Corvin Castle – Romania’s Most Beautiful Castle

A road trip through Romania, or perhaps even more specific Transylvania, will take you through the most beautiful highways passing through mountains, to fairytale like cities filled with the most colourful streets, but also to some of the most beautiful castles you will find in Europe. While Corvin Castle might not be as popular as Bran Castle (aka Dracula’s Castle) or Peles Castle, it is the most beautiful castle in Romania in our opinion. At a first glance we almost felled like we stepped into a Harry Potter movie and had received our invitation letter to attend Hogwarts next semester. You can only access the castle through a bridge crossing over the small creek that flows beneath it, it was an unreal and magical experience, an absolute must see when visiting Romania. Intrigued? Keep on reading to find out everything you need to know about visiting Corvin Castle in Romania!

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Where is Corvin Castle

Many people go on a road trip through Transylvania to visit the classic destinations of Sighisoara, Brasov and Sibiu. Now, don’t get me wrong, we loved visiting these beautiful colourful cities, but some destinations are worth a little detour, Corvin Castle was one of these destinations for us. Corvin Castle is situated in the city of Hunedoara, which is located a slight drive West of the cities of Brasov, Sibiu and Sighisoara. Have a look at the map below to have a better idea of where Corvin’s Castle is exactly located.

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How to get to Corvin Castle

By car – There are two ways to get to Corvin castle: car or public transport. The quickest option would definitely be to visit Corvin Castle by car as a part of a road trip through Romania, which is how we visited Corvin Castle. Renting a car in Romania gave us the freedom to stop whenever and wherever we like, to take detours to small cities and to stay outside of city centres to not only save money but stay in locations surrounded by the most beautiful mountains from time to time. However, this is not a feasible option for everyone as this option can get (1) quite expensive and (2) not everyone has a drivers license…

By Public Transport – Don’t have a car but still want to visit Corvin Castle? Don’t worry, Hunedoara is reachable by public transport as well, however, it might just require a bit more effort. It seems that there are often no direct trains or buses to Hunedoara (depending on where you are coming from of course), but instead you will have to transfer in the nearby city of Deva. You can find more info on the train schedules and times here and more info on buses in Romania here.

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Corvin Castle

While Corvin Castle might be the most widely known name for this beautiful building this castle is also known as Hunedoara Castle or Hunyadi Castle. In matter of fact, the history of the castle goes back all the way to the 14th century, to the times when this castle was merely a fortress. It wasn’t until John Hunyadi, and after him his son Matthius Corvinus, took residence in the fortress in the 15th century and decided to upgrade the fortress into a beautiful Transylvanian castle. During the 15th century some of the most important parts of the castle were built, parts that still can be witnessed today: the circular stairway, the diet hall, the knight’s hall and the matia wing. However, the construction of the castle did not end here.

In the 16th century no important additions to the castle were made, but, in the 17th century the next phase of construction begun. This time two towers, an external yard, and the large palace were added to Corvin Castle. Sadly due to a devastating fire in the 19th century all the wooden parts of the castle, including the ceilings, the floors and the roof got severely damaged. Due to the fire a massive construction/restoration phase took place that turned the damaged castle into the beautiful Corvin Castle we can to this day still admire.

Upon entering the castle, after walking over the wooden bridge, you will find yourself in the courtyard of the castle where you will immediately notice the different phases of construction mentioned above. From here you can enter different areas of the castle: admire the knights hall, the towers and the matia wing to learn more about the history of the castle as briefly mentioned above. There are several rooms that have been furnished with original and replica furniture to give you a better idea of what it was like living in Corvin Castle back in the day. Sadly not all rooms and areas of the castle are open, but there is enough to see to keep you busy for an hour or two. To give you a bit of an idea what to expect when visiting Corvin Castle check out the photos below!

Corvin Castle – Know Before You Go

Corvin Castle entry fee – In September 2019 the entry fee for adults was 30 LEI ($6.90). If you are a student be sure to bring your student card as, provided that it it stamped for the current year, you will receive a hefty discount and only pay 7 LEI ($1.60) entry fee! On top of that you will have to pay another 5 LEI ($1.15) photo tax if you are planning on taking photos inside the castle. While this might sound a bit strange it is actually quite common to pay for a photo tax at castles in Romania so be sure to set some extra money aside in your budget for that.

Parking at Corvin Castle – There is a paid parking available near the castle for 10 LEI per car per day, which is roughly $2.30. This is the definitely the easiest option if you are coming by car as you will be within 5 min walking distance from the castle and it will save you some time and effort of trying to find a free parking spot.

Best time to visit Corvin Castle – Opening hours at Corvin Castle depend on the season that you are visiting, but we definitely recommend going as soon as the castle opens. In September, when we visited, the castle opened at 9am so we made sure we were there at 8.30am to try to beat the crowds. As you might have seen from the photos above it sure worked, not only did we get some amazing shots, we were actually the first ones to enter the castle. An hour and a half later, when we left, the tour groups had arrived and not only the bridge, but the whole castle was simply filled with people!

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Where to Stay near Corvin Castle

As we wanted to be early at Corvin Castle we decided to spend the night in Hunedoara. After browsing Booking.com we decided on staying at  Camere De Inchiriat Carpati, a budget friendly guest house that was only a 5 min drive from Corvin Castle. Minus the fact that there was no AC or fan with 35 degrees heat outside we loved our stay. The hosts were helpful and friendly, the room was clean all in all a great option for budget travellers, just perhaps not in the summer! If you are looking for something with perhaps AC, or just a bit more luxury check out the map below to find the perfect accommodation for you.

Booking.com

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Where to go after Corvin Castle

While Corvin Castle might be the most beautiful castle of Romania, there is actually so much more to see and to do. From the most incredible highways that will take you through the mountains, to the most charming cities filled with the colourful houses, check out our tips, tricks and destinations guides on Romania to make sure you don’t miss out on any highlights:

• 10 Things to do in Sighisoara – The Most Charming City of Transylvania
• Brasov Itinerary – How to Spend 2 Days in Brasov

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