Discover Romania through our lens

Corvin Castle

After a drive of a little over an hour from Sibiu, we reached Hunedoara. The town itself is nothing glamorous, but it is home of the Corvin Castle, also known as the Hunyadi Castle which was built in the 15th century. Perched upon a rock, it features tall towers, an inner courtyard and a moat with an impressive bridge across it. Less mediatised than it’s counterpart in Bran, it does not get as many visitors, thus allowing you to move more freely around it, unencumbered by the masses. After taking several (read a lot) photos from across the moat and from the bridge, we ventured inside. As you pass the gates, you enter into the inner courtyard, from where you can choose which other areas to visit. After wandering around most places inside the castle including the towers and the bear pit (no bears here) we still had a bit of time before sunset, so we decided to take advantage of the warm sunlight and shoot some more photos from the outside, while all of us concluded that although this is not as touristic as Bran, it definitely has greater character as far as castles go.

Corvin Castle

Corvin Castle

Hallway in Corvin Castle

Hallway in Corvin Castle

Interiour Courtyard

Interiour Courtyard

Through one of the castle's windows

Through one of the castle’s windows

Corvin Castle Tower

Corvin Castle Tower

Corvin Castle

Gyulay Ferencz Castle

Our next castle was not one that you would find while looking for sights across Transylvania. We actually found it on Airbnb, as it was our accommodation for the night. Gyulay Ferencz Castle is set in Mintia, 15 minutes drive from Deva. Do not expect a medieval castle, rather a bigger mansion or a chateau. Since it was already dark by the time we found it, we decided to have a look around in the morning. The mansion was quite huge with plenty of high-ceiling rooms, and since we had it all to ourselves during the night it seemed a bit creepy, at least for me. Taking advantage of the lack of light pollution, Cristi went outside for some star photography. Next morning we wandered around the estate for a while, after which we carried on to Sighișoara (read more about it here).

Gyulay Ferencz Castle

Gyulay Ferencz Castle

Us at the Castle

Gyulay Ferencz Castle
Milky way

Gyulay Ferencz Castle

Gyulay Ferencz Castle

Turda Salt Mine

After Sighișoara, we continued northwest to Turda, to visit the Salt mine. After a descend of about 100 meters, that can either be done by stairs or by elevator, you reach the lowest level. We do recommend the stairs, but that might not be for everyone. Note that in the mine it is quite cool, even during summer, so you might want to dress appropriately. There are several activities here including pool, bowling, mini-golf and canoeing around a small underground lake. This seemed rather eerie, since it’s quite dark, and you can hear splashes and their echoes around you, but people were queuing up to have a go. There’s even a ferris wheel inside.

Turda Salt Mine

Lake inside the salt mine

Turda salt mine

Everything is covered in salt

Turda salt mine

Even the staircase

Turda salt mine

Main hall and ferris wheel from above

Turda salt mine

Turda salt mine

After spending some time down here, we took the salt covered staircase again and got back to our car. Our next stop was Cluj where we slept before heading to Maramureș County. There are numerous good restaurants in Cluj, but for the amazing view we chose Klausen Burger for dinner, which has a terrace overlooking the city.

Cluj panorama

Turda salt mine

Weird construction at the salt mine

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Discover Romania through our Lens - A castle and a salt mine to visit, and a castle which you can sleep in.

 

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36 Comments

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:21 pm

      I am glad you enjoyed Romania. I did had a look at your route during the trip in Romania and it seems like we did visited more or less the same places – Bucharest, Bran, Sibiu, Sighisoara, etc. We did had the advantage of spending more than one week so we adventured ourselves in Maramures county as well.

  1. January 20, 2017 / 3:34 pm

    Wow would love to visit Romania one day! Corvin Castle looks like something straight out of a fairytale book. Gorgeous photos especially the ones with your compass! and the starry night ones!

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:23 pm

      Thank you, Garth. You should definitely add Romania to your list – from UK is quite easy (and cheap) to get there. We did find Corvin Castle to be nicer than the Dracula Castle although it doesn’t get as many visitors as Bran.

  2. January 20, 2017 / 10:04 pm

    Nice post and great pictures! When we’ve been to Corvin castle in the summer they were in the process of filming for a new Irish or Scottish movie “The heart of the dragon” or something like that. It seems is a very popular location for these types of medieval style movies.

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:26 pm

      Thank you, Simona. I can totally understand why it’s popular among those type of movies, the architecture is simply amazing.

  3. January 21, 2017 / 7:59 am

    A castle all to yourselves, I like your style 😉 A Ferris Wheel in a salt mine too. Romania here we come.

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:29 pm

      Although is looking more like a mansion than a castle, the official title in papers is “castle” so yes, we can definitely say we slept in one for a night. I would totally recommend visiting Romania – you will fall in love with it.

  4. January 21, 2017 / 1:17 pm

    Beautiful photos! Transylvania looks like such an interesting place, and clearly has very beautiful castles as well..! And wow, that night sky full of stars..!

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:34 pm

      Thank you, Maria. Romania is definitely a worth visiting country with a variety of places to do & see. I think the night sky is Cristi’s best accomplishment from this trip.

