A castle at least architecturally interesting for what you usually see in Romania but which also represents the symbol of the biggest wine cellar of the country, entitled Jidvei.
On the way to exploring more of what our beloved country hides from the eyes of those who are not genuine seekers for the unknown, we ended up in a place that for some might sound familiar especially if we mention the word Jidvei which you can often find on bottle wines along with the castle from this post.
While I'm not a big fan of drinking alcohol other than a glass of cider once in months, it's funny that even though I felt like I could recognize the name from somewhere, I didn't know which was the source. But most likely I've seen these bottles in markets while going for shopping.
Anyway, if you are wondering what could be the relationship between a castle that dates since the 16th century and a brand of Romanian wines, the connection is as simple as possible because the one who created this brand ended up buying the castle and turning it into the symbol of his business.
Since I expect this brand not to be very known outside of the country, I'd like you to know that Jidvei represents the biggest wine cellar in Romania so if you ever travel to this part of the world you shouldn't be surprised to notice all kinds of vineyards in the distance while being on the way to the castle because being amongst the largest brands of Romanian wines, there are plenty of lands dedicated to grape crops.
Happily, reaching Bethlen-Haller Castle is quite easy talking about a road that takes you very close to the wall that shelters the imposing construction so there's not a lot of effort needed to be done other than driving more or less depending where are you coming from.
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As soon as we parked the car we went on the tiny house that seemed like the right place from where you can purchase tickets, and that's also where you can purchase some bottles of wine in case you are curious how it tastes a Romanian wine.
Still in the same place, we met two ladies who not only were selling the visiting tickets and welcoming everyone with flyers where it could be read a short summary about the whole place, but they were also the guides who were taking groups of tourists inside the castle every two hours.
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Visiting Bethlen-Haller cost us 25 RON / 5,08 EUR per person and we reached the castle with just a few minutes before starting the guided tour so we didn't have to wait a lot until we could go inside, but even if would reach earlier we wouldn't be allowed to get inside until the guide was opening the gates.
The castle can be visited from Tuesday to Sunday at 11 AM, 1 PM, 3 PM or 5 PM and you can even purchase your tickets in advance from HERE if you want, but I don't think it's needed. Still on the same website you can opt-in for wine testing, taking lunch, or even sleeping at the castle because there is a special arranged place for tourists who would like to spend the night in this place. Personally, we weren't interested in anything else other than seeing the castle because there's not much you can do around other than additionally exploring the wine cellar which comes with another 25 RON / 5,08 EUR to be paid per person.
As soon as we entered the castle the guide shared with us a little background of the castle and then led us to the basement where the wine testing usually happens.
We also got to see a different kind of elevator used exclusively for carrying the wine bottles but plenty of old bottles of wine stored behind an iron fence too.
When I first noticed that fence I thought it was part of the whole architecture without having any kind of usage.
Being a little bit too dark in the room, this also strengthened my first thought, but when I approached I noticed hundreds of dusty wine bottles which have been sitting there for ages.
Unfortunately, the single thing we could do in the basement was to listen to what the guide had to tell us about the winner cellar because as I mentioned before, you will be needed to pay again the price of the ticket in order to actually get in the wine cellar and see where the whole magic happens.
But even if we didn't see the process behind the name of Jidvei, we found lots of cool things like talking about the biggest wine cellar from Romania that covers 2,500 ha and processes 25 million kg of grapes annually. Among the grape varieties we remember Sauvignon Blanc occupying the biggest surface, being followed by Italian Riesling, Rose Tramier, Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Cabernet, and a lot more.
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Even though I consider the price for visiting the castle quite big comparing it with other castles we explored in the past in Romania, I appreciated to see the guide sharing with us a little bit more of brand of wine considering that there was no one in our group that announced attempting the wine testing after the tour. I have no doubt that those who also opted for visiting the wine cellar earned a lot more details than us but since we only paid for the visiting ticket I feel like we got some extra information that was welcomed with many smiles on peoples faces without being needed to pay anything extra for seeing the basement of the castle.
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After all the stories were shared in the basement we returned to the ground floor where we had our first conversation and then followed all the way to the next floor from where we could see a really beautiful landscape.
