The public procurement procedure, which was announced for the reconstruction of the Rákóczi Castle on the thousand-year-old border in Gyimesbükk, is nearing its end. If everything goes well, a construction contract can be signed in the fall, and work can begin.
In order to rebuild the ruined Rákóczi castle, the Gyimesbükk municipality fulfilled all its tasks already at the beginning of the year, issued the construction permit, and obtained the necessary approvals from the specialized authorities.
The area of the castle was already handed over to the National Investment Company (CNI) last fall, and the state institution financing the reconstruction had the authority to call for the public procurement procedure necessary for the construction. This has happened, and in recent months the process has progressed to the point where one tenderer has been declared the winner.
Another applicant company, however, submitted a caveat, so we have to wait for this to be evaluated - said the mayor of Gyimesbükk, Péter Olteán, who, despite the delay, is confident that the bid will close soon. If this happens by autumn and the construction contract is signed, the reconstruction of Rákóczi Castle can begin this year, all the more so because it should be completed in the future. Last fall, the Ministry of Development approved 6.7 million lei of financing, including VAT, for the restoration of the important historical and touristic facility, the technical plans of which were already ready at that time. - writes Székelyhon.
They tried it once
This is not the first time that the restoration process has been initiated.
The works were initiated by András Deáky, the retired Gyimesbük school principal, a collection was started to raise the costs, and a plan was drawn up based on contemporary drawings.
In 2016, the village received the first construction permit for the restoration of the castle ruins from the Bákó County Council. After a public procurement procedure was announced for construction, in 2017 it turned out that the validity of the construction permit had expired because the person in charge had forgotten to extend it. For this reason, all the approvals from the specialized authorities and the construction permit had to be applied for again, but the process was stalled.
During the reconstruction, the building will be restored using authentic building materials, and according to the intention, an exhibition hall and a cafe will be set up in it for visitors.
It was built as a watchtower
The castle was built by the Transylvanian prince Gábor Bethlen around 1626 as a watchtower, the building was built at the beginning of the 18th century in II. Ferenc Rákóczi confirmed it, then it got the name it still uses today. The castle fulfilled a triple role, on the one hand it was a guard place, on the other hand it was used as a customs office, and after 1710 it was also used as a prison.
Photo: szekelyfold.ma
