TÖRCSVÁR (Bran, Rumania today) was built in 1377, as a link of the chain of fortresses monitoring the important commercial and military road running beneath the castle. Törcsvár was difficult to beleaguer because it was built on a very steep hill. Hungarian king Ladislaus II (1490-1516) of the Polish House of Jagello pawned the castle of Törcsvár to the city of Brassó, but Hungarian Prince of Transylvania György Rákóczi II (1648-1660) sold it to the town. In 1916, when Charles IV, the last Habsburg king on the Hungarian throne was crowned, the city of Brassó offered Törcsvár to his bride, princess Zita. Unfortunately, time was too short for the events ensuing rapidly. In two years, World War I ended, and the Allies annexed the beautiful castle of Törcsvár, along with entire Transylvania, from Hungary to Rumania (to whom these areas had never belonged before). The latest restoration work on the castle of Törcsvár was performed by Mary, the Rumanian queen, who added romantic ornaments to the castle.

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Hungarian Images and Historical Background
© 1994 András Szeitz

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