THOLDALAGI CASTLE

The Tholdalagi family is one of the ancient noble families of Transylvania. They took their name from the settlement of Toldal (Tholdalag), belonging to Torda County, an estate they acquired in the mid-15th century. It is likely that around the same time they also obtained the neighboring village of Ercea (Nagyercse), from which one of their predicates derives.

Corunca (Koronka) appears for the first time in written sources in 1332, in the form Koerunka. In the 16th century it is mentioned as the property of Tamás Mihályfi from the Sepsi Seat, whose castle was destroyed in 1562, during the reign of John Sigismund, Prince of Transylvania, by the rebelling Székelys. Following Mihályfi’s downfall, the estate with its pear orchards came into the possession of Chancellor Farkas Kovacsóczy, and in the first half of the 17th century it passed to the Tholdalagi family. The manor house of the Tholdalagi family was built in Corunca in the 1630s at the commission of Mihály Tholdalagi (II). The manor is described in a late-17th-century inventory as follows: „The curia lies in the vicinity, between the main road leading on one side to Bozs and on the other to Ákosfalva, and, apart from a small garden woven of twigs, is entirely enclosed by log fences set into shingled trenches. In its center stands a two-storey house built of brick and covered with shingles…” The inventory also mentions two horse stables, a cart shed, a barn for oxen, a pigsty, a brewhouse and granary, as well as an orchard and a kitchen garden on the estate. Mihály Tholdalagi (II) laid the foundations of the family’s prestige and wealth, he served as captain-general of Maros County and later of the Three Seats, was master of the horse to György Rákóczi I, and lord lieutenant of Torda County. As a diplomat of Gábor Bethlen and György Rákóczi I, he pursued a distinguished political career; between 1614 and 1639 he served on several occasions as Transylvania’s envoy to the Porte and to other countries. The accounts he wrote during his travels remain valuable historical sources to this day. After the estates inherited from his first wife, Erzsébet Mihálcz de Gelence, he adopted his second predicate, „de Gelence”. From his two marriages a total of nine children were born, eight daughters and one son, Mihály (III).

After the death of Mihály Tholdalagi (II) in 1642, the Corunca estate was inherited by his only son, Mihály Tholdalagi (III). He supported Ákos Barcsai in the struggle for the princely throne against György Rákóczi II, and following the latter’s fall he was forced to flee, losing a significant part of his fortune. In 1660, during the general turmoil in Transylvania and the Ottoman-Tatar punitive campaign, he was killed by Saxons near Sighișoara (Segesvár). From his marriage to Margit Huszár de Brenhida, two sons were born, Mihály (IV) and János (III). Mihály Tholdalagi (IV) was arrested in 1738 on charges of conspiracy due to an alleged correspondence with József Rákóczi – son of Ferenc Rákóczi II – and imprisoned in the castle prison of Făgăraș (Fogaras). The elderly nobleman, who had lost his eyesight, died in captivity before he could clear his name. The son of János Tholdalagi (III), Mihály (V), received the title of count in 1744, but the charter was proclaimed only after his death, in 1746, in favor of his sons László (I), János (V), Ferenc (III), and Pál (I).

On the site of the former manor house at Corunca, the grandson of Count Ferenc Tholdalagi (III), Ferenc (IV), had a new castle built in the 1830s. Count Ferenc Tholdalagi (IV) was an imperial and royal chamberlain and served as chief royal judge of the Maros Seat between 1846 and 1848. From his marriage to Anna Katona de Sárosmagyarberkesz he had three daughters and one son, Viktor. Everyday life at the Corunca estate center in the 19th century is illuminated by the memoirs of one of Ferenc Tholdalagi (IV)’s daughter, Róza. The countess places Corunca’s golden age in her father’s time, in the 1840s, while also emphasizing that her father rarely stayed at Corunca, since „…almost every year he went to Vienna, it is true that in those days it took eight to ten days to get there, yet he still set out. There his taste became more refined, and he always brought something new for the house and the garden.”

After the death of Ferenc Tholdalagi (IV) in 1864, the estate was inherited by his son Viktor, who devoted great care to the maintenance of the castle and the garden. Count Viktor Tholdalagi, an imperial and royal chamberlain, from his marriage to Baroness Anna Bánffy de Losonc had a single son, László (III), who inherited the Corunca estate in 1881. After the death of Count László Tholdalagi (III)  in 1923, Corunca first passed to his elder son, László, and then to his younger son, József. Count József Tholdalagi married in 1933 Zsuzsanna Béldi, daughter of the landowner of Jibou (Zsibó), Kálmán Béldi (II), and Pálma Wesselényi. The couple had two daughters, Zsuzsanna and Orsolya. After József Tholdalagi died in 1944, his widow married Dezső Miskolczy, one of the outstanding figures of Hungarian medical science, and moved with her two daughters from Corunca to Târgu Mureș (Marosvásárhely). Dezső Miskolczy later adopted the two Tholdalagi daughters, who thus were able to receive higher education during the communist period.

