I had the chance to visit together with my tourists the quaint town of Miclosoara,  Miklósvár in Hungarian. Located just 50km (31mi) north of Brasov, Miclosoara seems to be years and years back in time, just the main paved-road spoiling the medieval atmosphere. This is common for Transylvania, a magic land where tens of villages, maybe even hundreds, have been preserved very well, being kept far away from the bustling and modern life.

Right after the anticommunist revolution of 1989 few people knew about this place. It is the moment when a young count came back to his roots and took back his estate which had been confiscated by the communists. Count Kalnoky put Miclosoara back on the map of the Szeklerland, the core of the present Hungarian minority from Romania. In fact he did much more, he had managed to make from this forgotten little village an important tourist destination of Romania.

The estate was restored and now became the major attraction of this area. The old houses were renovated without destroing the old atmosphere. Today, several courtyards and buildings are part of the estate. The rooms are nothing more but a step back in time. Each detail reminds of the once glorious days of the Szekler community.

The place is administrated by employees well trained and local guides. Dinners and lunches can be served in the cellar of the main manor house.

Although this was the most amazing place I’ve ever stayed for one night, there are still some things that can be improved. By far the main problem is that the owner is nowhere to be seen. I realize he is busy, an important person, but this is the main idea of a place like this, to be greeted by the owner, to feel the warmth of the house, to be told the history of each door (e.g. the door of the bathroom from my room dates back to 1862 and nobody told me its story), window, piece of furniture or even iron nail. You are going to be greeted by a manager (this word scratched my years in a place like this one) who is very nice, willing to help you but he will never be able to act as an owner. In fact this place reminded me of a similar place from Crit where the owners renovated an old house, too. There, the owners are the main attraction by far and not their amazing old house.

The dinner we took in the cellar of the Count Kalnoky’s Estate was OK, but nothing outstanding. In fact the dessert was quite horrible, a very dry and insipid cake. The wine one the other hand was a very good choice.

To conclude, I must say that Count Kálnoky’s Estate blown up my mind but not my heart. It is a place I would recommend to anybody for the amazing restorations of these buildings and for the remote old village.

There is now doubt for me that Count Kalnoky deserve a great respect for his achievements, for the fact that he helps the local communities and for saving the old buildings of Transylvania. And I hope these achievements will make other owners of similar castles or manor houses which are scattered all over Transylvania, to follow his example and invest in this ruins of a glorious past.

Web page: Count Kalnoky’s Estate

Tariff: €€€€

Recommendation: ♥♥♥♥♥

by Daniel Gheorghita
Licensed Tour Guide