Rosie and The Operator are in Romania and have a Half Day Trip planned driving an hour out of Sibiu to visit picture perfect Corvin Castle.
We turned into the parking lot at exactly 0900, bright and early to beat the crowds and were the second in line….smug, yes we are, because this castle looks amazing!
Corvin Castle is one of the largest castles in Europe and features as one of the Seven Wonders of Romania. It looks like a fairy tale castle as you stand in front of it and see it in all its glory from across the gorge. It is huge and beautifully proportioned, with pointy spires and elegant stonework. It sits so tall and proud amongst the lush green landscape that carries on behind it, uninterrupted, for miles. The winding, serpentine Zlasti River wriggles around the castle and flows under the tall, arched piles of the long, narrow bridge that spans the divide. Seeing Corvin Castle for the first time just blew our minds.
The gates at the bridge had just opened to tourists for the day, then came a hiss and a roar of air brakes and 4 buses pulled into the parking lot. Rosie’s spellbound reverie is broken. Rosie and The Operator turned to look at the family in front of us who then returned the look of horror back at us. Off we walked up onto the mighty bridge spanning the river below to get the jump on the hordes that were hot on our heels.
Rosie groaned…the family in front of us are an Instagram family! Rosie’s nemesis! They wanted the perfect pics of their wee toddlers on the bridge in front of the castle…like that was ever going to happen! And the enemy hordes were getting closer. Rosie’s polite stance of hanging back and waiting was over. Stuff it, this is modern holiday warfare, the nice guy never gets the pic! We busted in front of the family took our own selfie…3 seconds…no we didn’t stop to review it, it is what it is, took our photos of the castle up the bridge, without Rosie posing elegantly on it like the Insta Family Lady, and we were in!
The construction of Corvin Castle began in 1440 and it was primarily designed as a defense fortress and prison by John Hunyadi, Hungary’s military leader and the Kings regent at the time. These ruling guys were not nice guys back in the day and enjoyed dealing the most wicked punishments to those that disobeyed them and broke their rules. Inside the castle, along with its robust prison and torture chambers is a bear pit where prisoners were often thrown to be mauled to death by wild animals whilst being watched by cheering crowds.
Corvin castle is split into three main areas, the entrance courtyard which has a slopping humpy, bumpy cobbled enclosed courtyard where the higher stories of the castle look down into it from arched corridors and windows above. Rosie can imagine the clatter of horses hooves on the cobblestones as riders raced across the bridge and entered this courtyard. Rosie can see in her minds eye, the castle folk, in full medieval garb, curiously peeping through the windows or gathering on the walkways to see what the commotion was and who had just arrived.
The second main area of the Castle was the Knights Hall, which was used for feasting. The Gothic vaulted ceilings are beautiful and the natural light coming into this long narrow room was soft and beautiful.
The Diet Hall which was used for ceremonies and formal receptions within the Castle was finished to the next level. It too had beautiful big windows with elegant steps leading up to small seating areas in the bay of the window. Rosie could imagine the fine view over the proceedings in the hall from these higher vantage points.
Delicate mosaics of the family coats of arms line the floor in this pretty special space.
According to legend, the well in a small courtyard just off the main entrance hub was dug by three Turkish prisoners of war in exchange for their freedom. It took them 15 years of digging through the solid stone to a depth of 28 metres before they hit water. The king in the meantime who had made the deal with them had died.
His wife would not honor the agreement and instead had the prisoners beheaded after all of their hard work…not before they had inscribed in the depths of the well, ‘you have your water, but you have no soul’. Rosie and The Operator had been caught by the legions of schoolkids here…it was obvious they loved the grisly story of the well.
This castle is Rosie’s perfect image of what a castle should look like. So regal, elegant and all of the stone living rooms kind of cosy with each having huge fireplaces, beautiful windows and a small footprint.
You could so imagine living here and wandering around like a queen, kind of romantic really…except for all of those screaming, howling prisoners in the dungeons.
As for those dungeons…well, they were pretty much as you would imagine a dungeon to look like. Dark, dank and depressing. Especially if you were this guy! Every castle worth its salt has examples of their torture chamber!
In Corvins Castle case, outside, back across the bridge, in the car park of the castle they have a whole new building dedicated to the nuances of information extraction…if you are so inclined. Not today said Rosie…There is a limit to how much gore one can experience before the first coffee of the day. The Operator, well he is always up for a quick pose for Rosie outside the museum anytime.
Looking back at the castle for the final time, Rosie and The Operator are on the quest for a coffee before heading back to Sibiu for an afternoon of photographic leisure, lunch and Happy Hour or two. Its tough being on holiday alright.
And it was even tougher getting a coffee! What a shame about the ramshackle, untidy town that is just down the road from one of Romania’s most visited castles. You would think these towns people would be on the band wagon to make a buck and tidy up the town for the tourists coming to visit. But no, they are not, Rosie and The Operator had a hard time getting a coffee…but when we did, boy was it cheap! Rosie even tried to bust out some Romanian to make her order, but the Coffee Shop guy spoke perfect English…and even made a passable Flat White! So much missed opportunity going on here!
Rosie and The Operator recommend visiting Corvin Castle as an easily done half day trip from Sibiu. Please spend a couple of nights in this amazing town! You will regret it if you do not take your time here! It is an amazing place and so worth the time to explore, check out our Explorations of Sibiu and see why Rosie and The Operator loved it there so much!
Like the look of Romania. We started our 12 day driving tour of Romania in Bucharest, check out our time in the cities Old Town.
You can also check out chronologically where we have been by scrolling to Rosies ‘Eastern Europe Road Trip’ under Europe on the Rosie and The Operator Homepage.
