The castle's renovation and conversion is expected to take fifteen years. When completed, the complex will include restaurants, a conference room, a tourism centre and folk artist workshops in addition to exclusive guest rooms.
The project is being undertaken with the support of the Transylvania Trust, a UK-registered charity set up by conservation professionals and volunteers in 1996, and the Prince of Wales Charitable Foundation.
The Bánffy Castle had been added to and altered since the 16th century, and was finally completed in the 19th century. The most outstanding construction periods were the Renaissance and Baroque ones. It was unfortunately seriously damaged by the retreating German troops, destroying its furniture, library, and portrait collection in September 1944, the Transylvania Trust writes on its website.
The only evidence of its former interiors are archive photographs. The consequences of the nationalization and the inadequate use of the buildings, as well as the lack of maintenance accelerated their degradation.
Source: Múlt-kor / Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Transylvania Trust
