Two days ago I posted about an open air exhibition and so many of you said you've never seen or heard about an open air exhibition. Thinking of how many open air exhibitions I've visited, made me remember this splendid place.
It was in 2023, when we visited this amazing place and today I remembered that I still have some photos to show you. It's an incredible place and unique as well in its own category. Most likely there are many miniature parks around the world, but this is special, because it has a heavy historical character.
Mini Transylvania is located on the national road 13A, about 4 km from Odorheiu Secuiesc to Praid and 95 km from Târgu Mureș. source
It is a place attracting tourists from all over the world, firstly because it's fun to see miniatures, but also for the historical aspect of the exhibits. It's easy to access it by car, they have a nice parking lot you can use as well.
Close to the entrance, there was an open air souvenir shop, which is quite a must because many tourists have the habit of buying something specific to the place. It's a good business if you ask me and this was just one of them. There was another souvenir shop inside or at the exit of the park which was ran by the same company as the miniature park.
The property is quite big, so once inside, you get guided by these very cool indicators and as you can see, there's not just the Mini Transilvania park. There's the Szekler gates, which I posted about in 2023 (I think, I hope, if not, then it's coming), the tomb of Balázs Orbán and the museum showcasing his life and work. I posted about that after my visit.
No, no, don't be afraid, I'm not going to post dino photos :) This was a nice advertising of the DinoPark of Rasnov, which I've never visited and have never even heard of, but this is exactly the reason why these smart ads are effective and a very good idea. You have the QR code to the official website of the place and can check it out instantly, or save it for later.
Let's start with the Ugron Castle from Fiatfalva (Filias), which was built in the 15th century and not only still stands, but it is functioning as a hotel. As you can see, it's not an usual hotel, it has the style of a long ended century and the rich history of the place makes it even more attractive.
Each miniature had a tree-lingual round board like the one you see on the photo, with a QR code taking you to the place's website. I was really happy to learn more about these old, historical buildings that are part of our history, heritage and culture as well.
Among the many miniatures, on the top of the hill, there was a reproduction of a castle as well, a bit bigger that the miniatures.
This is the Zichy Castle of Élesd (Aleșd), built between 1891 and 1893. The funny thing is, when you visit a place with a couple of hundreds of miniature castles, none of them fictional, all of them real, you realize how little you know. I knew about Élesd (Aleșd), I know where it is, have passed through several times but have never known there's a castle there. Now I know.
The castle was sold by the Zichy's in 1928 to the La Roche and Darvas logging company. It was nationalized in 1948. In the castle, which for a long time preserved its original character, there was a restaurant and a hotel since 1972. Following the events of 1989, soldiers were accommodated there for a while, and in 1996, the Nuns of the Holy Cross Monastery of Várad-Hegyalja took possession of the Greek-Oriental Nuns to operate a child camp after the renovation. The valuable façade elements disappeared from the building, and its windows were replaced with plastic insulating doors and windows.
Ownership: It is owned by the Orthodox Church that operates a monastery.
Oradea fortress built between 1570 and 1595. This fortress is not unknown to me as I have passed by once, but it was years ago and didn't go in. The advantage of seeing these (mostly) medieval constructions in miniature is that you can see them from above, which is not possible if you go visit the originals. This way you have a clear view and not just a picture created by your imagination.
Bánffy Castle, Sancrai. When you see these magnificent constructions, you realize how beautiful and wealthy the country, or the region used to be. I say used to be because some of these churches, fortresses have been lost over the years and many have suffered considerable damage. After the war, during communism, preserving the Hungarian minority's heritage was not important, better yet, in many places destroying these buildings was the goal, to change, rewrite history, make a new one while erasing evidence of the original.
The Károlyi Castle, Erdőd (Ardud), built in 1481. This beautiful structure had a brutal ending unfortunately. Today only fragments of it can be found.
While roaming around the lovely miniatures, was thinking of a plan that was born after seeing five of six of them. I was thinking of making a list with all the places, fortresses, churches and castles you can see there and make a plan to visit them all, or at least as many as possible and also documenting my journey. Our unmutable blockchain is the perfect place for it and the huge advantage of sharing post here is, others can virtually travel to these places by reading my post.
It would be a real adventure, like a bucket list on which I would cross over the name of the places I visited, or make a check mark next to the names. Many of these houses, palaces are serving now as hotels so I could stay there for a night or two. Would be fantastic for sure.
I'm going to finish my post with the Rákoczy-Bánffy Castle, which today, from architectural point of view, looks simple, but but back in those day must have been an impressive building.
I'm inviting you to read each building's history to learn more about them. It'll be an interesting journey, trust me. If you visit Transylvania and like miniatures and history, this place is a must.
If you're a newbie, you may want to check out these guides:
