Martinuzzi Castle

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Martinuzzi Castle, also known as Alvinc Castle,^[1] is a medieval castle in Vințu de Jos, in the Transylvania region of Romania. The fortress was one of the earliest and most influential works of the Italian Renaissance style in Transylvania.^[2]^[3] Its ruins are classed as a national heritage site, identified as AB-II-m-B-00394 in Romania's National Register of Historic Monuments.

History

Notable events

In the night of 16–17 December 1551 George Martinuzzi was assassinated within the castle walls by General Giovanni Battista Castaldo.^[1]

On 9 May 1595 Aaron the Tyrant was imprisoned and later poisoned here.^[4]

In 1601 the Italian architects Simone and Fulvio Genga were accused of political intrigue and assassinated in the castle's dungeons by General Basta.^[4]

In 1680, Metropolitan Sava Brancović was imprisoned by Michael I Apafi in the castle's dungeons.^[4]

Between 1658 and 1661 the fortress was damaged by Ottoman and Tatar attacks.^[4]

In 1715 the castle was owned by Transylvania's Roman Catholic Church, functioning as episcopal summer residence. In 1792, while occupied by Ignác Batthyány, the property caught fire and was later repaired.

During Romania's communist rule, the castle continued to deteriorate, having been used as industrial storage, granary and as a meat processing plant. Northern parts of the structure collapsed in 1981.^[4]

After the Romanian Revolution, the castle was abandoned and the ruins are facing imminent collapse.^[5]

Mythology

Oral tradition suggests that Castaldo assassinated Martinuzzi in an attempt to recover a stash of ancient coins, which the cardinal was rumoured to have acquired from local fisherman and hidden in the castle.^[4]

Notes

^ ^a ^b István Keul (2009). Early Modern Religious Communities in East-Central Europe: Ethnic Diversity, Denominational Plurality, and Corporative Politics in the Principality of Transylvania (1526–1691). Leiden / Boston, 2009. Brill. p. 85
^ Dora Wiebenson, József Sisa, Pál Lővei (1998). The Architecture of Historic Hungary. MIT Press. p. 67.
^ Ahmet Ersoy, Maciej Górny, Vangelis Kechriotis (2010). Modernism: Representations of National Culture. Central University Press. p. 370
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Marinela Brumar (author), Diana Dumitru (editor), "REPORTAJ Castelul Martinuzzi de la Vințu de Jos, unul dintre cele mai periclitate monumente istorice – AGERPRES", Agerpres.ro, archived from the original on 2 February 2017, retrieved 9 May 2016 {{citation}}: |author= has generic name (help)
^ Dorin Timonea (6 February 2015), "Legendele castelului Martinuzzi din Vințu de Jos, locul unde împărăteasa Maria Tereza își ucidea iubiții", Adevărul, retrieved 9 May 2016