Explore Transylvania through electronic music: Banffy Castle

Newsroom 16/06/2014 | 17:57

Electric Castle seems to be the first festival in Romania that took electronic dance music and live concert sounds on a castle’s domain, near Cluj Napoca, in Bontida village, at Banffy Castle. After the first edition held in 2013, Electric Castle Festival 2014 prepares 4 festival days, 5 musical stages and over 100 top artists.

The festival

The music website www.festicket.com writes that Electric Castle was nominated for European Festival Award praise such as “Best New Festival” and “Best Medium Sized” festival. Growing from three days to four, 100 national and international electronic acts are set to appear over 5 stages, with Thievery Corporation, Bonobo and DJ Fresh amongst the pick. The entire program can be seen here.

For the festival, camping will be available on the castle’s domain for RON 30 /person/4 days of the festival, starting June 19 until noon June 23. Accommodation can be provided also at the inhabitants of Bontida village.

The four day ticket costs RON 250 and part of the funds from the festival are donated for the restoration of the historic castle site.

The castle

Banffy Castle, the place where the festival is held, is situated near Cluj-Napoca and it’s the biggest castle in Transylvania. Formerly known as the Transylvanian Versailles, the Banffy castle of Bontida is one of the most beautiful historic buildings in the Carpathian basin.

24 acres, 6 buildings: castle, stables, chapel, flour mill. The castle saw them all and in it’s hundred of years filled with history it went from former aristocratic residence to military hospital, drivers’ school, children hospital and historical monument under the Royal House’s auspice.

According to a military report from 1680, fortifications had been built around the mansion, comprising of squared Renaissance ramparts with cylindrical corner towers. Dénes Bánffy (1638-1674), Lord Lieutenant of the counties of Dăbâca and Cluj, brother-in-law of Prince Mihály Apafi, had the potential and the power to create such a large and imposing Renaissance castle. Count Dénes Bánffy (II) inherited the estate in 1735 at the age of 12. He spent his youth in Vienna and returned home as Master of the Horse to Maria Theresa. He began the Baroque reconstruction of the castle in 1747. The first stage of Dénes Bánffy’s reconstruction addressed the Court d’honneur. This was built between 1745 and 1751 on the area in front of the gatehouse. The new buildings containing a riding hall, stables, coach house and dwelling houses for servants were based on the style of the works related to the Viennese experience of the owner. József Bánffy, ordered the demolition of the gatehouse of the Renaissance castle around 1820, and combined the Baroque and Renaissance courtyards. Stones of the gatehouse were used to build the mill beside the castle, writes the organizers of the Electric Castle.

It appears that the last owner of the castle was Miklós Bánffy, his daughter Katalin Bánffy is the apparent heir, now living in Morocco. The consequences of the nationalization and the inadequate use of the buildings, as well as the lack of maintenance accelerated their degradation.

 

Photos courtesy of Ana Maria Stanca

Oana Vasiliu

 

 

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