Reconstruction of the Lower Castle and the Development of the Upper Castle

Architects: György Skardelli, Bálint Kelemen (Lower Castle), György Radványi (Outdoor stairs), Mihály Rudolf, Katalin Molnár, Zoltán Lipták (Upper Castle)
Interior architecture: Dr. Zsófia Lukács
Curator: Gábor Várkonyi
Text: György Szegő
Photos: Tibor Zsitva, Andrea Fábián

The reconstruction project of the castle in Füzér was launched back in 1910, and continued in the 1930s, but only had the necessary momentum in 1991 thanks to the activities of the Foundation for Füzér. In the mayor’s garden the gate vaulting was assembled from the pieces found throughout excavations going on for more than twenty years. From this communal lapidary the scheme of the Lower Castle was born. One can get from the parking area on a path through the forest to the drawbridge which was built after analogies, which in turn leads us to the gate arch built from the pieces found on the site. The andesit gate tower above the locally found corner pillar and the adjoining reception building behind appear as an integral unit of historic and contemporary components. The second stage of the reconstruction was a natural garden. The timber stairs show an especially sensible relation with the landscape as they have been seated in the terrain with ingenuous delicacy: the natural and man-made steps complement each other in a masterly harmony. The reconstruction project of the Upper Castle managed by Mihály Rudolf did not target at the mediaeval conditions, but focussed on the 17th-century ones which are better known from several sources. The reconstruction delicately shows which piece is original and which is a later fabrication. Made intentionally from different materials, pieces of restored furniture tend to be dominated by functions and proportions and were made with the aim to express milieu. The reconstruction project as such is indeed a successful and sensible amalgam of the genres of museology and architecture.

Lower Castle
Architecture: Közti Zrt.
Leading architects: György Skardelli, Bálint Kelemen
Structure: Ádám Becker, Béla Hegyi, Miklós Szakáts
HVAC: Szilárd Szakál
Landscape: Gabriella Havassy
Public utolitites: Zempléni Épületgépészeti Kft.
Archaeology: Zoltán Simon, Viktor Gál
Stone restoration: István Kovács
Furniture: Dr. Zsófia Lukács
Main contractor: Geoteam Kft.
Client: Füzér Község Önkormányzata

Upper Castle reconstruction
Architecture: Mihály Rudolf DLA, Katalin Molnár, Zoltán Lipták
Fellow architects: András Bögös, Judith Botos, Gyula Cséfalvay, Tamás Gonda, Borbála Huszanyik, Dániel Pintér, Endre Szamosi, Csaba Szász, Eszter Szélné Mercz, Szabolcs Szilágyi
Interiors: Dr. Zsófia Lukács
Reconstruction concept: Bálint Kelemen, Nándor Mehrl
Historians, archaeologists: Dr. Gábor Várkonyi, Zoltán Simon, Dr. Gergely Buzás, Viktor Gál
Historical monument expert: Zoltán Bereczki
Chapel vault: György Szekér
Stone restoration: Vilmos Osgyányi, István Kovács
Lamps: Orsolya Székely
Stove reconstruction: Judit Szebényi, Zsolnay Porcelánmanufaktúra Zrt.
Glassworks: János Kovács Keve DLA, Ágnes Herczeg
Paintings: Zsófia Balogh, Péter Boromisza, Klára Nemessányi, Imre Debreczeni, Gitta Pap, József Pinczés, Ilona Rudolf, Róbert Sütő, Kornélia Zimmermann
Art director, interiors: Csaba Bodonyi DLA
Structure: Zoltán Kalydy, Dr. János Kanócz
HVAC: Géza Várfalvi
Electrical engineering: Gábor Münnich
Main contractor: Laki Épületszobrász Zrt.
Client: Füzér Község Önkormányzata