The Mikó Castle (; ) is a fortified
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
in
Miercurea Ciuc
Miercurea Ciuc (; ; ) is the county seat of Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, a mainly Hungarian-speaking ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, and is situated in the Olt River valley.
The city administers three ...
(''Csíkszereda''),
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
. It is among the city's most important monuments, and today houses an ethnographic museum devoted to
Székely heritage.
Work on the castle, which is 75 m long and 70 m wide, began on 26 April 1623 and probably was completed in the 1630s. In style, it resembles the castles at
Iernut
Iernut (, ) is a town in Mureș County, central Transylvania, Romania. It administers eight villages: Cipău (''Maroscsapó''), Deag (''Marosdég''), Lechința (''Maroslekence''), Oarba de Mureș (''Marosorbó''), Porumbac (''Porumbáktanya''), ...
,
Vințu de Jos
Vințu de Jos, also known as ''Vinț'' (; ; ; ), is a commune located in the centre of Alba County, Transylvania, Romania. It is composed of eighteen villages: Câmpu Goblii (''Unter-Eisenberg''; ''Telekvinc''), Ciocașu (''Zoggesch''; ''Csókás' ...
and
Lăzarea
Lăzarea ( or colloquially ''Szárhegy'', Hungarian pronunciation: , meaning ''Bald Mountain in Gyergyószék, Gyergyó'') is a commune in Harghita County, Romania. It lies in the Székely Land, an ethno-cultural region in eastern Transylvania, an ...
. It is named after
Ferenc Mikó
Ferenc () is a given name of Hungarian origin. It is a cognate of Francis, Francisco, Francesco, François, Frank and Franz. People with the name include:
* Ferenc Batthyány (1497–1566), Hungarian magnate and general
* Ferenc Bene (1944–20 ...
(1585–1635), who began building it a decade after becoming supreme captain of the Csíkszék (''Ciuc''), Gyergyószék (''Gheorgheni'') and Kászonszék (''Caşin'') Székely
seats
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation.
Types of seat
The ...
, later merged into
Csík County
Csík (Hungarian, in Romanian: ''Ciuc'') was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (eastern Transylvania). The capital of the county was Csíkszere ...
. Documents of the time also refer to it as "Mikó's new citadel".
[ at the Ciuc Szekler Museum site; accessed July 20, 2010]
The first written document to mention the citadel dates to 1631. After Ferenc Mikó's heirs died prematurely, the citadel came into the possession of Tamás Damokos, supreme judge of Csíkszék. On 21 October 1661, Turkish and Tatar troops led by Ali,
Ottoman pasha
Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
of
Temeşvar Province, invaded Csíkszereda, occupying and burning the citadel. It was rebuilt in 1714-16 under orders from
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
General Stephan Steinville, as attested by a stone inscription above the entrance gate.
In 1735, the Austrian engineer and colonel Johann Conrad Weiss drew up the castle's plan. This is the oldest surviving plan of the building, and has been important to those studying both its history and the stages of its construction. For the rebuilt citadel, the Austrians designed a defensive system involving four Italian-style bastions, remnants of which are still visible on the south side. On the southwest side, they built a gunpowder depot, while converting the south bastion into a chapel. The chapel ceiling is decorated in modest stucco, following a late-
Baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
design. The
Gothic window frames were placed later on. The ground-floor rooms have dome-shaped cylindrical ceilings with
groin vault
A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: La ...
s. Above the window sills there are tall, narrow, rectangular
embrasure
An embrasure (or crenel or crenelle; sometimes called gunhole in the domain of Age of Gunpowder, gunpowder-era architecture) is the opening in a battlement between two raised solid portions (merlons). Alternatively, an embrasure can be a sp ...
s. The fortified castle played an important defensive role at the eastern border of the Habsburg Empire.
Through the mid-20th century, the building was used by the troops of various armies. In particular, it served as a barracks for Habsburg troops until 1764. From 1764 to 1848 it was the residence of the commander of the
1st Székely Regiment
First most commonly refers to:
* First, the ordinal form of the number 1
First or 1st may also refer to:
Acronyms
* Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array
* Far Infrared a ...
of the
Transylvanian Military Frontier
The Transylvanian Military Frontier (; ; ) was a territory in the Habsburg monarchy. It was a section of the Habsburg Military Frontier.
History
It was founded in 1762 from territories that had been part of the Habsburg Principality of Transyl ...
, part of the
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...
. During the
Transylvanian Revolution of 1848
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
, part of the
Revolutions of 1848 in the Habsburg areas
The revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire took place from March 1848 to November 1849. Much of the revolutionary activity had a nationalist character: the Austrian Empire, ruled from Vienna, included ethnic Germans, Hungarians, Poles, Bohem ...
, it served as the headquarters of
Sándor Gál
Sándor Gál (13 December 1855 – 4 September 1937)"Nekrológ", ''Keleti Újság'', 8 September 1937. was a Hungarian lawyer and politician, who served as Speaker of the House of Representatives between 1909 and 1910.
References
Exte ...
, commander of the Székely revolutionary forces. In 1970, following a thorough restoration, the
Ciuc Szekler Museum Ciuc may refer to:
* Ciuc Mountains, a mid-high range of mountains of Harghita County in Transylvania
* Ciuc County, a former county in the Kingdom of Romania
* Miercurea Ciuc, county seat of Harghita County, Romania
See also
* Ciucaș (disambig ...
, established in 1930, moved into the castle.
Additionally, part of the
Kájoni János County Library, including a rare documents collection, has operated in the castle since 1978.
["Secţii"]
at the Kájoni János County Library site; accessed July 20, 2010 The building is classified as a historic monument by the
Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
[Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2004: Judeţul Harghita]
, p.17; accessed July 23, 2010
Gallery
File:The_Mikó_Castle_in_Csíkszereda.jpg, Bastion
File:Mikó-vár (Csíkszereda).jpg, Panorama
File:Hídvégi Mikó Ferenc - 2013.06.19 (3).JPG, Inside the castle
File:Hídvégi Mikó Ferenc - 2013.06.19 (1).JPG, Gallery
File:Mikó-vár székelykapukkal.jpg, Szekler gates exhibition near the castle
See also
*
List of castles in Romania
This is a list of castles and fortresses declared monument istoric, historic monuments by Romania's Ministry of Culture (Romania), Ministry of Culture. Banat
; Caraș-Severin County, Caraș-Severin (6)
* Bey's Fortress, Socolari
* Caransebeș ...
*
Tourism in Romania
In December 2024, Romania's tourism sector had a 6.8% increase in arrivals at accommodation facilities, including hotels, apartments, and renting, rental rooms, compared to December 2023. in authorized lodging facilities, marking increases o ...
*
Villages with fortified churches in Transylvania
The Transylvania region of Romania has one of the highest concentrations of existing fortified churches from the 13th to 16th centuries. It has more than 150 well preserved fortified churches of a great variety of architectural styles (out of an o ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miko Castle
1631 establishments in Romania
Buildings and structures completed in 1631
Castles in Romania
Ethnographic museums in Romania
Historic monuments in Harghita County
Libraries in Romania
Miercurea Ciuc
Museums in Harghita County
Székelys