TISZA CASTLE

Ghiorac (Erdőgyarak) first appears in written sources in 1347, in the form Gyarak. In 1429 it was recorded under the name Kis-Gyarak, and in 1481 as Nagy-Gyarak. During the 15th century, it was owned by the Izsáki and Bessenyey families, while from 1481 the Torday family also appeared among its landowners. It was formerly regarded as a separate settlement, but Cighid (Csegőd), where the imposing Historicist castle of the Tisza family stands, now also belongs to Ghiorac. Chigid was one of the most significant estate centres of the Tisza family and has formed part of the family’s property since 1761.

According to historical tradition, the roots of the Tisza family reach back to the age of the kings of the Árpád dynasty. The first known ancestor of the family was György  Tisza (I), who was a delegate of Zaránd County and captain of Ineu (Borosjenő) Castle. In 1636, he received a substantial land grant from Prince György Rákóczi I. His estates were located in the regions along the Maros River, in Arad, Csanád and Temes Counties, largely in territories frequently exposed to Turkish harassment and devastation. He established his residence in Ineu, which at the time was a strong defensive bastion of the Principality of Transylvania.

After Ineu and then Oradea (Nagyvárad) fell into Turkish hands, the Tisza family lost almost all of its estates, as these were situated mostly in the vicinity of the occupied fortresses. The family then fled to Transylvania, where they managed their smaller estates in Cristuru Secuiesc (Székelykeresztúr) and Gurghiu (Görgényszentimre). The Viennese court later distributed the reconquered territories among the emperor’s supporters, and thus the estates of the Tisza family of Ineu passed into the hands of the emperor’s relative, Duke Rainaldini of Modena. For three generations, the members of the family, deprived of their wealth, struggled to regain the estates. The family’s estates were recovered by the previously mentioned László Tisza (I) in 1760, after protracted litigation. However, instead of the family’s formerly lost estates in Bihor and Zaránd Counties, he received the villages of Geszt and Mezőgyán, offered in exchange. He subsequently left his estate in Cristuru Secuiesc and moved from Transylvania to Geszt. Geszt, together with the surrounding villages, remained in the possession of the Tisza family until the end of the Second World War.

The Tisza family also gave Hungary two prime ministers. Of these, Kálmán Tisza was the first to begin developing the Cighid estate, starting with the agricultural buildings. In 1860, he married Countess Degenfeld-Schomburg Ilona. The couple had four children: István, Paulina, Kálmán the younger and Lajos. His sons inherited the rank of count held by his brother, the childless Lajos Tisza, in accordance with the deceased’s will. Thus, István Tisza, Kálmán Tisza the younger and Lajos Tisza received the title of count in 1897.

Following the death of Kálmán Tisza the elder in 1902, Kálmán Tisza the younger inherited the Cighid estate. The construction of the castle on the estate between 1892 and 1893 is also associated with him. After the First World War, as a consequence of the Treaty of Trianon, the family split into two branches, as the new national borders divided the Tisza estates. The ancestral estate at Geszt remained within Hungary’s new borders and was owned by the descendants of Count István Tisza until the end of the Second World War. The castle at Cighid and the estate belonging to it became part of Romania and were owned by Count Kálmán Tisza the younger.

Count Kálmán Tisza the younger studied at the college in Debrecen and then studied law in Budapest and Heidelberg. In 1897, he married Countess Erzsébet Keglevich, with whom he settled on the Cighid estate. They had three children: György, Imre and Aimée Erzsébet. Imre lost his life in the First World War at the age of 16. In 1934, Aimée Erzsébet became the wife of Mihály Teleki; their wedding was celebrated at Cighid, after which they moved to Gornești (Gernyeszeg), to the Teleki Castle. Kálmán Tisza managed his Cighid estate professionally and was recognised as a model farmer. He created beautiful surroundings for his family: he had the modern castle built and equipped with central heating, electric lighting, running water and bathrooms, and he also laid out the vast park surrounding the castle. Not far from the castle, there was also a railway halt and a guardhouse, while Kálmán Tisza had a narrow-gauge, horse-drawn agricultural railway network constructed on the estate.

Count Kálmán Tisza died in 1947, but as early as the 1930s he had entrusted the flourishing Cighid model farm to his son, György Tisza. He was the last owner of the castle and the Cighid estate before nationalisation. Count György Tisza was born at Cighid and studied law, economics and agricultural economics. He continued to develop the Cighid model farm in an exemplary manner. In 1947, he still held a senior economic position, despite the fact that a significant portion of the estates had been confiscated under the agrarian reform laws.

The castle and the estate were nationalised in 1949. On the night of 3 March, agents of the authorities deported the family: György Tisza, his wife, Erzsébet Vékás, and their eighteen-month-old son, György. The family was placed under compulsory residence in Târgu Mureș (Marosvásárhely), where they lived in difficult conditions. The head of the family was imprisoned on fabricated charges in Gherla (Szamosújvár) Prison, where political prisoners sentenced to severe terms of imprisonment were incarcerated. During this period, his wife became seriously ill and was unable to work for an extended period. Their elder son, György, was sent to a boarding school, while the younger son, Kálmán, was placed in the orphanage at Șumuleu (Csíksomlyó) and later became a boarding student at the secondary school in Miercurea Ciuc (Csíkszereda). Years later, Kálmán managed to return to Târgu Mureș, where he was helped by a distant relative of the family, Count Dénes Béldi de Uzon, who was likewise under compulsory residence in Târgu Mureș. György Tisza was released from prison in 1964 in a severely deteriorated state of health. After returning home, he managed to recover and died in 1980.

