Balvanyos Castle

Turia, Romania, Romania

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Balvanyos Castle in Turia, Romania, is a medieval fortress ruin perched at 1056 meters on a steep hill where the Turia and Bodoc mountains converge in Covasna County, first mentioned in the 12th century as "Baluanus" and later "Castrum Balwanus" in 1360. Linked to the noble Apor family of Székely origin, legend claims it was built during King Stephen I's reign as a pagan refuge—its name deriving from the Hungarian word for "idol"—though historians date its stone construction post-Mongol invasion after 1242 for defense against invasions. Inhabited by the Apor family until the early 17th century when László Apor fell in battle near Brașov in 1603, it endured sieges and power struggles like the 1307 crown transfer from Otto of Bavaria to Kán László, before abandonment and gradual decay into atmospheric ruins now reachable by hiking trails in the Ciomad-Balvanyos nature area.