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Map of Romania's castles and conace · 611 monuments · 40 counties and Bucharest

The castle stops at the Carpathians. The conac does not.

Romania's heritage list holds 154 castles and 434 conace. 146 of the castles are in Transylvania, Crișana, the Banat and Maramureș. Wallachia has 4, Moldavia 4, Oltenia none — 8 in the whole Old Kingdom. The conac, by contrast, is used on both sides of the mountains: 151 in the west, 283 to the south and east. And in Oltenia, which has no castle at all, the boyars had raised 23 cule: tower-houses built to be defended.

Marius Comper · September 2026 · 611 noble houses from the national heritage list, with the dates and places it gives

How many castles are there in Romania?

In Romania's heritage list, 154 entries carry the word “castel” in their official name. The same list has 434 conace and 23 cule, which makes the 611 houses in this atlas. The figure of 154 is a count by official name, after the rows of one ensemble were merged into one; it is not an estimate of every building that travel sources call a castle. How it was counted is explained below.

Three words for one landowning class

The map shows three words, not three kinds of building — though the third really is different. Castel entered Romanian from the Latin castellum, with a variant that came through the Hungarian kastély, and is attested from the seventeenth century. Conac came from the Turkish konak, a halting place, a house where one stopped. Culă also came from Turkish, from kula, which came in turn from the Arabic kulle: a tower.

Until 1918 the land west of the Carpathians was held by a Hungarian, Saxon and Székely nobility, and its seats were called kastély and Schloss. To the south and east the boyars built conace, under an Ottoman administration that measured a day's travel in conace. The heritage list inherited all of these vocabularies and keeps them as it found them.

The asymmetry runs one way, and it is worth saying plainly. Castel barely crosses the mountains: 8 of 154 are in the Old Kingdom, and the best known of them — Peleș, raised for a king from Sigmaringen, and Cantacuzino at Bușteni — are late buildings that took the name deliberately. Conac does cross: in Transylvania the list holds 113 conace against 114 castles. One word stopped at the ridge; the other was used on both sides.

The third word does not travel at all. All 23 cule in the list stand in Oltenia and western Wallachia — Vâlcea (5), Gorj (5), Argeș (4), Dolj (3), Mehedinți (3), Olt (2), Teleorman (1) — and almost all of them are eighteenth-century. A culă is a boyar's house you can defend: thick walls, a blind ground floor, a stair that can be pulled up. Where the map shows no castle at all, the boyar had already built himself a tower.

castlesconacecule

Every house, at its own year

The years run from 1201 to 1940. Each house appears at the date the heritage list gives it: castles as circles, conace as diamonds. Houses dated only to a century are drawn hollow and enter at that century's start. Press any mark to open its record.

1940year
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Choose a house

Each house's record — its year, its code, its photograph and the use recorded in 2015 — appears here.

The oldest castles in Romania

The list dates masonry, not families, and for 221 houses it gives only a century. 252 carry an exact year. Below are the oldest castles with an exact year.

HouseWhereYearWhat the list says
Castelul BranBran, Brașov13771377 - 1382
Castelul CorvinilorHunedoara, Hunedoara1440sec. XIV, extins 1440 - 1453, transformat 1618 - 1620
Castelul HuniadeTimișoara, Timiș14431443–1447, ref. sec. XVI, XVIII, 1856
Castelul KornisMănăstirea, Cluj15121512, ref. sec. XIX
Castelul Bethlen din MădărașMădăraș, Mureș15171517
Castelul Turnu RoșuBoița, Sibiu15331533 - 1930
Castelul Martinuzzi (ruine)Vințu de Jos, Alba15511551, cu modif. ulterioare
Castelul ApafiDumbrăveni, Sibiu15521552, 1650-1700
Castelul Guthman - ValentaHoghiz, Brașov15531553, sec. XVIII
Ruinele castelului BocskayAghireșu, Cluj15721572

Older than any of these are the houses the list assigns to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries without giving a year: the Kálnoky castle at Hoghiz and the one at Stremț in the thirteenth, the Făgăraș citadel in the fourteenth. They appear on the map as hollow marks at the start of their century, because that is all the source says.

