Teleki Castle (Gornesti)

The Gornesti estate belonged to the Erdélyi family from Somkerék in the 15th-17th centuries. The family disappeared by the end of the 17th century, and the estate was donated by prince Mihály Apafi to Mihály Teleki of Szék. The present day castle was built by Mihály Teleki’s grandson, László Teleki (1710 – 1778). There was an earlier castle on the site, demolished in 1772, with the exception of the foundation walls and the basement. The castle was designed by architect Andreas Mayerhoffer from Salzburg, but the building went through several stages; its final form was reached only in 1802 in the time of József Teleki (1777-1817). His great-grandson, Domokos Teleki (1880 – 1955) gathered a valuable archaeological and local history collection here, but in 1944 it was scattered by the inhabitants of the village, and entirely lost. Domokos’ son, Mihály Teleki (19o8 – 1988) was a passionate farmer, but he and his family fled to Hungary in 1944. A year later, when he returned to his estate, he was greeted by a distressful sight. The Russian soldiers kept their horses in the guest rooms, the antique furniture and the books were all burnt, and all that could be moved was stolen.  The remaining 1200 volumes of the library were placed in the Teleki Library of Targu Mures. The oldest book was from 1688. The family decided to remain on the estate, began farming again, but in 1946 they moved to Targu Mures. After the Communist takeover Mihály Teleki was repeatedly interrogated, imprisoned and sentenced to forced labor. As in 1946 he had donated the castle to the Ministry of Health, he managed to save it,  the Ministry assured that it did not suffer the fate of other Transylvanian castles. The heirs sued to reclaim the castle in 1990, and after many years and trials it was finally returned to them in 2006. They actually took possession of it in 2o11. It was run-down with no equipment or furniture, but since then it is being renovated in the hope that it will be devoted to culture and tourism. The castle is a masterpiece of Transylvanian baroque, designated sometimes as the “jewel of Mures” or “Transylvanian Gödöllő.” The castle indeed shows similarities with the Gödöllő Castle from Pest and the bishop’s palace in Oradea.

Location: It is located at 479 Principala (Main) street.