HUNEDOARA

In and around Hunedoara there have been uncovered numerous traces of human inhabitance that date back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic.  Iron ores have been extracted in the area since the Iron Age, especially during the Dacian and Roman times.  The inscription "Corpus Inscriptiorum Latinorum", uncovered in the area, mentiones a local as "natas ibi, ubi ferum nascitur", born "where the iron was born".  Mentioned since the 12^th century as a hub for leather tanning and wool processing, the town of Hunedoara became an important iron extracting and processing center in Transylvania.  In the 14^th and 15^th centuries the local iron foundries and works were famous for their swords and spears.  The first tall industrial furnace for iron extracting was built in 1750 at Toplita, and a later one at Govajdia in 1806.  There is also a system of narrow-gauge railway built in the 19^th and 20^th centuries that still runs today through the beautiful region known as "Woodlanders' country".  The city of Hunedoara is dominated by an impressive gothic castle that once belonged to the Corvinus (Huniads) family.  Near the castle there is also a reformed church built in 1644 during the reign of Gabriel Bethlen.  Not far from here, in the old town there is the medieval orthodox church of St. Nicholas built in the 15^th century.

The castle in Hunedoara, originally a small royal citadel built sometimes in the 13^th century, was given by Sigismund of Luxemburg to the local nobleman by the name of Vojk of the Corvinus (latin for raven) family for his deeds, in the 14^th century.  In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, during the reign of Vojk's descendant, the brilliant and strategic commander and governor of Hungary, Ioannus Corvinus (Johann Huniad) and of his descendant, Matthias Corvinus (Matthias Rex), king of Hungary,  the castle was enlarged and reshaped by local as well as Italian and French stone masons and artists.  The castle was once more enlarged in the 17^th century during the reign of Gabriel Bethlen when the new gate and access bridge was built at the present location.  During his reign the Hussar fortress, which now houses the parking lot and the offices, was built to house the Hussar regiments defending the castle.  In the first half of the 19^th century, after being owned by 23 noble families, the castle was abandoned for 15 years and then rebuilt by the Habsburg authorities into a residence for the Austrian Habsburg emperor.  The castle has large medieval edifices like the Knights and Diet halls, the Matia palace, Matthias' loggia, the gothic chapel, towers and bastions.  The oldest towers are the farthermost defence tower built by Ioannus Corvinus, named "Ne boisa" (Do not be afraid) and the Capistrano tower, named after the well known monk from the court..  Vlad Dracul the Impaler was imprisoned for a few years in the castle during the reign of Matthias Rex.  In the second courtyard of the castle, beside the chapel, is a well 30 meters deep, which according to the legend was dug out in the rockbed by 3 Turkish prisoners which were promised their release if they found water. After 15 years, having finished the well, the promise was broken and the prisoners were executed.  Before their execution, they left an inscription still visible today on the wall of the chapel.  It is said to say: "You have water but no soul", but the correct translation of the inscription is: "He who wrote this is Hassan, who lives as slave for the "giaors" in the fortress near the church."