The Bethlen-Haller Castle
Today I'm back to show you the interior beauty of the Bethlen-Haller Castle, one that you don't see anywhere else. A few days ago I showed you the exterior of this architectural and historical beauty and shared the history of it as well. If you missed my post, you can read it here and please do to see how beautiful it is.
The castle is situated at Cetatea de Balta, Alba county (Romania). It has 3 levels, which means there's a cellar, the ground level and another one. The visit started at the ground floor, with a stunning entrance room.
The castle was built between 1560 and 1624 and what you see above is the old entrance.
Later was added the front part, with the upper balcony and the nice, wooden carved front door, as there's a staircase that handles the traffic theses days, sparing the old staircase for a good reason. I'm going to show you the old one later as it worth seeing.
This is the first room you enter. It is furnished with contemporary furniture and objects that were used back in those days, as well as artworks from different authors.
A hand painted wooden chest can't be missing from the collection as this was the storage unit that was used those days, even for travel.
Clocks were not only to indicate the time, but also meant a nice piece of furniture, to decorate the room.
Please note, the castle had a very chaotic past, had a lot of owners, was lost at the card table and won by others, therefore each owner tried to adjust the castle to their needs. Most of the furniture and objects displayed here are not the original ones. These have been collected carefully, to correspond to those times.
Imagine sitting here, drinking wine from a carved metal cup, while the guards stay there guarding the doors :)
The walls are painted in white, but the door to the original staircase is still intact and you can see the nice carving in stone.
This is the old staircase, the original, which is closed to the public because it's not safe anymore. At the time of our visit, there were renovation works going on.
This is the staircase to the basement, which is original. The staircase made of beams and the railing made of rope, who wouldn't like that? Some of the visitors were so afraid to walk down these stairs.
It was built in a way so the stairs can be covered with these doors that can be shut, to cover them. Obviously these are not in use anymore and are never closed.
This is out tour guide, telling us about the elevator, that was electrified during communist times, the cellar that is in the back and it's full of goodies now. Obviously I could not resist the temptation and I went to take a few shots.
We've been told that they are self sufficient, all you see here was grown by them and it is served at the restaurant. I don't know what it tastes like, but everything looks good.
Pottery, it serves for decoration today but back in those days these pots were used on a daily bases.
This is the restaurant, where lunch and wine tasting happens. It's not a huge place, so there are no events organized here, unless it's a very small one. Although I've been to many restaurants like this, it's always a pleasure to imagine medieval people sit at these table, being served with an endless line of food, one more exquisite that the other.
I took this photo to show you how thick the walls are and this is the original wall, the bricks were only cleaned with the necessary treatment and that's all. If you pay attention, you can see how uneven those bricks are, not like a job done these days.
If I will ever have a basement similar to this (smaller of course) I will want a bottle holder like that. I rarely drink, but this holder looks cool.
This is the view from the upper floor balcony, which was added later. If this is not stunning, than nothing is. We were lucky to get this nice weather, even if it was windy.
This is the entrance to the music room, which played a huge role back in those days. But before we get into details, please notice how thick the wall is here as well.
Because electricity arrived in the mid 60's (1960 I mean) if I'm not mistaken, music back in those days meant simple music instruments, like piano for example.
This piano was found in a shed and was in a very bad condition, but has been repaired, restored and I suppose it's functional now.
When I look at this type of furniture, especially the cabinet, I wish I had 5 more rooms to be able to have such a room full of old furniture. It's fantasy obviously and I don't know how I would feel with my 21st century gadgets among these old pieces, but dreaming is always nice.
Stay tuned as next time I'm going to show you the diner and one of the bedrooms, among other things.
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I really love all your photos and the details of all the furniture and the things there. They my be old, but they look so classy and fabulous. Perfect things for a great castle.
Thnak you for sharing all of these.
Old is not always bad and when it comes to well preserved furniture, old becomes gold :)
Those chairs above the clock look rather like some sort of table or drawer.
I was thinking the door to the staircase would open into the room with doors colored like the floor, and be less noticeable so the staircase could be concealed in situations of something like having to escape during a siege(if there was ever something like that in a castle like this lol).
Which one are you referring to?
You are right about the other matter, but this castle was built for entertainment and served for parties and never for defense purposes. That is why there was never surrounded by water as are most of the other castles.
These ones. Or maybe I’ve mistaken something totally different for chairs lol.
No, these are chairs but those days were different and maybe there was a storage space under the seats. Who knows? I could not check it out as it's common sense not to touch anything :)
I’m betting on the fact that there really were probably storage spaces under them. That’s too much space for just aesthetics. It just makes sense.
Let's not forget that these were nobles, so there was enough space for everything and beauty always came first :)
Probably right. If you’ll be visiting again sometime, maybe you could ask the tour guide? I’d be interested to know lol.
