The church at Illyefalva was once surrounded by a double castle: today, however, only the outer castle walls survive intact, and the inner fortification is evoked by the two remnants of walls on either side of the belfy. The inner castle was built first, some time around the turn of the 15th to the 16th century, and the outer walls - after the sieges by the Germans in 1612 – were erected in the 17th century. The castle’s pentagonal plan, with bastions, or watchtowers, at each corner, were used for safety. A few years after its construction, in 1658 battles with Turks and Mongols ravaged Transylvania, and the first victims were the Sekler region and Burzenland. After a siege that lasted five days, they took the castle by means of a ruse, and slew some of those inside with their swords. Those who survived were taken away into slavery: several thousand people fell victim to the attack, and the castle itself was burned. Two sung chronicles of the events survive. At the cusp of the 19th century the inner castle was still fairly intact, while along the outer castle walls there were 118 storage sheds. Balázs Orbán writes that they kept grain in the corner tower, and the village school operated in the gate tower. A full renovation of the castle would become possible only after the change of regime in 1989, when – at the initiative of Béla Kató, the Reformed pastor – the whole strucure was given a new function. In four of the bastions they installed space for young people, with room for providing eighty people with accommodations in these romantic settings. One of the bastions has been transformed into a stage.

wow! such incredible history! and what a lovely set of pics to go with the narrative! great job! ????? · 2010-06-14: 11:01

Szuper képek! ????? · 2010-06-14: 11:03

Very interesting and great shots. :) Ryana · 2010-06-14: 11:22

What a history lesson! Thanks. RayNvb · 2010-06-14: 11:52

Such a rich history to this interesting structure and all in such beautiful surroundings. I think it's a wonderful idea to allow visitors to stay here! Great set! trippindelight · 2010-06-14: 14:56

famous place!!! great shots! tomie · 2010-06-14: 16:01

Great historical place, nice that it is renovated and has a new function. Wasichseh · 2010-06-14: 17:12

This is such an interesting post - thank you for the historical details - and the lovely pictures. SADHYA · 2010-06-14: 17:23

Wow! Such a steep sloping roof in the last shot...great information Andrea :-) ????? · 2010-06-14: 18:23

Very nice post! Historic buildings are so interesting! darfoster · 2010-06-14: 19:44

Thank you for the History lesson and the wonderful shots pickledherring · 2010-06-14: 20:36

Nice captures and fantastic reportage mystic1 · 2010-06-15: 01:21

Superb place&Thanks for this interesting historical note!! ????? · 2010-06-15: 04:11

Peculiar defensive structure. Good work. Interesting the lights in the 4. Manusan · 2010-06-15: 09:45

Ez is tetszik! A déli napfény szépen kihozta a kÅ‘ fal mintázatát. imrepapa · 2010-06-15: 14:37

Fascinating! lollie18 · 2010-06-17: 22:24

Very interesting manuele · 2010-06-18: 11:41