The Millennium church at Miercurea Ciuc

The building date the old Roman Catholic Church is not known. It was built during the age of the Romanesque architectural style, but later, in 1533, it was transformed into a Gothic Church. The patron of the church was St. Bartholomew. In 1568 it came into possession of the Unitarians, and only in 1716 it was given back to the Catholics. It was renovated in 1720. Meanwhile, in 1648, the remaining Catholics used a chapel. In the 1700s they formed a common parish with the Catholics of Atia, Corund having its own priest since 1743. A new Roman Catholic Church was started in 1910, and it was consecrated a year later in honor of the Holy Hearth of Jesus. In 2011, there were major transformations, both inside and outside. A few stones from the old Gothic church are built in the fence of this new church.

The wooden church in Tulgheş, Harghita county was built in 1828 and was dedicated to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The church is located in Putna Valley, in front of a fir tree curtain. It has a trilobate plane with a rectangular narthex, polygonal side apses finished with three sides and an unhooked altar apse. There is a porch with carved pillars on the south side, raised by a small bell tower. The nave's bolt is polygonal, with curved strips starting from a carved, painted rosette (keystone). The ceiling of the narthex, as well as the surfaces of the nave, which make the transition from the polygonal plane of the vault to the rectangular, rest on carved consoles. Ten moments from the life of Jesus Christ are painted on the nave's vault. The painting can be attributed to Moldovan Gregory of Târgu Pietrii, in the middle of the nineteenth century. The monument church was repaired in 1976 with the contribution of the community in Tulgheș. Photo source: https://ro.wikipedia.org/

History of the castle: In 1466 we first hear about the landowner noble Geréb family, who owned the main estate in Fiatfalva, and whose manor house had stood here since the 15th century, on the site of the castle that still stands there today. There are no written records left about this building; it is assumed that in 1588, György Geréb arranged for the renovation of the manor house or the construction of another farm building. In 1625, András Geréb, the captain of the guards of Gábor Bethlen, rebuilt the collapsed manor house in stone, in the form of a castle. In 1628, after the death of András Geréb, leaving no heir, the estates were transferred to the treasury, which were donated by Prince Gabriel Bethlen to Moses Székely the Younger, who was the king's justice in Udvarhelyszék and his fiancée, Judit Lónai. In 1635, George I Rákóczi granted the entire castle of Fiatfalva, along with the associated estates to Matthias Huszár de Brenhida, his steward the chief judge of Marosszék. The castle was in the possession of Moise Székely, but because of his infidelity it passed to the prince. Matthias Huszár died in 1652, and among his two daughters, Borbála Huszár, or after her first husband, Györgyné Torma, inherited the castle of Fiatfalva. Borbála Huszár and her second husband, János Nemes de Hídvég, held their wedding in the Fiatfalva castle in February 1676. Read more... Castle visit: Individual and group castle tours are also possible: ugroncastle.ro. Castle Rental: Thanks to the reconstruction completed between 2021 and 2024, the castle shines in its new yet timeless splendor. One wing houses the event halls, while the gate wing has 12 hotel rooms, each with its own bathroom and a view of the garden. The entire castle is available for rent. We recommend it for 2-3 day gatherings with friends or family, corporate team-building events, or multi-day weddings and receptions. Request a quote here!

The Roman Catholic Church in Cristuru Secuiesc is a historical monument. The church is dedicated to the Ascension of the Holy Cross, celebrated on 14th September. The Catholics recovered the church from the Unitarians in 1767, according to a royal order. The building has been changed several times. It consisted of a nave, a long Gothic altar, a baroque tower on the Western facade, and two sacristies on the sides of the sanctuary. Photo Source: Sudika (hu.Wikipedia.org)

Comăneşti village, which belongs to the Mărtiniș commune, is probably the most peculiar settlement in the region. Comăneşti and Aldea villages were situated along the road linking the Vlăhiţa-Nouă forge with Braşov city. This was a commercial route with heavy traffic until the beginning of the 20th century. After 1918, the map was redesigned, the main road bypassed these villages, the forging operation was gradually stopped and these villages became isolated. These facts contributed to the preservation of the intact buildings of the region, keeping the specific characteristics of the Homorod Valley architecture, of a special beauty, the aspects of a traditional folk architecture, where form and function were organically linked together. Despite the fact that it is a unique village, it now has a bleak, deserted aspect. It has a valuable patrimony, but its stately homes are deserted due to its isolation.