The oldest manor houses in Romania

The oldest conac carrying a year in the list is from 1512, more than two centuries after Bran. The gap says something about what survived rather than about when anyone built: the boyars' houses of timber and wattle did not reach us, and the list dates only the masonry left standing.

HouseWhereYearWhat the list says
Ruinele curții boierești a lui Ion DrăgoiDrăgoiești, Suceava1512Ante 1512
Curților boierești ale slugerului MușatȘtefănești, Argeș16011601-1700
Conacul KönczeySânzieni, Covasna16081608, reparații 1829
Conacul din GoleștiGolești, Argeș16401640
Curtea lui Radu și Constantin ȘerbanDobreni, Giurgiu16461646
Conacul SinkovitsCatalina, Covasna16491649, transf. 1820
Curtea boierească a lui Pană FilipescuFilipeștii de Târg, Prahova16501650
Curtea boierilor VărzaruVărzaru, Argeș16531653
Conacul Șerban CantacuzinoDrăgănești, Prahova16581658, transf. sec. XIX
Ruinele conacului Drăghici CantacuzinoMăgureni, Prahova16631663 - 1670

126 houses, oldest first

The houses below are those the heritage list classes as monuments of national importance and for which a freely licensed photograph exists. There are 126 of them, in the order of the year the list gives, oldest first.

The names repeat because a family gave all its houses the same one: 18 houses on the list carry the Bethlen name, 11 Teleki, 8 Haller, 8 Bánffy. In all, 72 houses carry a name at least one other also carries. To tell them apart, each card adds the village — and where the village repeats too, the county or the year.

Castles and conace, county by county

The 611 houses are spread across 40 counties and Bucharest. The map above has a county filter; these are the totals.

The use the list recorded in 2015

For 111 houses, the heritage list does not stop at the name: the use of that moment went into the monument's official designation. 'Castelul Mocioni, today a TB sanatorium'. 'Castelul Bethlen, today a warehouse'. 'Conacul Filipescu Drăjneanu, today the administration of the Drajna TB sanatorium'. 'Conac, today a home for the elderly'.

These are the uses recorded when the list was drawn up in 2015. Some buildings have since been restored and others have changed owners, so the table does not show what they are used for today. The designations are reproduced as they appear in the ministerial order. What has changed since 2015, with sources, is in the next section.

HouseWhereWhat the 2015 list called it
Castelul BohușȘiria, Aradthe Ioan Slavici memorial museum
Castelul CernoviciMacea, Arada building of Vasile Goldiș West University
Castelul MocioniBulci, Arada TB sanatorium
Castelul NopceaArad, Aradthe Arad forestry school
Castelul SolymosyMocrea, Arada psychiatric hospital
Conacul Ștefan Cicio-PopConop, Arada primary school
Conacul Ata ConstantinescuGâșteni, Bacăuthe psychiatric hospital
Conacul Rosetti-BrăescuMăgura, BacăuFundația Casa Copilului
Conacul Rosetti-TescanuTescani, Bacăusecția „Dumitru și Alice Rosetti Tescanu - George Enescu” a Muzeului Național „George Enescu” - București
Conacul StratHorgești, Bacăusediu primăria Horgești
Conacul Theodor BuhușBuhuși, BacăuMuzeul de Istorie
Conacul VeninoaiaPetricica, Bacăua school
Conacul ZarifopolCârligi, Bacăua school
Castelul BathyanyiAleșd, Bihorthe Aleșd hospital
Castelul CsakyMarghita, Bihorthe town hall
Castelul ThelegdyTileagd, Bihoran inclusive-education school
Castelul de vânătoare din AleșdAleșd, Bihorthe Saint Elijah hermitage
Conacul Frater din Galoșpetreu (1860)Galoșpetreu, Bihordispensar medical și locuință
Conacul din SălardSălard, Bihorazil pentru persoane vârstnice
Castelul Bethlen PalBeclean, Bistrița-Năsăudthe Beclean town hall
Castelul Bethlen din ArcaliaArcalia, Bistrița-Năsăudthe Arcalia complex of Babeș-Bolyai University
Castelul Bethlen din BecleanBeclean, Bistrița-Năsăudthe Beclean agricultural school
Castelul Bethlen din Cristur-ȘieuCristur-Șieu, Bistrița-Năsăuda warehouse
Castelul Haller din MateiMatei, Bistrița-Năsăudthe Matei commune hall
Castelul HyeIlișua, Bistrița-Năsăudthe TB preventorium

