Castle

The Banloc Castle, built in a U-shape, is a massive building with thick walls (about 1.25 m) of burnt brick, with the main façade facing south, and two wings forming a terraced courtyard to the north (court of honor). On the southern façade, the castle had an attic with a stone blazon of the Karátsonyi family, as a unique ornament. This heraldic mark was preserved even after the castle became the property of the Royal House of Romania, being laid down after 1948. The heraldic mark also existed on a mosaic in the courtyard of the castle. The year "MDCCLIX" was also mentioned here. The attic fell to the earthquake in 1991. The northern façade of the castle features several decorative elements: the baroque bridge windows, the well-defined alto-relievos (heraldic motifs and themes inspired by Greek-Roman mythology) embedded in the masonry. In addition, there are important the 18th-century ironwork that closed the courtyard, as well as the wrought iron lamps (one on each corner of the courtyard) and which, in their decorative structure, specified the year 1793. Although there are no testimonies in this respect, it seems that the frequent representations of the Greek god Pan (in the park there were at least two statues whose fragments are currently found at the Banat Museum in Timişoara) are closely related to the name of the locality: Panloch - Panloc - Banloc, name that would translate into "Master's Place". Coming from Deta to Banloc, at the end of an impressive 500-meter pine alley, Pinus Nigra species, is the Andrássy Gate or the Lions Gate. The latter name was due to the two griffins that decorated the main pillars. The name of the gate and alley is inspired by the name of Caroline Andrássy, the wife of Count Karátsonyi Jenő (Eugen), and was adapted by the inhabitants of the commune under the name of "The Road of Andrass". At the present, the gate still only exists in old photos and views. It was demolished in the 1970s and the griffins disappeared with it. Situated on the northern side of the park, a "neo-gothic" English gate, which still exists today, provides access to and from the train station located about 2 km north. For visiting: contact person - Aurel Laioş (phone 0723365295) Text și photo source: http://turismtimis.ro/

The Hunyadi Castle is a historic building, the oldest one in Timișoara, witness to the most important events in the life of this city, over hundreds of years. Due to the political unrest in fourteenth century Hungary, King Charles Robert of Anjou transferred his residence to Timișoara, building here a heavily fortified castle. The construction, built on an island, was completed in 1315, surrounding a huge quadrangular courtyard and being connected to the rest of the town through a draw bridge. The castle was rebuilt between 1443 and 1447 by John Hunyadi, Count of Timiș. After the reconstruction, the building served as the residence of all the kings, captains, as well as noblemen who would stop in Timișoara. Even during the Ottoman occupation, the Governor of the Vilayet of Timișoara used to live in the castle. The building of the Castle was damaged during the siege of the Austrian army, it situation worsened during the Revolution of 1848-1849. The Castle was rebuilt within a period of 7 years, and the façade underwent substantial changes. Today, the Castle preserves very little of the original architecture, but the placement around the rectangular courtyard was maintained, while still dominated by a low donjon tower, decorated with battlements at the top. The main entranced is flanked by two massive pilasters, each leading to a collection of weapons specific to the Middle Ages, revealing the Gothic appearance of the Castle. Since 1947, Hunyadi Castle has served as headquarters of the History Museum of Banat, housing the history and natural sciences departments. Currently, Hunyadi Castle is in repair, the National Museum of Banat being hosted by the Therezian Bastion. Text and photo sources: https://www.facebook.com/MuzeulBanatuluiTimisoaraOficial/; https://timisoara.eventya.eu/

The Nakó Castle, one of the architectural jewels of Banat, is located in the center of Sânnicolau Mare. Built in 1864 by Count Kálmán Nakó in neoclassical style, the castle is guarded by a medieval tower and has 99 rooms. Formerly there were a library of 5000 volumes, paintings, statues, sculpted furniture, rare porcelain, letters from Deák Ferenc, Jókai Mór, Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. The values ​​of Nako's Castle disappeared immediately after the First World War. Over time, the building served as the headquarters of the first agricultural school in Romania, a legionary headquarters, a barracks-weapon depot, and after the Second World War, it hosted a tractor school, then an agricultural school. In 1975, Sânnicolau Mare City Hall organized in the castle the "Béla Bartók" Museum, inaugurated in 1981. The House of Pioneers also functioned in the castle, and after the Revolution it became a disco, a computer club and a gym. Currently, the castle is the headquarters of the Cultural House and the City Museum. The building is listed on the historical monuments list in Timis County. For visiting: contact person - Gheorghe Mândran (phone 0727749627)