Lázár Castle, built close to the center of Lăzarea/Gyergyószárhegy village, is one of the most beautiful examples of Transylvanian Renaissance architecture. The castle with battlements was one of the most attractive 17th-century noble residences in Transylvania. There are Gothic letter inscriptions from the year 1532 in the lobby, which has an ogive vault. The enclosing wall has four bastions. The entrance to the castle’s courtyard is through the gate tower on the southern side. The castle was built during the time of István Lázár, Gabriel Bethlen's playmate, later a trusted man of the Prince and the supreme royal judge of Giurgeu, Ciuc and Caşin areas. His coat of arms from 1632 is located on the wall of the bastion in the left corner, inside the courtyard. The same year marks the date when the castle was completed. In 1707, the Imperial Army burned the castle during a campaign of retaliation against the "Kuruc", who opposed the Habsburgs, as was the case of the castle's lord, Ferenc Lázár. His name is linked to the construction and reconstruction of the Knights' House. Among the outstanding personalities who visited the castle is Prince Gabriel Bethlen, whose mother was a member of the Lázár family. Mihnea Voda of Muntenia hid in Lázár Castle for a year after the Turks banished him, and Petru Rares of Moldavia spent 11 years here, between 1527 and 1538. Lázár Castle has been repeatedly burned, and in 1842 it fell into ruin, following another fire. Since 1967, the castle has undergone renovation and restoration, which is still ongoing. The ultimate goal is to recreate the former splendor of the building, as it is one of the most important Renaissance buildings in Transylvania. During the renovation, it was designated as an archaeological site. In 2013, the state returned it to the descendants of the Lázár family, which is why the fortune of the castle is still undecided. Visits on Sundays by prior arrangement! +40 745 295 925 ENTRY • adult: 35 RON • groups over 25 people: 30 RON • senior citizens: 30 RON • students: 20 RON • residents of Lăzarea/Gyergyószárhegy: 20 RON • children under 7 years: free of charge • Professional filming/photography fee: 200 RON

Mikó Fortress Castle, known as the "Fortress", is the oldest and most important historical monument in Miercurea-Ciuc. It bears the name of the builder, Hídvégi Mikó Ferenc (1585-1635), the documents of the time also mentioning it as Mikó’s new fortress. The construction began in the spring of 1623, ten years after the owner, Mikó Ferenc, became the supreme captain of the Szekler counties Ciuc, Gheorgheni and Casin. A prominent personality of the Transylvanian political life at the beginning of the 17th century, Mikó Ferenc, besides this function, was the counselor of Prince Bethlen Gábor, and also a diplomat and chronicler. The castle had a quadrilateral plan and a surface of 75x70 m. Its construction began on 26 April 1623 and was probably finished in fourth decade of the 17th century. Its style resembles the castles of Iernut, Vintu de Jos and Lazarea. The first written document certifying the existence of the fortress dates back to 1631. After the premature death of Mikó Ferenc's heirs, the fortress passed into the property of Damokos Tamás, the supreme judge of the Ciuc County. On October 21, 1661, the Turkish-Tatar troops led by Timisoara’s Pasha, Ali, invaded Ciuc, occupying and burning the fortress. The fortress was rebuilt in 1714-1716 under the direction of the imperial general Stephan Steinville, as evidenced by the stone inscription above the entrance. In 1735, Johann Conrad Weiss, an engineer and colonel of the Austrian army, draws the plan of the fortress, the oldest known plan so far, which is also an important document of the history and stages of construction. Around the rebuilt fortress, the Austrians designed a defense system with four Italian bastions, whose traces are still visible on the southern side. They built a gunpowder depot on the southwestern side, and turned the southern bastion into a chapel. The ceiling of the chapel is decorated with modest stucco in late Baroque style. The Gothic framing of the windows is the result of further transformations. The ground floor rooms have cylindrical ceilings, in the form of double-curved vault penetrations. Tall and narrow square crenelles were built above the sill. The fortified castle had an important strategic role on the Eastern border of the Habsburg Empire. Until the middle of the 20th century, various military troops used the building. In 1970, after a general restoration, it became the headquarters of the Szekler Museum of Ciuc.

The church hides older elements, from the reign of the Árpád royal house, as well as Gothic ones. It is important to note that there are still many uncertainties about the history of the construction. The current church was built at the end of the eighteenth century - the beginning of the nineteenth century, and it was dedicated to Saint Dominic in 1817. The Madonna sculpture in the church is quite valuable. It was made in the fifteenth century in the Șumuleu school of sculpture. The oil painting representing the crowning of Mary dates back to the 16th century. From an iconographic point of view, it is very interesting that the triple image of Jesus, in the posture of priest, king and prophet, appears behind Mary. Text and photo source: http://virtualisszekelyfold.ro/

In 1334, a Church is mentioned in the written sources as Sancto Abraham. The predecessor of today's building existed during the Middle Ages in a place called "The Church Grounds". The church was covered with mural paintings. It was probably built in the 13th century, and it was demolished in 1802. Today’s Unitarian Church was built in the same place, between 1803 and 1811. The ceiling of the new church probably comes in part (the Western) from the old one, but even that couldn’t be older than the end of the 18th century. Perhaps the bell was contemporary with the old church. According to the capital letters, it dates back to the fourteenth century. The text say: "O REX GLORIE VENI HOW PACE." The bell is preserved today at the National Museum in Budapest. Text and photo source: http://virtualisszekelyfold.ro/