From 1946 until the nationalization of 1949, the castle of Corunca stood empty, and during the communist period it was used as a storage facility by the agricultural collective. After the regime change, the daughters of József Tholdalagi, who had emigrated to Hungary, claimed the restitution of the Corunca castle, which they obtained in 2004. By that time the building was already in rather poor condition, so the heirs decided to sell it. The castle and its associated estate were purchased in 2005 by a French businessman, Jean Claude Moscovici, who promised to restore the main building within three years. The new owner operated a carpentry workshop for a time in the castle’s outbuildings, nevertheless, no restoration works were carried out on the ensemble. Moscovici did not even provide adequate security for the castle, and as a result the listed monument fell prey to thieves, who removed beams from the roof structure and bricks from the chimneys. Following a dispute that lasted for years, the owner eventually sold the castle and the associated estate in 2021 to the local municipality, whose aim is to save, restore, and put the building to use for the benefit of the community.

The castle is currently in a severely ruined state: its roof structure has collapsed, and its walls are continuously exposed to moisture. Of its furnishings, only a white tiled stove has survived, which was rescued by Keresztes Gyula and is today located in the main hall of the Marriage House in Târgu Mureș. The remains of the castle and the agricultural buildings stand in a barren environment, as the former park was completely destroyed during the communist period: the trees were cut down, and the land was ploughed and built over.

The predecessor of the Tholdalagi Castle in Corunca was a 17th-century manor house, which was significantly transformed in the 1830s during the time of Count Ferenc Tholdalagi (IV). According to the plans – drawn up by Joseph Weixlbraun, architect from Cluj (Kolozsvár) – a much larger castle was intended to be built, of which the present building would have constituted only a part. However, the ambitious works were never realized due to a lack of funds. The completed building, with its well-proportioned dimensions, nearly symmetrical ground plan, and restrained decoration, is a fine example of classicist castle architecture. The single-storey castle has a U-shaped plan. Between its two side wings rises an emphasized central block with three arcades. This central section, with its raised attic wall, coffered articulation, and three arcades, rises like a triumphal arch along the axis of the main façade. While each of the two outer blind arcades contains a small rectangular window, the central, larger arcade accommodates a barrel-vaulted carriage passage.

The rooms of the castle were once adorned with refined Baroque and Empire-style furniture, valuable mirrors, chandeliers, carpets, and paintings. The two most significant works of the family portrait gallery are the full-length portraits of the diplomat Mihály Tholdalagi (II) and his wife, Erzsébet Mihálcz de Gelence, which are outstanding examples of 17th-century Transylvanian painting. The portraits are currently preserved in the Haáz Rezső Museum in Odorheiu Secuiesc (Székelyudvarhely). In the castle, in addition to the apartments of the noble couple, there were children’s rooms, guest rooms, a large dining hall, a grand salon, a smoking room, a library, servants’ quarters, and the kitchen. Circulation between the rooms was provided by galleries (corridors). Beneath the right wing extended a barrel-vaulted cellar.

The castle was once surrounded by an ornate park, featuring groves planted with deciduous trees, an artificial fishpond, and a garden pavilion. A carriage road lined with enormous trees ran through the park all the way to the boundary of Târgu Mureș. The designer of the landscape garden is believed to have been Péter Bodor, who served as the family’s gardener in the first half of the 19th century. Róza Tholdalagi also mentions the castle park of Corunca in her memoirs: „The household was not as large as my grandfather’s [Zsigmond Tholdalagi (I)’s, in Murgești], but it was more refined, more elegant. […] The park was magnificent! Even today I can see it, even today I can feel those warm summer evenings heavy with the scent of magnolias and datura. Nowhere else have I seen so many magnolias, nowhere else have I heard so many nightingales sing as there.” Éva Czjzek, daughter of László Tholdalagi (IV) and Sarolta Bethlen, recalled the garden in a 2000 interview as follows: „I do not know exactly how large the park was, but if someone turned in to us from the main road, they could still ride in a carriage for another half hour before reaching the house.”

The Tholdalagi family played a decisive role in the history of Corunca and the neighboring town of Târgu Mureș. The library of the castle in Corunca was regarded as one of the largest libraries in Transylvania and was frequently visited by the nobles of Târgu Mureș as well. The library held nearly ten thousand volumes, including incunabula, Corvina manuscripts, and rare books. In 1944, approximately 2,300 volumes were successfully saved from its holdings, part of which were transferred to the Teleki Library in Târgu Mureș. The writer László Sényi played an important role in the rescue of the library. In addition, the former guest book of the castle has also survived and is preserved by the descendants of the Tholdalagi family living in Budapest.

1. Zoltán Bicsok – Zsolt Orbán, „Isten segedelmével udvaromat megépítettem…” Történelmi családok kastélyai Erdélyben. Editura Gutenberg, Miercurea Ciuc, 2012.
2. József Biró, Erdélyi kastélyok. Új Idők Irodalmi Intézete, Budapest, 1943.
3. Gyula Keresztes, Maros megyei kastélyok és udvarházak. Editura Impress, Târgu Mureș, 1995.
4. Lóránt Kovács, A historical survey of the Corunca Castle, Romania, based on the military survey maps and present-day measurements. Sapientia University, Faculty of Technical and Human Sciences, Department of Horticulture, Târgu-Mureș, 2015.
5. Tibor Nagy-Bodó, Erdélyben egyre nagyobb méretet ölt a kastélyok és udvarházak eladása. Egy haldokló kastély. In: Népújság, vol. 73. nr. 119. 2021. 15.