The Teleki Castle

Posmuș, Bistrița-Năsăud County

The Teleki Castle in Posmuș, included on the list of historical monuments, was reopened to the public in 2022 after an extensive rehabilitation and restoration process. The village of Posmuș in the medieval county of Cluj, Teaca district, near the commune of Șieu (to which it now belongs), is first mentioned in written sources in 1228. The village became the property of the Teleki family in the 17th century. The Teleki of Szek family is one of the most important noble families of Transylvania and Hungary, with several members of the family holding important leading positions and contributing to the history of culture. The most famous member of the family was Mihaly Teleki, chancellor of Prince Michael Apafi I, who made the family more prominent, as he received the rank of count in 1685, and in 1697 the rank of count of the Holy Roman Empire.
The castle in Posmuș consists of a series of buildings dating from the 18th century, built by the owner family, the Counts Teleki of Szek. The village of Posmuș was acquired by the Chancellor of Transylvania, Mihaly Teleki (1634-1690) around 1689. After his death, the Posmuș estate was inherited by his son Mihaly Teleki (1671-1720), after whose death the village was divided between his sons Mihaly and Janos (1697-1772). The castle seems to have been built after 1746, and the builder was Count Pal Teleki of Szek, as evidenced by the presence of the composite Teleki-Haller coat of arms (his wife was Borbala Haller), originally above the main gate, and by the date inscribed on the door bolt of the main building: 1752. The Posmuș dwelling, with Baroque stylistic elements, is a typical example of the survival, in the 18th century, of this type of noble court of the late 17th century.