It is now time to relocate from Cluj to Bucharest via Sibiu were our families will meet and we will exchange cars. But we have to make this a sightseeing trip and we align first to visit Hunedoara before driving to Sibiu. Here we always wanted to see the castle and with the new divided highways getting here is quite fast.
The parking spot is a bit far from the castle especially for people that are mobility challenged. And the uneven cobblestone paving doesn’t really help. But all is forgotten when we reach the castle, it is as beautiful and impressive as we hoped.
The only way to reach the interior is via a bridge, that likely was a drawbridge previously, that takes us high over the small creek and into the interior courtyard. Here we have the first surprise, the interior is in reconstruction and many parts are covered and cannot be visited unfortunately.
Still there is enough to visit and we start with the torture chamber, a staple of castles or at least of their reconstructions….
Next is the fountain which is where everyone congregates as it is at an intersection of multiple pathways. There are lots of people in the castle and quite a few foreigners, unexpectedly. The fountain itself is a very deep one, legend has it that it was dug by three Turkish prisoners that were promised freedom but then were beheaded when they finished the work 15 years later.
One of the paths from the fountain takes us up the walls towards the Painted Tower. This area is quite scenic and we wonder if the design painted on the tower is historical or it was applied later in the 19th century when it became a tourist attraction?
The views from the walls are quite impressive, you can see the modern city in the distance and the outer fortifications closer to the castle. The outer walls are not restored and look quite ancient compared to the restored sections.
Another path from the fountain takes us to the lapidarium where many stone artifacts from the castle are exhibited. There are the emblems of the different rulers, window frames and anything else stone built that was found in the castle.
Last path is probably the most interesting ones as it takes us up the stairs into the castle proper. We pass above the chapel which has a beautiful stained glass window with the builder of the castle and likely most famous ruler that lived here, Iancu de Hunedoara.
We exit on a balcony overlooking the inner courtyard before finding a few more rooms that are can be visited. There aren’t really any maps so it is not clear where you can go and if you are missing something which is a bit unusual so we try to follow a specific pattern to ensure we visit everything.
One of the more interesting rooms is the bedroom, while clearly renovated it is fun to see how we assume the rulers of old lived. Nearby is an interesting exhibit showing how the castle appeared during the ages. After originally built in the 15 century it was expanded and worked on until a fire destroyed it and the reconstruction was more in line about how they expected the castle should look like than what it really looked like.
Continuing we find also a small exhibition showing objects found in the castle and the nearby area which we find quite interesting.
From the courtyard we find another entrance and here we enter the Knights Hall, used for feasts. It is quite an impressively sized room with relatively little furniture, likely it is one of the rooms that is getting renovated.
Next we find a passage that seems to be recently renovated. It has no sign prohibiting entry so in we go, we don’t know it yet but this is the passage that goes to the Capistrano Tower. We do climb the tower but similarly to the passage it is completely empty, likely in the future there will be exhibits here but right now besides getting exploration bragging rights there isn’t anything to see in this area.
Returning we explore the other side of the courtyard and here we find a few folk exhibits. There is a loom, some set tables and other typical peasant house items and moments.
Then we find the stairs that go up into the newer section of the castle, the Bethlen Palace. This section actually houses an art exhibit, something that we were also not aware about before entering.
It is a small an interesting exhibit and we walk around admiring the paintings before descending back to the courtyard.
The last place we visit is the Diet Hall used for ceremonies and formal receptions. It is in a way very similar to the Knights Hall, we have to look around carefully to ensure we are in a different room, if you look carefully you start noticing the differences, the floor pattern is different and there are a few exhibits here.
The exhibits are mostly weapon related, there are guns, swords, cannonballs and all the different assortments of tools that can be used to kill each other. The anchor of the room on one side is a larger than life Matthias Corvinus statue accompanied by a much smaller soldier.
As we exit we have time to enjoy again the views of this magnificent castle. There are fewer people now on the bridge, allowing us to enjoy the views, but still there are some unfortunately
We did our research in advance and know that in the exterior courtyard are a couple more museums with the castle ticket allowing us free entrance to both of them. We are the only people that know that it seems though as the History Museum, the first we enter, is completely empty. The exhibits are surprising informative and follow a strict chronological order which make it easy to follow them.
In fact if there ever is an end of time scenario this is the place to be as it shows you how to built stone weapons and what part of a deer can be used for what, both info would come in handy.
There are some interesting reconstructions of how houses looked in Ancient times and how burials were performed in pre-getic times. There were specific orientations to keep and they were buried in specific positions, quite interesting.
The Getic era brought the cremation of corpses and the only things found were the curved swords. Quite interesting and something we didn’t know. There are also some beautiful adornments from that period that were found nearby, overall the visit was certainly worthwhile and it is a shame that the museum is not advertised more on site.
The second museum is dedicated to the craftsmen of the area. Each room is dedicated to a craft showing how they performed it, it is quite interesting especially as it is free.
On the top floor as a bonus is a coin collection found nearby, the setup is such that the coins are behind glass and given that they are quite small enlarged photos of them are on the wall, an ingenious setup really.
As we leave the museum we explore the streets near the castle a bit more to find a more unusual view of the castle from the side. It looks even more impressive from below as invaders would have seen it in ages past.
From here we drive to Sibiu and find our hotel easily. It has parking and we also get ground floor rooms as it is easier for our relatives to reach them. Ground floor here means you still have to climb a few stairs, a bit annoying but what can you do.
The rooms itself are nice but cold, really cold. We ask them to turn up the heat and they do it but only in waves so it is either hot or cold throughout the night, oh well.
We chose the hotel as it also has a restaurant so it would be convenient for our relatives. We eat dinner at the restaurant and the schnitzel is quite excellent and has a very good presentation.
We like the food so much that we also order desert which is also quite delicious and full we retire for the night as we want to explore Sibiu the next day.
