BETEGH MANOR HOUSE

Câmpia Turzii (Aranyosgyéres) is first mentioned in written sources in 1292, in the form „Gerustelke”. Its name derives from its first owners, the Gerus family. Over the centuries, the settlement is recorded under several name variants, but its present name, in the form „Aranyos-gyéres”, first appears in 1808. Ghiriș-Sâncrai (Gyéresszentkirály), where the manor is located, was annexed to Câmpia Turzii in 1925.

We have little information about the history of the building. Based on the coats of arms and inscription visible on its façade, it can be concluded that it was built in 1828 by Elek Simén de Sárd and his wife, Teréz Petrichevich-Horváth. They most certainly expanded an already existing older house, as several architectural elements indicating this were revealed during the recent restoration.

Later, from land registry records, we know its turbulent fate and that in the second half of the 19th century it changed owners several times: in 1879 Count Miklós Thoroczkay and his wife, Countess Johanna Bethlen, lost it in an enforcement case. In 1882 Baron Andor Jósika and his wife, Baroness Anna Wesselényi, purchased it. In 1893 Count László Teleki de Gyömrő was the owner of the manor. Finally, from 1905, for 40 years, it was the property of Dr. Miklós Betegh de Tusnád and his wife, Mária Vásárhelyi.

The Betegh family is one of the oldest noble families of the Ciuc seat. Their original estates were located in Tușnad (Tusnád), Sântimbru (Csíkszentimre) and Tomești (Csíkszenttamás). Their earliest documented ancestors were János (I) and Péter (I), mentioned in a division charter from 1593. Among the family members, Mihály with primipilus title, as well as György and Pál, appear in 1602, when they swore allegiance to King Rudolf I. Genealogical research traces the Tușnad branch of the Betegh family from the aforementioned Pál. His grandson, János (II), took part in Prince György Rákóczi II’s 1655 campaign in Wallachia and, for his military merits, received a primipilus diploma in the camp at Stroești. The grandson of János (II), Péter Betegh (II), is the first family member known to have held an official seat office, becoming in 1710 an assessor of the Ciuc seat. The son of Péter Betegh (II), János (III), was elevated in rank for his bravery in 1742: together with his sons, Ferenc (II) and Antal (I), they received a coat-of-arms nobility diploma from Queen Maria Theresa and obtained the „Tusnád” predicate. During this period, the family split into three branches. Antal (I) remained in the Ciuc seat and kept the estate center at Tușnad. His son, József (I), founded the Three Seats branch. The third and most numerous branch descends from Ferenc Betegh (II) mentioned in 1742, whose son, Gábor Betegh, moved to manage the estate at Sânger (Mezőszengyel) belonging to his mother, Kata Nagy de Vadad.

Members of the Transylvanian Plain branch of the family held positions as notaries, judges and lord lieutenants in Torda and Inner Szolnok counties. This path was followed by Dr. Miklós Betegh as well, who, after completing his legal studies and returning home, became secretary to the lord lieutenant of Torda-Aranyos County, then deputy lord lieutenant, and later lord lieutenant. He settled with his family on the estate he purchased in Ghiriș-Sâncrai and alongside holding office, engaged in farming. In 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, he was appointed government commissioner for Transylvania. In recognition of his merits, he received the First Class Civil War Merit Cross, the Third Class Order of Saint Stephen, and upon retirement was granted the title of real inner privy councillor. Between the two world wars, he was president of the Transylvanian Roman Catholic People’s Association. In recognition of his ecclesiastical activity, the Pope awarded him the First Class Order of Saint Gregory the Great.

The manor house was nationalized in 1945. For several decades, a kindergarten operated in the building. Thanks to its continuous use, the structure managed to survive this period full of hardships.

The Betegh family regained the property in 2013. In 2014, the most urgent preservation works were carried out: the roof structure was repaired, the roof received new covering, and proper rainwater drainage was implemented. The full renovation took place between 2020 and 2023, after the kindergarten moved out in 2019.

Nothing has survived from the original furnishings, and there are not even photographs documenting its former interiors. The current furniture consists mostly of contemporary second-hand pieces. The manor is used by the family as a private residence and can only be visited upon request, at pre-arranged times.

On old military maps, already in the 18th century, a building of considerable size can be seen at this location.

From the 1828 construction, the portico resting on Ionic columns is still visible today, its triangular pediment decorated with the coats of arms of the previously mentioned Simén de Sárd and Petrichevich-Horváth families, the wrought-iron railing of the north-eastern terrace, the wrought-iron doors of the chimney-cleaning openings and their stone frames. During the investigation works, a decorative chain located above the columns, with small flowers within it, was uncovered. This decorative element most certainly formed part of the 1828 façade, as it does not fit the later eclectic façade design with rusticated decoration, which is likely why it was concealed during the transformations at the end of the 19th century.

The result of the late 19th-century alterations may be the stencil-made decorative painting on the interior walls, which was uncovered during the investigation works in a highly fragmentary condition in two rooms. Part of these remains was restored by a specialist, and the reconstructed pattern was repainted over a larger surface, evoking the atmosphere of the former interiors.

The curved staircase leading to the entrance, which was later covered with tiles after nationalization, was dismantled during the restoration due to its poor condition, and based on analogies, a new staircase was built for the main façade, crafted by stonemasons from Vistea. The stones of the porch parapet, as well as the deteriorated balusters of the railing, were restored, and those in very poor condition were newly carved. The stone carvings that could no longer be reused in their original function can be seen around the house: two retaining walls were formed from them, one also serving as a staircase, the other as a bench.

The façades are articulated by straight-headed windows and blind windows, above which a semicircular recess appears as a decorative element. The building is crowned by a pronounced cornice and a mansard roof.

In one of the vaulted rooms of the building, during restoration, a walled-in stone doorframe was discovered, believed to have been the entrance of the old house (predating the 1828 construction). In addition, a stone frame was uncovered in the floor, which may have framed a trapdoor leading to the old cellar filled with earth.

The exterior and interior joinery dating from the end of the 19th century were restored, and where replacement was necessary, new elements were made with divisions similar to the original ones.

Before nationalization, there were two manor houses on the estate. The larger one was inhabited by the family, while the „small house”, which still stands today was used to accommodate guests and was later rented out between the two world wars. While the family fled to Budapest in the autumn of 1944 to escape the advancing Russian front, the larger manor, left without occupants, was looted and then dismantled for building materials. Today, only a few archival photographs of its main façade remain, along with several hand drawings made by Mária Betegh, wife of Mihály Teleki, in her old age, based on her childhood memories. The large manor resembled the smaller residence that still stands today, featuring a columned portico at the front, a veranda at the back, and being enclosed by four multi-storey corner bastions.

In the vicinity stands the Szentkereszty-Bethlen manor house, built in the second half of the 19th century, in historicist style. The building was purchased after the First World War by Count Ödön Bethlen de Bethlen, who settled on the estate with his wife, Baroness Margit Huszár de Mezőkövesd. After nationalization, the school library operated in the building. Following its restitution, the local municipality purchased it, and since 2023 it has been under restoration.

Closer to the center of Câmpia Turzii stands the manor of the Paget family, built by John Paget in the 1840s. John Paget was an English-born physician, writer, and farmer who came to Transylvania as the husband of Polixena Wesselényi. The manor was once surrounded by farm buildings and a park. The lake created in the park was connected by a canal to the lake in the garden of the Szentkereszty-Bethlen manor. In 1913, John Paget’s heir sold the estate and the building to the state, after which it became the headquarters of the state farm. Today, several institutions operate in the building.