Huniade Castle

The Huniade Castle (Romanian: Castelul Huniade; Hungarian: Hunyadi-kastély; German: Schloss Hunyadi) is the oldest monument in Timișoara, Romania, built between 1443 and 1447 by John Hunyadi and Paolo Santini de Duccio over the old royal castle dating from the 14th century (built during the reign of Charles I Robert).

[3]: 110  A contribution to its construction was made by the Italian architect Paolo Santini de Duccio, at that time in the service of John Hunyadi.

In front of the castle there are two lanterns reminding in several languages that Timișoara was the first city in Europe to introduce electric public lighting in 1884.

The windows, finished in a full arch but with neo-Gothic decoration above, took the place of the holes for the artillery pieces, and the facade was made in apparent brick.

[13] The castle tower is rectangular in shape, low in height, with small windows and decorated with crenellations at the upper end so that the roof is not visible.

The main entrance has been modified and is flanked by two massive pilasters that each have a collection of weapons specific to the Middle Ages at the top that contribute to the Gothic aspect of the castle.

Then a 4-meter deep fountain built between the 15th–16th centuries and an 11-meter tall medieval tower made of brick and mortar, located inside the castle, were discovered.

[12] In 1980, archeologist Alexandru Rădulescu made surveys in the inner courtyard and in the "Marble Hall", revealing the brick walls dating from 14th–16th centuries.

Lithography of Huniade Castle around 1730 ( National Museum of Banat )
The Huniade Castle in 1880. At that time, the castle was an artillery barracks.