Căpâlnaş Castle

Căpâlnaş (spelled also Căpălnaş, Hungarian: Kápolnás), is a village belonging to Birchiş commune, Arad County, Banat, Romania. The village was first mentioned in 1369, as Capolna. Another documentary attestation dates from 1569. In 1965, here were excavated the remains of a medieval fortress with a watchtower.

The Mocioni Castle in Căpâlnaş is the most beautiful in Arad County by the perfect harmony of proportions and simple but elegant decoration of the facade. It was designed by Viennese architect Otto Wagner who raised the castle between 1876-1879. Otto Wagner was inspired by Little Trianon at Versailles, but he did not made a facsimile of the famous model.

The Viennese architect used for the facade grooved columns, which ends with richly decorated capitals. The central stairway climbs into large folds (aesthetic closer rather to Rococo style) to a terrace located in the middle of the main facade. The ascending stairs focuses on the vertical lines of the building. In the upper register of the palace, the main design element is the cornice, artistic enlaced. The access on the terrace is made by three doors, which communicates with the ground floor lounge, where a ladder climb upstairs. The 8 hectares park offers the best conditions for rest and recreation. In front of the terrace there is a fountain in the middle of which is to be found - as in the French castles - the statue of a deer.

The Mocioni family has a rich history. In 1747, Constantine Mocioni, an Aromanian Orthodox priest, left Macedonia and settled in Hungary. The five sons were tradesmen in Budapest, gathering an impressive fortune. Two of them, Andrei and Mihai, were ennobled by Emperor Joseph II and are the ancestors of the two branches of the family: the Mocioni and de Foeni. The history of Căpâlnaş is linked with the evolution of the Mocioni branch of the family, that had initially domains in Tokay, Hungary. Mihai Mocioni's two sons were ennobled by Austrian Emperor Francisc I. Another Mihai (1811-1890) married on 2 February 1836, with his cousin, Ecaterina, from de Foeni branch, unifying the two families. Meanwhile, Ioan Mocioni de Foeni, Ecaterina's father, purchased in 1853 from Counts Alfred, Janos, Gyorgy and Camilo Zichy, 6000 acres of land in Căpâlnaş, for an amount of 260 thousand florins.

Ecaterina and Mihai Mocioni decided to establish here, and they built the French style palace that will be inherited by the last two sons, Alexandru and Eugen. The last owners of the castle were Eugen's children: Petru, Ionel and Ecaterina. Ecaterina married Count Teleki Jeno. In 1948 the castle and estates were nationalized, and later was transformed in a neuro-psychiatric hospital.

Photos from Consiliul Judeţean Arad.

Bulci Castle

Bulci is a village in Bata commune, Arad county, Banat, Romania. Older names: Bulch, Bulchu, Bulciu, Bulcz, Bulţ, Bulţi, Bulczy, Bols, Bolş Bwlch, Wulch, Vulci.

Since the Roman period there was a Roman camp and a castrum belonging to the Legion XIII Gemina. Bricks bearing the inscription of the legion, were used to build a medieval monastery of the Benedictine monks, dating back at least the 13th century, one of the oldest and richest in the Banat. In 1241, many monasteries in Banat were destroyed by Tatar invasions. Attracted by the grandeur of the abbey and church, Tatars attacked them and terrible battles were fought here. Monastery of Bulci was destroyed by the Tatars, and was rebuilt by Bishop Bulcsú, from whose name comes the name of the village. In 14th century monastery became an important cultural center where working clerk, from which was kept a codex containing the texts of the Roman historian Titus Livius. Later in the 16th century (1551-1552), Bulci monastery was subject to the Turkish attacks in Transylvania, and the village was almost entirely destroyed. Who escaped with their lives fled to other cities of the Mureş Valley, living over one hundred years away from their village, but still keeping their Catholic faith. In 1749, the monk Berecky Hiarion founded again Bulci village, seeking the descendants of those who left the village during the Turks and rebuilding the old church. In the mid 18th century Bulci belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

The first known owners were the Varadi family (early 13th century). In the 15th century, the domain belonged to Goroy Jobt, and had approx. 1500 inhabitants. In 1664 it was owned by Janka family. In 1717, Bata had only eight houses. In 1798 it was rented by Kormelycs Karol. The castle in Bulci was built in Neo-Classical style in the early 19th century by Baron Fechtig-Fechtenberg, the owner of the domain since 1838, but received the current form around 1860. The domain was bought in March 30, 1858 by Austrian Baron Anton Mocioni (or Mocsonyi) de Foen. Subsequently, it was inherited by his son Zeno (1842-1905), who payed as a compensation to his brother Victor (who has spent his life abroad) an annual rent of 10 000 gold florins. The next owner was Baron Antoniu Marius Mocioni de Foen, MP, minister and grand master of hunting of the Royal House of Romania. The castle experienced an intense social life, so King Carol II often came here for hunting. The domain was inherited by the adoptive son of the Baron, Ionel Mocioni-Stârcea, secretary of the King. After 1940, here have been arranged rooms for Queen Mother Elena and King Michael I. Castle of Bulci was nationalized and transformed in 1949 into the seat of an agricultural association. Subsequently, here was arranged a TB preventorium. The castle was claimed by Michael Stârcea, nephew of Ionel Mocioni-Stârcea.

Located in a huge park, on the bank of Mureş River, Bulci castle is one of the most impressive buildings of its kind. On the facades of the building are two terraces with family's coats of arms carved in relief, which survived to destruction after the Second World War. Central body has a beautiful room of weapons, with a magnificent fireplace, and the park was a greenhouse. Besides the castle, Antoniu Mocioni built a church and a school for children in the village.