanian castle linked more nefariously to Vlad than Bran Castle. I heard of Corvin Castle on an episode of Lore and quickly started looking for public transportation from Braşov or Sibiu to Deva, the closest city in Hunedoara. I got myself through rural Cambodia with no WiFi, so I thought for sure I’d be able to find a way to get there. Yet, the buses around Deva are notoriously unreliable and incredibly slow. I did not have the time to spend four hours (minimum) each way. I finally bit the bullet and hired a guide, Adela, who I found through Visit Sibiu. She knew her history and how to have a good laugh sitting in traffic on Transylvania’s long one-way roads. From Sibiu, it was about an hour drive. Honestly, this was the best decision I could have made because we were able to squeeze in the Roman ruins at Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa and the Hapsburg fortress at Alba Iulia in a single day.
Corvin Castle is an alluring mix of Disney and Burton set design. Fairy tale towers pierce the sky fitted, of course, with the deathly arrow slits that hint at the castle’s dark military history. Also known as Hunyadi Castle, it is a marvel of medieval engineering and might. There is a massive bridge over the Zlaști River, making for an excellent defensive position. It was the home of John Hunyadi, the illegitimate son of the Hungarian King, Sigismund of Luxembourg.
Apparently, the Hungarian King came to Transylvania on one of many campaigns against the Ottomans and met a beautiful local lady. We all know how the story goes and eventually a baby was born. Before he left, Sigismund gave his mistress a ring. If the child was a boy, he promised that if the ring was returned, Sigismund would recognize him as a son. So, when young John turned 14, he and his mother went off to find his royal father. As Adela explained, the local lore has a dramatic twist when a raven flew down and swooped up the ring that young John was playing with. Thankfully, the raven was shot down with an arrow by one of the knights accompanying them, thus saving their only tie to royal glory. This story is obviously a bit dubious in its factual representation but became the iconography of the Hunyadi household. Good old Sigismund made do on his word and gave John Hunyadi an esteemed position as head of the Transylvanian province. Hunyadi began further construction in 1446 on a Hungarian keep to eventually create the masterpiece you can still visit today. This history is literally strewn all over the walls of Corvin Castle, immortalized on a fresco right outside of the King’s bedroom and in various statues and insignias throughout the winding hallways. Corvin is short for Corvinus, which is Latin for raven. As such, both Transylvania and Hungary are steeped with raven iconography and allusions. Luckily, I wandered through Transylvania before Budapest and was able to recognize this lore walking through the streets of old Buda.
Corvin Castle was a strategic stronghold in fighting off the Ottomans as they attempted to advance further into Europe. The castle witnessed untold brutality and bloodshed over its history. For his military genius and bravery, John Hunyadi would later become the king of all Hungary after finally beating back the Ottomans at the Battle of Belgrade in 1456. His mark is all over the castle’s decaying walls. From the fresco right outside his bedroom to insignia in the Diet Hall, the raven with a ring in its mouth is everywhere under impressive gothic arches. Yet, Hunyadi is not the only figure honored in the architecture. Capistrano Tower is named after the Franciscan friar, Saint John Capistrano, who came to the castle to comfort the Hungarian troops who were successful in fending off the Ottomans. One of the most imposing areas of the castle is the Knight’s Hall. Grandiose gothic ceilings cover the large space where Hunyadi himself once delivered his will and judgment. Straight out of Game of Thrones, the castle has its own collapsing door that sent those judged guilty plunging to the rocks below to meet a certain death. Interestingly, legend has it that Vlad Tepes, was imprisoned in a cell below the Knight’s Hall. Unfortunately for the nobles who met there, the floors were not that thick, and Vlad could hear some of their discussions, which would ultimately come to haunt them later upon his release. Vlad was imprisoned for his enslavement of Wallachian nobles in the building of Poenari Fortress. Yes, that fortress with the bear/ dog fights…
See, Corvin Castle played host to countless barbarisms. Sitting in a cell for fifteen years was just the tip of the iceberg. When first walking onto the grounds, there is a prison just to the right of the entrance. Here, one can look upon the typical caged cell set up of the day. Three cells were stacked on top of each other and prisoners were assigned to cells depending on the severity of their crimes. The worst prisoners, of course, langured down at the bottom level. With the iron slates separating the levels, that is two layers of shit dripping down to exacerbate the already hellish ordeal of medieval imprisonment. Just imagine it. To the left of the entrance is a small torture room with exhibits of the popular torture methods of the day. A female manikin sits on a chair of spikes. Her crime—adultery. Yea, adultery was a favorite of the Hungarians at the time and women often bore the brunt of the most “creative” torture.
Well, actually, let me take that back. Captured Turkish soldiers really got the worst of it. Take for example the bear pit, built to hold wild Romanian bears—which we know from Google reviews have quite the bloodlust. #bearfightforthegram—yea, still not that catchy. Prisoners would be dropped into the pit to meet their gruesome demise, all within view of the king’s bedroom window which was situated right atop the pit. I guess in an era with no T.V., watching bears tear apart live prisoners made for great royal entertainment. Needless to say, this was one of the creepiest parts of the castle.
On that note, the well also has a haunting presence to it, probably because of the three Turkish prisoners who were tricked into digging it. Hunyadi himself promised the trio their freedom if they could dig to water within the castle’s walls. You know, medieval Europe was known for its sieges, and so although the Zlaști River runs just outside, Hunyadi wanted that well. It reportedly took the prisoners fifteen years of backbreaking labor to find water through the bedrock. By 1456, the king had died, and his wife did not feel the need to honor her late husband’s promises. So, when she heard the prisoners had finally succeeded, she promptly had them executed. Word has it that an Arabic inscription on the wall by the well—nicely pointed out by an obnoxious red arrow—reads “you have water, but you have no soul.” A lasting curse from the prisoners before they met the executioner. However, this is debated as my research claims the inscription is much less sensational, “he who wrote this inscription is Hasan,” just a 14th century tag. Adela, my guide, is still adamant of the creepier version and I wish desperately to believe it myself.
Eventually, the Ottomans looked elsewhere in their expansion and Corvin Castle became obsolete. It fell into disrepair and neglect in the 18th and 19th centuries. A fire broke out when a lightening bolt struck the tower near one of the main kitchens. Yet out of the tragedy came new life. Rich investors of the neoclassical era saw a ripe canvas to paint a perceived representation of medieval Europe straight out of Walt Disney’s playbook. This led to the hybrid mishmash of Gothic and neoclassic Renaissance style architecture that splits the castle into authentic versus synthetic beauty. Today, Corvin Castle remains one of the most well preserved and interesting castles throughout Europe. Visitors still flock to the site—especially in the summer months when it can get quite crowded. If you want ghostly pictures of an abandoned castle, don’t visit on Saturdays either—as they typically are filled with wedding parties taking epic pictures on their big day. Adela mentioned that the castle would be closed, at least partially, through the winter of 2019 for renovations. I just hope they don’t do as shoddy a job as they did in the 1860s.
I still have yet to work out a route via public transport. Again, I typically a master of cheap transportation, but it was quite difficult. Thus, I would recommend renting a car or taking a guide. Check out Visit Sibiu and make sure to ask for Adela! Driving up through Deva is an experience in and of itself, as you pass by Gypsy Mansions with pagoda style architecture and G wagons parked out front. Transylvania never fails to provide an adventure—that’s for sure.
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