Transylvania's Castles - Hunedoara Castle

Hunedoara Castle is also known as Hunyadi Castle or Corvin Castle and it is one of the largest castles in Europe.

By order of John Hunyadi (Iancu de Hunedoara), a great leader (voivode) of Transylvania, the construction was laid out in 1446. One of the biggest responsibilities of John was to defence borders against the Ottoman Empire’s invasion.

Built in a Renaissance-Gothic style, the castle has a mighty and imposing structure with tall towers, bastions, many balconies and windows embellished with stone carvings, diversely coloured roofs, an inner courtyard and a long drawbridge.

Legends say that Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Dracula) was imprisoned here for seven years, and this was the reason for him breaking bad, having darker thoughts and finally going insane. This story has never been proven though.

The symbol of the castle (a raven with a golden ring in his beak) has an interesting story: John Hunyadi was the illegitimate son of Sigismund of Luxemburg, king of Hungary, and he received a special golden ring at his birth so that he will be later recognised by the king.

One of the greatest kings of Hungary, Matthias Corvinus (John's son) lived in this castle.