Castel Santa Maria Orlea

Sântămăria-Orlea, Romania, Romania

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Castelul Kendeffy (also referred to as Castel Santa Maria Orlea) in Sântămăria-Orlea, Romania, is a historic noble residence built in 1782 by Count Elek Kendeffy and his wife, Countess Kristzina Bethlen, on the site of an older mansion. Originally constructed in Baroque style, it was expanded in the early 19th century with additions like a stable and later transformed into neo-Gothic style between 1870 and 1874 under Count Árpád Kendeffy, who also created a surrounding English-style park featuring a terrace, statues, trellised roses, a pavilion, and an artificial lake. The rectangular building with three sections, an asymmetrical tower with lancet windows and spire, and a Baroque stone plaque displaying family crests over the north entrance retains original interior elements like carved wooden beams, barrel vaults, and a saloon with lancet arches. Nationalized by the Romanian state in 1946, it served as a summer camp site from the 1960s and was converted into a hotel in the 1980s, though post-1990 claims by alleged heirs left its use limited.