What has happened to these houses since 2015

The 2015 list is the starting point. Since then the ministry has removed some monuments from it and listed others, and some of the houses have entered restoration programmes. Below are the documented changes, each with its source and date.

The atlas rests on the current list as transcribed on Romanian Wikipedia, where its editors have entered the changes made since 2015. The 2015 list is the baseline: 608 of the 611 houses have a row in it with the same county and code number (the code differs in letters or suffix for three of them), and three were listed afterwards. In the other direction, two houses of the 2015 list, Bay Castle at Treznea and the Cioflec manor at Mârșa, were delisted and are not in the atlas.

Changes in the list

HouseWhereWhat happenedSource
Castelul BayTreznea, SălajDelisted by order No. 2,190 of the culture minister, dated 29 March 2019. No longer standing; it collapsed in July 2020 (Adevărul, 3 July 2020).ro.wikipedia, delisted monuments · Adevărul
Conacul N. Cioflec, ulterior Oscar HanMârșa, GiurgiuDelisted by order No. 3,541 of the culture minister, dated 11 December 2024.ro.wikipedia, delisted monuments
The Roma counts' manor ensembleViziru, BrăilaIt was not in the 2015 list. Listed by order No. 2,433 of the culture minister, dated 23 June 2017 (Official Gazette No. 805 of 11 octombrie 2017). The ensemble's code is already on the 2019 restoration-programme lists.legislatie.just.ro
Stîrcea manorVăleni, NeamțIt was not in the 2015 list. Listed by order No. 2,865 of the culture minister, dated 27 December 2017 (Official Gazette No. 772 of 7 septembrie 2018).legislatie.just.ro
Moruzi manorTârgșoru Vechi, PrahovaIt was not in the 2015 list. Listed by order No. 4,071 of the culture minister, dated 27 December 2016 (Official Gazette No. 370 of 18 mai 2017).legislatie.just.ro
Castelul UrmanczyToplița, HarghitaIt was not in the 2015 list. Listed by order No. 2,586 of the culture minister, dated 6 June 2019 (Official Gazette No. 617 of 25 iulie 2019). It is not in the atlas because the current Wikipedia transcription does not hold it.legislatie.just.ro
Oteteleșanu manorMăgurele, IlfovIn the 2015 list as “Fostul conac”, a part of the ensemble inside the Atomic Physics Institute grounds; the current transcription of the list no longer has this row. The ensemble stays in the list. The reason is not known: the component is not among the delisted monuments.the 2015 list
Castelul KeményȘieu, Bistrița-NăsăudThe 2015 list calls it “Castelul Rakoczy, azi Școala de arte și meserii”; the atlas uses the name in the current transcription.the 2015 list
Castelul din BlajBlaj, AlbaThe 2015 list calls it “Ansamblul Mitropoliei greco-catolice”. The word “castle” appears only in the Wikipedia transcription.the 2015 list

Order numbers and dates for the delistings are those in the register on Romanian Wikipedia, in its version of 13 October 2025; orders after that date are not included.

Entered in restoration programmes

An entry on a programme's list shows that the monument was proposed or approved for funding. It does not show that the works were done or finished. For the National Restoration Programme the years are those of the lists that carry the monument's code; some published lists are scans, and a year can be missing where a code could not be read. The 2015 programme lists predate the Official Gazette publication of the 2015 heritage list (February 2016).