  5. January 21, 2017 / 5:20 pm

    Love this! Romania has been on our bucket-list! How long was your trip? Do you have a post with the itinerary? Would love to see it. Thanks

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:36 pm

      We were there for more than 2 weeks but the trip lasted one week and a half – we don’t have a post with the full itinerary as we split it into a few posts but I can give it to you in private if you want. Let me know if you ever decide to go and I can share some tips with you.

      • Blake
        March 29, 2017 / 5:21 am

        If you are willing to share your itinerary, I would so appreciate it! I’ve booked a trip to Romania this year and have been furiously pinning all your blogs to see if I can piece a trip of my own together from them.

        • Oana N
          Author
          April 2, 2017 / 6:51 pm

          Hi Blake, how many days are your planning to stay in Romania? I can send you our itinerary or if you could give me more information about what you would like to see/visit, I can suggest something else as well. Thank you for reading our posts.

  6. January 21, 2017 / 5:38 pm

    What stunning castles, great photography too! Thanks for sharing! #feetdotravel

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:37 pm

      Thank you, Paul and Carole. Glad you liked seeing Romania through our lens.

  7. January 22, 2017 / 11:05 am

    These pictures are literally breathtaking! you’re so talented. I feel like I’ve been Romania without leaving my house now! haha. awesome post guys.

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:40 pm

      Thank you Sarah. I have to admit that almost all the pictures are taken by Cristi as he has the patience (and talent) to do it. Glad you enjoyed seeing this part of Romania through our lens.

  8. January 22, 2017 / 8:39 pm

    Wow! I love Corvin Castle! I am not surprised you took a lot of photos from outside … I would have been the same ! The Salt Mine looks like it is a great visit! You are really opening my eyes to what an interesting place Romania is 🙂

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:45 pm

      Thank you, Sam. Corvin Castle is my favorite so far although is not so touristy as it’s counterpart Bran. I am glad we were able to show you how beautiful Romania is.

  9. January 22, 2017 / 8:51 pm

    The salt mines look incredible! Almost a bit eerie but I’d still love to visit. I love your photos, and they definitely make me want to visit Romania even more!

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:52 pm

      Thank you, Diana. The mine can be a bit eerie but it’s an interesting place to visit – it’s actually a real museum of salt mining. I am glad you are considering Romania for your future travels.

  10. January 22, 2017 / 10:10 pm

    Your photos are just incredible!!! Corvin is most definitely my favourite castle I visited in Romania it’s just perfect. I chose not to visit Turda as I don’t like mines/caves but your photos make me want to visit next time. Great post!

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 7:59 pm

      Thank you, David. Corvin is my favorite as well, the architecture is amazing – I actually stared at it from every angle. Hope you will reconsider Turda as is an interesting mix of history of salt mining and modern activities.

  11. January 23, 2017 / 1:31 pm

    This so cool! I love castles big or small. Your pictures really captured their detail well. Hope to visit Romania one day. Will pin this for a future visit.

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 23, 2017 / 8:01 pm

      Thank you, Lisa. I am glad you enjoyed discovering Romania through our lens and hope you will visit one day as it’s an amazing country with loads of things to see and do.

  12. Jenn | By Land and Sea
    January 24, 2017 / 12:33 am

    That night sky – wow! I haven’t looked into Romania much, but this seems like such a great experience! Thanks for sharing!

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 28, 2017 / 12:20 pm

      Thank you, Jen. I am glad we managed to show you a small part of what Romania looks like – hope you you will visit one day and discover by yourself the beauty of my country.

  13. January 24, 2017 / 5:59 am

    Whoa – that salt mine is awesome! And those Corvin Castle is just like a fairy tale setting. Gorgeous! Definitely adding some notes to the Travel To Do List! Thanks for sharing. #WeekendWanderlust

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 28, 2017 / 12:22 pm

      Thank you, Rob & Ann. Corvin is definitely one of my favortite castle in Romania. I am glad you are considering Romania as a travel destination, it’s worth visiting.

  14. January 24, 2017 / 10:12 pm

    I love exploring castles! I’m glad there was no bear in the bear pit lol. We visited a salt mine in Poland and it was cool (figuratively and literally) but there was no bowling or mini-golf. Great night shots from your awesome airbnb castle!

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 28, 2017 / 12:27 pm

      We love exploring castles too and fortunately for us, Romania has a few to chose from. Turda salt mine is different, you can kayak on the lake, play some pool or mini-golf or just enjoy a ride in the Ferris wheel after you finished visiting the mine rooms.

  15. January 27, 2017 / 4:54 pm

    Romania looks fantastic! I love your photographs and the compass is such a fantastic idea!

    You guys have really made me consider Romania- not somewhere I knew much about before I started reading your posts.

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 28, 2017 / 12:08 pm

      Thank you, Tracy. I am glad we managed to show you a small part of what Romania looks like. The compass is our little token and we don’t leave without it when we travel.

  16. January 28, 2017 / 8:34 pm

    Romania looks more and more inviting with every post I see on it! Beautiful castles and those stars are just magical! Love it!

    • Oana N
      Author
      January 29, 2017 / 1:00 pm

      Thank you, Alex. I am glad you find Romania inviting after reading our posts.

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