Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The castle, an exponent of the Gothic style, is also well-preserved.

John Hunyadi (Romanian: Ioan de Hunedoara), a famous military commander against the Turks and later regent of Hungary built it in the 15th century on a rock above the Zlasti Creek. It is visible from great distances, and accessible by a road around the industrial area of the former iron and steel works of Hunedoara.

It has towers, bastions, and high tile roofs. Following many changes, it still kept its original Neboisa Tower and the gallery. The Neboisa wing was the latest open to tourists, in 2014.

Other high points of the castle tour are the Capistrano Tower, named after a famous monk hosted at the court, the Knights Hall used for receptions, the Maces Tower, the White Bastion and the Diet Hall.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

In the courtyard, near the chapel, there’s a fountain with a legend. Three Turk prisoners of war allegedly dug it in exchange of their freedom. They found water after 15 years, almost 30 meters deep, but their holders refused to keep their word and set them free. Upset, the Turks carved on the fountain wall a text translated for tourists as ‘You have water, it’s heart you don’t have.’ Actually, experts say the 15th century inscription in Arabic characters reads ‘Written by Hasan, enslaved by the infidels, in the fortress near the church.’

As the number of tourists, including foreigners kept increasing over the past years, investments were made. Some of them involved advanced technology and modern gadgets, including wireless guide explanations. The success, especially among smaller groups of visitors, prompted the rental of tablets at the entrance. More than 300 tourists take this offer every month.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

In 2013, the Corvin Castle had a record number of visitors — over 250,000, the castle museum manager Costin Tinca said. August was the peak, with 61,000 visitors, and the daily maximum was 3,200 on August 16.

Statistics show that 80 of visitors were Romanian, but many come from Hungary, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

‘I remember the words of an Italian tourist, an architect who had worked in restorations in Venice. When he entered the courtyard, the first thing he said was he couldn’t imagine a so well-preserved medieval castle still existed. He added it seems a picture processed in Photoshop,’ Tinca recalls.

The castle also hosts cultural events. The most famous, Opera Nights, stages famous aria for five days in July, taking advantage of the special acoustics of the courtyard.

Photo credit: (c) Sorin BLADA / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Several historical films and advertising videos used the castle as a set, featuring characters like Vlad the Impaler, Michael the Brave, Francois Villon, Luther and Henry VIII.

Repairs are in progress at the roofs damaged by rains and storms in recent years. It’s painstaking, as the tiles must be overlapped, with approximately one centimetre cut out of every single one of them, allowing a perfect fit on the circular section of roofs.

Other legends surround the castle. The Corvins’ emblem, a raven holding a golden ring in its beak, is said to originate in the allegation of John Hunyadi being the illegitimate son of Sigismund of Luxembourg, King of Hungary with Elisabeth, a fair lady of Hateg County. To save her honour, the king married her to Voicu, one of his knights, and endowed the unborn child with a ring, which would later allow them being recognized at the Royal Court. The Voicus forget the ring on a picnic towel during a trip; a raven was attracted by the glitter and tried to steal it. John, still a child, shot an arrow at the bird and got the ring back.

This story made an impression at the Court, and the raven holding the ring was adopted as the emblem of the family of Hunedoara. AGERPRES