HouseWhereProgrammeWhat the source showsSource
Castelul Banffy din RăscruciRăscruci, ClujRegional Operational Programme19,972,586 lei of EU funds; works finished in 2023.G4Media, 6 May 2024 (list built from Regional Operational Programme data)
Castelul BeldyJibou, SălajRecovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Component 11, castle route: one of five castles to be restoredPlanned funding: €3.75 million; works were to start once the contract was signed.Radio Free Europe Romania, 24 July 2022
Castelul Bethlen din ȚopaȚopa, MureșNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 19 lists of the programme, for 2019–2025.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Castelul CorvinilorHunedoara, HunedoaraRecovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Component 11, castle route: one of five castles to be restoredSecond restoration phase; €3.75 million planned through PNRR.Radio Free Europe Romania, 24 July 2022
Castelul CorvinilorHunedoara, HunedoaraRegional Operational Programme (first restoration phase)First phase, 2019–2023, with €5 million from the Regional Operational Programme, according to the mayor of Hunedoara.Avantul liber, 4 September 2026 (the mayor's statement)
Castelul HuniadeTimișoara, TimișNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 10 lists of the programme, for 2018–2021.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Castelul KálnokiValea Crișului, CovasnaRecovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Component 11, castle route: one of five castles to be restoredPrivately owned. Planned funding: €3.75 million; partial rehabilitation had already begun.Radio Free Europe Romania, 24 July 2022
Castelul Nopcsa din SăcelSăcel, HunedoaraNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on one list of the programme, for 2018.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Castelul PeleșSinaia, PrahovaNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 19 lists of the programme, for 2020–2025.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Castelul RhédeySângeorgiu de Pădure, MureșNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on one list of the programme, for 2015.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Castelul Teleki din ColtăuColtău, MaramureșRegional Operational Programme6,815,581 lei of EU funds; works finished in 2021.G4Media, 6 May 2024 (list built from Regional Operational Programme data)
Castelul Teleki din ComlodComlod, Bistrița-NăsăudNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 7 lists of the programme, for 2019–2020.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Castelul Teleki din GorneștiGornești, MureșRecovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Component 11, castle route: one of five castles to be restoredPrivately owned. Planned funding: €3.75 million; works were due by 30 June 2026.Radio Free Europe Romania, 24 July 2022
Castelul Turnu RoșuBoița, SibiuNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 5 lists of the programme, for 2024–2025.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Conacul Anton BibescuCorcova, MehedințiNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 14 lists of the programme, for 2019–2023.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Conacul Cantacuzino - Pașcanu din CeplenițaCeplenița, IașiNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 14 lists of the programme, for 2020–2025.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Conacul Emil RacovițăEmil Racoviță, VasluiNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 26 lists of the programme, for 2017–2025.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Conacul Marghiloman din HagieștiHagiești, IalomițaNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 5 lists of the programme, for 2020.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Conacul Roset - BalșPribești, VasluiNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code of the ensemble the house belongs to appears on 17 lists of the programme, for 2019–2025.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Conacul Rosetti din CăiuțiCăiuți, BacăuNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 13 lists of the programme, for 2019–2023.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Cula Tudor VladimirescuCerneți, MehedințiNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 16 lists of the programme, for 2019–2023.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Cula Tudor VladimirescuCerneți, MehedințiRecovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), Component 11, project “Promotion and restoration of the Tudor Vladimirescu cula”Beneficiary: Șimian commune. Total value 6,139,764.21 lei, of which 5,151,117.72 lei from PNRR. Implementation period: 31 July 2025 – 30 June 2026.Press release of Șimian commune (file of April 2026, undated in the text)
Cula lui CosteaFrăsinet, TeleormanNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 18 lists of the programme, for 2015, 2018–2023.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
Ruinele curții boierilor BălăceanuTătărăștii de Sus, TeleormanNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code appears on 13 lists of the programme, for 2019–2023.National Heritage Institute, programme lists
The Roma counts' manor ensembleViziru, BrăilaNational Restoration ProgrammeThe code of the ensemble the house belongs to appears on 16 lists of the programme, for 2019–2023.National Heritage Institute, programme lists

The state today, where a dated source says so

Each state is quoted from a dated source and holds at that date; today's state may differ. No state is inferred from a name, a photograph or the use recorded in 2015.

