Bánffy Castle, Bonțida, Cluj

1. Gate building and lapidarium

Enter through the gate building, where the ticket office is. The tour continues through the building to the left where there is part of the lapidariu. On display here are fragments of stone carvings found during restoration. Another part of the lipdarium is in the opposite body of the building, on the side of the main building. Here there are much larger and more interesting pieces, some of the many sculptures that adorned the upper part of the castle building. Some of the statues are destroyed or lost. To the right of the courtyard building is the guard room, an area we found under renovation.

2. Court of Honor

The first open space in the castle courtyard is court of honor. This is flanked by the former castle stables and servants' quarters. This is actually the way out of the small lapidarium into the courtyard of honor. Above the stable gate is the statue of Helios. In the stable are the stone cribs carved in red marble. In the servants' quarters there are contemporary works in teynica fresco, stucco and sgrafitto.

3. Miklós Bánffy building and Miklós Bánffy exhibition

This building is named after Miklós Bánffy. The facades were modernized in 1820 by József Bánffy. The building has a basement, ground floor and first floor. A 17th-century bastion is attached to the building.

An exhibition dedicated to Miklós Bánffy is in the opposite building, the main building. Miklós Bánffy was a writer, politician, graphic designer, stage designer and head of the Budapest State Opera from 1912-1918. In 1934-1940 he published the Transylvanian Trilogy, and in 1944 he negotiated the evacuation of the armed forces from Cluj without a fight, when Miklós Bánffy also left the castle.

4. Kitchen building

Kitchen building is built incorporating the outer castle wall and the bastion for food storage. To the building is attached clock tower, which is the result of the non- Gothic transformation of the castle in 1850. The tower is heavily damaged and supported by scaffolding. And the bastion is a circular viewing space , upstairs. On the ground floor and in the courtyard next to the building are a café and several recreation areas.

5. Castle Park

The earliest records of the garden and park date back to the 18th century, when Dénés Bánffy wanted to recreate the grandeur of the Versailles park in Baroque style in Bonțida. A century later the park was transformed into a romantic park on the initiative of József Bánffy. Today, the site is not well developed, the pond is easily recognizable, unfortunately also unkempt.

6. Main building

Main building was the residence of the Bánffy family until the 1940s. In the west wing are the apartments of the numerous and old Bánffy family. In the east central part is the reception hall, while upstairs are the dining room, the ballroom and the guest rooms. The east wing was the Roman Catholic chapel, then the butler's room. The building has been ornamented in the upper part with many stone statues, some of those recovered are displayed in the lapidarium. Also in the main building is a museum dedicated to Miklós Bánffy. Above the entrance on the best-known face of the castle is an 18th-century plaque marking the first restoration of the castle. The romantic façade is an ideal spot for photos.