Following nationalisation, a sports resort and a training centre that also accommodated the Romanian national football team were initially established in the castle and its park. An orphanage for children with disabilities was later established in the deteriorating building. The children were brought there from Bihar County, as well as from Satu Mare (Szatmárnémeti), Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvár), Hunedoara (Vajdahunyad) and Arad (Arad).

The children’s home came to public attention in the 1990s after the German publication Der Spiegel released a shocking documentary about the inhumane conditions in which the children lived. It was at this time that the castle came to be called the “house of horrors” or the “children’s camp”. Between 1987 and 1990, nearly 138 children died as a result of the inhumane treatment. The children’s home has since been moved into the outbuildings surrounding the castle, but a modern building for the institution is already under construction in another part of the village. The castle is not open to visitors, as its courtyard and outbuildings are still used by the institution.

After protracted litigation, the castle was returned to the sons of its last owner, Count György Tisza: György the younger and Kálmán. György Tisza the younger died in 2024, and his share was inherited by his son, Attila. The heirs restored the roof; nevertheless, the condition of the building is gradually deteriorating. The heirs decided to sell the castle and the estate belonging to it.

The Tisza Castle at Cighid, which belongs to Ghiorac, was built at the commission of Tisza Kálmán the younger between 1892 and 1893 in the Historicist style. The building has a rectangular ground plan, with sections of various sizes and forms adjoining it. At the centre of the castle’s former east-facing main façade is a small arcaded portico crowned by a pediment. On both sides of the portico, the façade is articulated by banded pilasters, with large windows opening between them. A squat, single-storey section adjoins the right edge of the main façade and is decorated with straight-headed windows with cornices above them. At the left edge of the main façade is a tower-like avant-corps pierced by similarly designed windows. The two-storey tower is articulated by a prominent string course. The building’s main entrance currently opens on the northern side. The entrance is glazed, and large windows matching the door are positioned on both sides of it and on the upper floor. The lower sections of the windows are decorated with wrought-iron grilles. The openings are separated from one another by banded pilasters.

The plans for the castle were prepared by Győző Czigler. Information about the construction work carried out at the end of the 19th century is provided by István Tisza’s letters to Czigler, from which we know that the walls of the building were already standing in September 1892. Czigler also sent catalogues from which the commissioner could select the stoves, including the stove from Sliač (Szliács) for the smoking room, as well as the colours and wallpaper patterns. The interiors were intended to be covered with American parquet flooring; initially, however, only the entrance hall, dining room, smoking room, drawing room, small drawing room, bedroom and study received this type of flooring. Plank flooring was installed in the young lady’s room, the gentlemen’s drawing room, the boy’s study and his bedroom. In addition to these rooms, the castle had a bathroom and toilet on each floor, as well as a guest room, a kitchen and separate rooms for the servants and governess. In accordance with the commissioner’s requirements, the castle displays a simpler form than Czigler’s earlier castle designs. The puritan outlook of the Tisza family is reflected in the request addressed to the architect concerning the exterior and interior rooms of the castle: “please keep everything in discreet colours and, if possible, simplify it even further.” They also requested the omission of the sculptural works and the ornate “dormer windows”. The Tisza family was, in fact, a recurring client of Győző Czigler, as the architect maintained a close friendship with István Tisza. The Tisza family’s palace in Debrecen was rebuilt according to Czigler’s plans, while the correspondence also mentioned the planned reconstruction of the Tisza Castle at Geszt around 1895.

The castle was once surrounded by an imposing park intersected by walking and riding paths. Since the castle was built in the middle of a marshy oak forest, the spreading ancient oaks were preserved around the building and the park. The forecourt in front of the castle was decorated with fountains and geometrically shaped flower beds. In its heyday, the estate was surrounded by a vast game park.

A thermal spring is located in the castle courtyard. It once helped provide heating and hot water for the building, but it is unused today.

1. Elvira Oláh-Gál, A Tisza név még a vályogkunyhóban is veszélyes volt a kommunizmusban. Beszélgetés a borosjenői és szegedi gróf Tisza család marosvásárhelyi leszármazottjával, gróf Tisza Kálmánnal. In: Nobile Officium II. Az erdélyi történelmi családok XX. századi sorsa. Székelyföld Alapítvány – Hargita Publishing. Miercurea Ciuc. 2022. pp. 103–147.
2. Enikő Tóth, Czigler Győző kastélyépületeihez. In: Műemlékvédelem. vol. LXIV. nr. 1–2. 2020. 55–66.
3. Gróf Tisza Kálmán. A Tisza család (borosjenői és szegedi gróf). In: Gyöngy Kovács Kiss (ed.), Álló- és mozgóképek. Vázlat az erdélyi főnemességről. Korunk Publishing, 2007. 154–197.