HouseWhereStateAs ofSource
Castelul Brukenthal din AvrigAvrig, SibiuA hotel7 June 2026brukenthal-palace-avrig.com
Castelul Daniel din TălișoaraTălișoara, CovasnaA hotel2026danielcastle.ro
Castelul Haller din OgraOgra, MureșA hotel2026blog.travelminit.ro
Conacul Ugron din Cristuru SecuiescCristuru Secuiesc, HarghitaA hotel28 October 2024alistmagazine.ro
Castelul BohușȘiria, AradA museumAugust 2025ccja.ro
Castelul KárolyiCarei, Satu MareA museum2026visitcarei.ro
Castelul PeleșSinaia, PrahovaA museum2026peles.ro
Castelul RhédeySângeorgiu de Pădure, MureșA museum23 January 2023comisarul.ro
Castelul Teleki din ColtăuColtău, MaramureșA museum15 September 2026ghidulmuzeelor.cimec.ro
Castelul din FăgărașFăgăraș, BrașovA museum5 February 2026salutfagaras.ro
Conacul Brătianu - „Florica”Ștefănești, ArgeșA museum19 February 2025jurnaluldearges.ro
Conacul Domokos GyulaCernat, CovasnaA museum2025cjcv.ro
Conacul Mari (Casa scriitorului Benedek Elek)Bățanii Mici, CovasnaA museum24 May 2024punctul.ro
Conacul Rosetti-TescanuTescani, BacăuA museum2024georgeenescu.ro
Conacul SéraIlieni, CovasnaA museum2025sfantugheorgheinfo.ro
Conacul din GoleștiGolești, ArgeșA museum2022muzeulgolesti.ro
Cula DucaMăldărești, VâlceaA museum2026muzee-valcea.ro
Cula GreceanuMăldărești, VâlceaA museum2026muzee-valcea.ro
Curtea boierească a lui Pană FilipescuFilipeștii de Târg, PrahovaA museum2024actualitateaprahoveana.ro
Curtea boierilor BozianuSângeru, PrahovaA museum2022sangeru.europrahova.eu
Curtea lui Alexandru și Radu BelluUrlați, PrahovaA museum2024actualitateaprahoveana.ro
Magna Curia (Castelul Bethlen)Deva, HunedoaraA museum14 August 2024accentmedia.ro
Castelul BayTreznea, SălajNo longer standing; it collapsed in July 20203 July 2020Adevărul, 3 July 2020
Castelul VeresPruniș, ClujNo longer standing19 December 2020karta.gallidercluj.ro
Castelul ApaffiCoștiui, MaramureșA public institution (school, town hall, hospital, cultural centre)9 January 2024directmm.ro

For the other 554 houses there is no dated source on their state today, so it stays unknown: whether they are museums, hotels, private homes, empty buildings or ruins is not known.

All 611 houses

Ordered by the date the list records. The dating is reproduced exactly as the heritage list writes it, centuries and ranges included.

