Corvin Castle

Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle (Romanian: Castelul Huniazilor or Castelul Corvinilor), is a Gothic-Renaissance castle in Hunedoara, Romania. It is one of the largest castles in Europe and figures in a top of seven wonders of Romania.

History

Corvin Castle was laid out in 1446, when construction began at the orders of John Hunyadi (Hungarian: Hunyadi János, Romanian: Iancu or Ioan de Hunedoara) who wanted to transform the former keep built by Charles I of Hungary. The castle was originally given to John Hunyadi's father, Voyk (Vajk), by Sigismund, king of Hungary, as severance in 1409. It was also in 1446 when John Hunyadi was elected as the regent-governor of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Diet.

The castle is built in Renaissance-Gothic style and it features tall and strong defense towers. Beside the towers, bastions, the inner courtyard, and the drawbridge, the wall is actually double and flanked by round or rectangular towers, an innovative feature for Transylvanian architecture. The rectangular towers have larger openings, for larger weapons. Some towers were built solely for defense, such as the Buzdugan Tower (Mace tower), while others, like the Drummers' Tower, the Deserted Tower, and the Capistrano Tower were used as prison cells. The castle is divided into three main areas: the Diet Hall, the Knights' Hall, and the circular stairway. The halls are rectangular and paved with marble, and were used for feasts and ceremonies. Built over the site of an older fortification and on a rock above the small Zlaști River, the castle is a large and imposing building with tall and diversely coloured roofs, towers and myriad windows and balconies adorned with stone carvings.