The decoration of the room was very nice even in the basement it was also comfortable to look at.
The various kinds of home appliances there are also enough to illustrate that the art they use is also not half-hearted.
Even though the decoration and the furniture is not the original as the castle had a lot of owners and not all well intended, nobles were wealthy and their comfort always came first, even when people were starving. This is why we have so many marvelous castles today, which are tourist attractions, attracting millions from all around the world, but when you think at what costs were those castles built, it's not so funny anymore.
Yes, to create a building/castle that is rich in beautiful decorations in it will of course cost a lot of money, in fact it will be able to attract tourists in various regions.
I am always fascinated with the antique castle and until now the Bethlen-Haller castle never lost its beauty. It was such a fantastic tour that I truly enjoyed. In a way, you toured me (us) to your beautiful country. Thus, antique tools and pieces of stuff found inside were just so good.
I noticed that the walls were still in good condition. I wonder if there is less or no natural calamity in that area? It is because since it was built around 1560 and 1624, then it must have suffered many natural calamities. Such a strong castle, indeed.
Have some !PIZZA
When I'm visiting such places, I'm always taking photos in order to be able to show those who are not so fortunate and can't visit the place.
No natural calamities here. I mean earthquakes are very rare (thank God) and flood ... well that depends on the region, but if you look at how thick the walls are, this beauty won't be affected I hope.
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Romania is really a place i haven't visited yet, but i really wish! I have heard a lot about the natural beauty of and the unique landscapes, of course about Dracula, but your post give a differently new point of view about Romania! Nice post in general!
Ps: Thanks a lot for the 5 newbies guides! These helped me a lot!
It is indeed a beautiful country, lots of beautiful places to visit. Dracula is a myth, so don't get excited. It's good for the tourist industry though.
You're welcome and please let me know if you need more help.
Thanks @erikah !
The castle looks great, especially the interior. Well maintained and the designs of the furniture looked really nice. I truly like the staircase, it is exquisite and reminded me of mystery... You are right, the caller looks tempting, I would have grabbed some pickles for myself :P... Love the restaurant's ambiance, historical and traditional and that's what I like most...
Thanks, Erikah for sharing such a resourceful location with us...
I agree, the castle is a real beauty and you haven't seen it all. There's more to come. The pickles looked good as well, but I have a cellar at my dad's full of goodies, so my attention was turned to the furniture 😁
Thanks for the nice comment and have a nice week :)
This is like walking into a fantastical time capsule. On one hand, I love it on the other I have become too used to comfort. Can't imagine having new things among the old, easily scratchable wooden furniture. I think the thick walls of the music room is for insulation? I would love to have a drink with that stunning view as the music oozes out into the entire house!
Wait, we don't mix new things with old ones, that is why we should have a few extra rooms, to have each decorated in a different style. Scratching the furniture is a nightmare 😳
They did not know about insulation back then. The walls are thick because that's how the castle is built, it's a robust one. That balcony is indeed a nice place as the view is fantastic.
It is so beautiful, everything, but the piano is winning 🤩
Lol, I was thinking of you, again. Actually, every time I see a piano, I'm thinking of @mipiano 😂
Excellent photos. What a amazing and historic place. Thanks for sharing
My pleasure.
Hello friend, I want to congratulate you for this magnificent publication that you presented in such a detailed way that I almost felt like I was making a visit with a tour guide in reality, each image, each description so accurate immerses you in that world of the glorious past in which that castle must have been a great protagonist of history, even the explanation of the old door and the new decoration are details that anyone would overlook, but you had the delicacy to explain it so that we could all understand the modifications made so that in modern times tourists could visit them.
The castle itself is a work of art that is a pleasure to walk through and admire, but we can't leave out all the interior that shows us the antique objects, the sculptures, the furniture, the collection of wall clocks, even the staircase itself has its special touch that makes it fascinating. Thank you for bringing this wonderful content that I enjoy reading, I sincerely hope that visiting this castle was a great experience for you, that you enjoyed a lot and that you have incredible memories of this visit.
P.D. I didn't talk about the crafts and the food so as not to make the commentary longer, but you can also tell that it is something to enjoy.
Thank you! I am always looking for the details as you can find a lot of interesting things if you do. I've been to a few castles, but this one is the most interesting so far. When you look at it, you see immediately how beautiful it is. It's like love at first site. There are so many beautiful things here, not to mention the view.
Yes I share your opinion, it is a very nice space and with very interesting things, I did not know that you had visited other castles are sleeping giants that I love and call me much attention to learn more about them, by the way remember a post of yours that I also liked a lot of a library where they had a fantastic exhibition of books, I imagine it was also great to visit that space. Please keep enjoying and visiting great things to show us, I love your reviews.
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