Kálnoky Castle

Micloșoara is a settlement of Erdővidék, and in this village the majority of the inhabitants are Catholic. The Kálnoky family had property in this village already from the middle of the 16^th century.

The construction of the present castle was started by István Kálnoky in 1648. The ground plan of the castle is rectangular and bastion-like constructions are connected to the shorter parts of the building. Its main façade directs toward north-east, in its central axis a Classicistic style veranda stands out and the balustrade near the stairs is made of small pillars and they are spindle shaped.  In the triangular gable of the veranda you can see the coat of arms of the Kálnoky count family. This veranda was created during the transformation of the house at the beginning of the 20^th century. 

The southwestern façade of the castle presents to a great extent the traces of the late Renaissance Age architecture. On each of its two sides a pentagonal, tiered, bastion-like construction is connected to the central part of the building. The one on the right hand side was built together with the original building, while the one on the left hand side was added later. It might have been built to reach the ground plan symmetry of the building. The most interesting element of the southwestern façade is the closed balcony situated a little right from the central axis, which was later supported by a buttress.    

In the interior of the building, we can see rooms with intimate mood created by the larger areas opening into each other and by the connection of the bastions. The rooms had flat ceilings and stave vaults, the openings were decorated with carved stone frames. Several of the door openings have late Renaissance door frame made from red andesite.  It is worth taking a look at the recently restored, fancily carved frame of the door leading from the northwestern veranda to the building. The footing of the stones, formed as a pedestal, is decorated by lion heads that hold a ring in their mouth, the half columns decorated with acanthus lean on these.

In the large room of the castle, the wall research revealed stucco remains in three gradually narrowing windows.

At present the Kálnoky Castle is in the possession of the local government of Baraolt; in 2004 it was leased by the Kálnoky Foundation for 49 years. Between 2014 and 2017, with the support of the Norway Grants, the Foundation restored the building and its environment in an exemplary manner. The restored castle houses the Museum of Transylvanian Life, which is not about bygone eras but, through the events that it plans to host, it also wishes to serve musical life, literature and the fine arts. In one part of the Great Hall the Lady’s House has been furnished, where the everyday life of women is presented through the object culture of late Renaissance–early Baroque; in the Lord’s House we can have insight into the life of the 19^th century nobleman. The Biedermeier salon has been furnished with objects related to the first part of the 19^th century; in the Old German salon the civic lifestyle in Háromszék between 1850 and 1900 has been restored, and a bedroom can also be seen.

The lake situated in the castle park has also been partly restored into its original state, and the Renaissance garden, fenced with boxwood plants, decorated with various flowers and herbs, has also been renewed. The entire castle park has been restored into the state that figured in the 1698 descriptions. The grain storehouse has also been renewed, furnished in the style of a former service house.