HouseKindWhereDatedCode
Castelul KalnokycastleHoghiz, Brașovsec. XIII, sec. XVIBV-II-m-B-11716
Castelul din StremțcastleStremț, Albasec. XIII - XVIAB-II-m-B-00357.01
Curții boierești a Arboreștilorconac, a manor houseArbore, SuceavaEpoca medievalăSV-I-s-A-05393
Ruine conacconac, a manor houseVăcărești, DâmbovițaEpoca medievalăDB-I-m-A-17146.02
Castelul din FăgărașcastleFăgăraș, Brașovsec. XIV - XVIIIBV-II-m-A-11687.01
Curții boierești de la Milișăuți (ruine)conac, a manor houseMilișăuți, SuceavaSec. XIV-XVSV-I-s-B-05424
Ruinele conacului Abaffyconac, a manor houseTomești, Harghitasec. XIV - XVIII, Epoca medievalăHR-I-s-B-12716
Ruinele conacului Sándorconac, a manor houseVăcărești, Harghitasec. XIV - XVII, Epoca medievalăHR-I-s-B-12717
Castelul BrancastleBran, Brașov1377 - 1382BV-II-m-A-11610.01
Castelul ApafficastleCoștiui, Maramureșsec. XV - XVIIIMM-II-m-A-04557
Castelul Bethlen din AiudcastleAiud, Albasec. XV - XVI, modif. sec. XVII - XVIIIAB-II-m-A-00172.01
Castelul Wass-BanffycastleGilău, Clujsec. XV - XIXCJ-II-a-B-07673
Castelul familiei BolyaicastleBuia, Sibiusec. XV - XVIISB-II-m-A-12342
Curia familiei Beczconac, a manor houseCozmeni, Harghitasec. XV-XVI, Epoca medievalăHR-I-m-B-12659.01
Curte boiereascăconac, a manor houseArbore, SuceavaSec. XVSV-I-s-A-05394
Curtea cnezilor Cândreșconac, a manor houseSălașu de Sus, Hunedoarasec. XV - XVIIHD-II-a-A-03441
Curtea nobiliară a Cândeștilorconac, a manor houseRâu de Mori, Hunedoarasec. XV - XVI, transf. sec. XVII-XIXHD-II-a-A-03428
Curții boierești a lui Luca Arbore (ruine)conac, a manor houseȘipote, Iașisec. XVIS-II-a-B-04258
Reședința nobiliară fortificată de la Batăr (ruina)conac, a manor houseBatăr, Bihorsec. XV - XVIBH-II-m-B-01102
Ruine curți boiereșticonac, a manor houseDragomirești, Dâmbovițasec. XV - XVIII, Epoca medievalăDB-I-s-B-17035
Ruinele caselor boierilor Bucșeneșticonac, a manor houseBucșenești, Argeșsec. XVAG-I-m-A-13493.01
Ruinele castelului familiei ToldycastleSânnicolau Român, Bihorsec. XV - XVIBH-I-s-B-20233
Ruinele curții boierești a lui Șendreaconac, a manor houseDolheștii Mari, SuceavaSec. XVSV-I-s-A-05410
Castelul CorvinilorcastleHunedoara, Hunedoarasec. XIV, extins 1440 - 1453, transformat 1618 - 1620HD-II-m-A-03344
Castelul HuniadecastleTimișoara, Timiș1443–1447, ref. sec. XVI, XVIII, 1856TM-II-m-A-06140

How this was counted

The starting point is the 30,197 rows of the current national heritage list, as transcribed on Romanian Wikipedia. The list numbers an ensemble once and then each of its parts under the same code, so the park, the gate and the building appear separately; here rows under the same code were gathered into one house. That leaves 154 castles and 434 conace, 611 in all. The Székely curiae, which the list calls curia, are counted with the conace.

For 221 houses the list gives a century and no year. Those enter the map at that century's start, are drawn as hollow marks, and their record shows the dating exactly as the list writes it. Nine houses carry no dating at all, stay out of the animation and show a dash in the table. The local press gives years for some of them that contradict one another: the Golescu-Grant conac in Bucharest is dated 1784, 1812-1815 and 1814 in three different places. The year on this page is everywhere the one the heritage list gives.

The gallery holds the houses the list places in category A, of national importance, and for which a freely licensed photograph exists. Category A is the state's own judgement of heritage value.

The etymologies are those of the academic dictionaries: castel from the Latin castellum, attested in Romanian from the seventeenth century, with a variant that came through the Hungarian kastély; conac from the Turkish konak.

The coordinates are those of the list's transcription. Some point at the village rather than the building, so the mark on the map is approximate in those cases. The photographs are those the list or the Wikidata record names on Wikimedia Commons. Only files carrying an explicit licence were kept, and 323 houses were left without a picture.