Traveling in medieval times – Corvins’ Castle
If you love the medieval atmosphere, you should definitely go to Hunedoara – the place were you can find the most important Gothic-style secular building in Transylvania.
I guess you know about “Transylvania”, due of Dracula’s legend spread all over the world. But, The Corvin’s Castle or , (as it is often named, especially by the Hungarian ethnics) is different. It has an impressive draw bridge, countless towers, a number of interior courts, and two large halls, “Knight Hall” and “Diet Hall”… and most important of all: it has a medieval mystery. All the 42 chambers share the ancient times with every visitor that passes their door. Maybe that is the reason why this castle and his surroundings are often used by international film companies for movie productions.
Or, maybe all the visitors or film directors are attracted by the legends. I hereby present two of them, both provided by the castle’s website:
The legend of the raven
On the coat of arms of the Corvin family a raven carrying a golden ring in its beak is carved. This family symbol has a legend. It is said that Ioan of Hunedoara was the illegitimate son of Sigismund of Luxemburg, king of Hungary, and his mother was Elisabeta, a very beautiful woman from the Hateg region. In order not to dishonor her, the king married Elisabeta to one of his knights, Voicu. Sigismund also gave her a ring as a gift for the unborn child, which will help him to be recognized when he will go to the royal court. During a trip of the family, when they halted for lunch, the ring was forgotten on a side of the towel where the food was placed. A raven, attracted by the shining ring, stole it. Ioan of Hunedoara takes a bow, takes down the raven and retrieves gets his ring. When Ioan grew up and got to the royal court he gets to tell this story and the impressed king decides that the family’s symbol shall be the raven with a golden ring in its beak. Moreover, the Corvins’ Family name comes from the Latin word “Corvus” which means “Raven”.
The legend of the well
It is said that three Turkish prisoners that Ioan of Hunedoara kept in the castle dug this well. Ioan promised them that he would set them free if they will dig a well. The prisoners, animated by the hope of freedom, dug for 15 years and at 28 meters deep they found the precious water. But in the meantime Ioan Corvin died and his wife, Elisabeth Szilagyi, decided not to keep the word she was given to by her husband and doesn’t grantthe three prisoners their promised freedom. The prisoners then decide to write on a stone block the message “You have water but no heart” trying this way to revenge the promise their captors decided not to keep. Actually, the inscription deciphered by Mihail Guboglu says: “Hassan, prisoner to the giaours in the fortress next to the church, dug here”. The Arabian characters of inscription place it in the 15th century. Nowadays the inscription is on one of the chapel buttresses.
Book some hours to visit Corvins’ Castle whatever the reasons of your travelling are. You may have some wonderful and memorable moments as it hosts many cultural and artistic events which bring back the lost glory of Hunedoara. Dancers, shows, costumes, medieval parades, duels and knightly competitions can be seen at the Castle if you plan in advance your little “time traveling”.
For complete information about the castle you can visit the official website.