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Being quite an imposing castle that occupies a big surface on the ground, there are plenty of rooms you will get through along the tour so it's kind of hard to keep up with everything. But while in the communist period most of the decorations along with the furniture were stolen, when the castle passed into the ownership of the one who owns Jidvei brand of Romanian wines, he managed to get back some of the items which can be seen these days.
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Along with the furniture that would catch anyone's interest, there are also shared small collections such as pipes, watches, or even candlesticks, but also plenty of framed pictures each with its own story.
However, talking about a place that since 2003 is owned by a man who produces millions of liters of wine yearly, it's hard not to see things related to this business such as small details on the doors, statues, or even paintings on the wall where the same man can be noticed in all the phases he gets through starting with the mood before having a first sip of wine until the last phase when he's already drunk, lol.
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Anyway, talking about a castle that was first raised by the chancellor of Transylvania, Bethlen-Haller ended up having over 30 different Hungarian owners in 150 years. All these owners were part of noble families but which were either donating the castle further, losing it at poker games, and so on.
Bethlen-Haller had quite an adventurous history until 2003 when the last predecessor sold it to the Necsulescu family who are also the owners of Jidvei brand of wine and started renovating it but still taking note of its origins and the styles that were first used on the architecture of the castle.
Hence why, in one of the rooms, you will be able to see a small section of the original floor that is covered with a glass. You will notice that both the old one and the current floor are almost identical which is a really beautiful thing to see considering that there are at least 400 years between the two periods when the floors were assembled.
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On the opposite pole though, there was a room which didn't bring me any kind of happiness but actually disgust seeing a few animals being kept either as wall decorations or turned into rugs.
It's true that deer horns are quite common as decorations but I hate seeing the skull of the animal too. On the same line, I can understand the art of hunting even though I've never agreed with this activity, but if you kill an animal, at least keep it away from people or protect it somehow because it's ridiculous to think that everyone is so respectful and will avoid walking over it. There was actually a lady who hit the head of the lynx at least 3 times while she never paid attention on the direction she was walking in the room that was quite narrow.
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After we finished exploring the rooms of Bethlen-Haller we were lead to one more place located very close to the castle which perhaps represents the terraces where visitors can take the lunch or have a drink. However, there was no one on the table when we visited the castle which didn't come as a surprise considering that the prices are quite big for enjoying this experience.
However, from there can be seen a little church in the distance and lots of grass cut to the smallest detail which from my understanding it is in plan to be renovated and turned into a golf course.
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After we got to see the church from the distance and take a few more pictures with the landscape, the tour ended and we were free to walk around if we wanted or simply return to where we left the car or to purchase some souvenirs.
Anyway, since I usually don't enjoy that much having a guided tour just because I feel like I have to see everything against the clock and not at my own pace, we decided to have one last walk around the castle and actually see how it looks on the backside which wasn't included in the guided tour.
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The backside of the castle was being kept on the same line most of the castles seem like, namely with a wooden bridge that is suspended over a section which is usually filled with water. However, in the case of Bethlen-Haller Castle this section was never filled with water but actually represented a secret passage that leads you to the underground which is supposed to take you 9 km away making the connection between this castle and a different one.
Anyway, considering that everything seemed like still being under construction, perhaps if I ever return to this place I'll get to see this part of the castle included in the guided tour as well.
But as some final notes, I consider it a cool experience overall even if it seems expensive for what it has to offer. I'm saying that not because of the price of the ticket itself but because we've got to explore other castles that came with a lot more elements to discover at a way cheaper visiting fee or ever with no tax at all. But talking about a castle with plenty of rooms I can see the reason of adding 1-2 elements in each room to make people want to see all the rooms, but honestly I'd be a lot happier to see just 2-3 rooms but with a lot of elements instead of walking in a room to see a table with 4 chairs, then get to the next one to see a collection, and so on. It's just a personal thought, tho.
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In order to get to Bethlen-Haller Castle you have to follow the national road DN14 until you reach Seica Mare and get on DN14B until Valea Lunga then follow DJ142K until you enter Cetatea de Balta which represents the village that is home to the castle. Once you get to this village you will be able to see the towers of the castle from the distance and even find a few road signs leading you to the destination. Bethlen-Haller Castle is located 73 km away from Sibiu and 61 km away from Alba Iulia.
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT TRIP! 🗾
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