The Boncza Castle in Chucsa is being renovated.

The Kolozs county representative body has signed the draft decision, which stipulates the renovation of the Boncza castle in Chucs, home to the Goga and Ady museums, with European Union funds. Maszol asked István Vákár, the vice president of the Cluj County Council, about the works that will soon begin

At its extraordinary meeting on Thursday, the Cluj county representative body signed the draft decision, which requires the renovation of the Boncza castle in Chucs, home to the Goga and Ady museums, with European Union funds. István Vákár, the vice-president of the Cluj County Council, told us that this is the third cultural institution with a Hungarian influence to be renovated: first the facade of the Bánffy Palace in Cluj was restored to its old glory, then the Bánffy Castle at the crossroads, which was handed over last year, now and the Boncza Castle in Chucsa is next.

As we found out, the building complex is not in such a bad condition as the crossroads castle was. It is still functional, the museums can be visited, and the park is in order. Nevertheless, it is in need of renovation, because many parts of it, from the roof tiles to the windows and doors, as well as the heating system, need to be modernized. After the renovation, it will of course retain its museum character, but there is also something new in the plan: the summer cinema building, which is located behind the Reformed church, very close to the main road, is currently completely inoperable, and the budget also counted on fixing it up: since there really isn't any other large square in the building complex, only the one in which the museum operates, the idea is that this part will be designed in such a way that it can even be used for various theater performances and screenings.

As István Vákár put it,

Protecting Ady's heritage is a very important mission. In this situation, it is particularly exciting, since we know Ady as a poet of love, and this building is exactly where he could experience love with Berta Boncza, i.e. Chinszka.

There is, however, another important chapter in this story: the Boncza castle could also be a symbol of cooperation, as it is the defining location of the relationship between Endre Ady and Octavian Goga that goes beyond death. The fact that "such a great Hungarian" and "such a great Romanian" were able to turn to each other with honor, respect and devotion despite the differences between them can be exemplary for all Transylvanian people. Goga kept his promise to Ady after the poet's death: he bought the then dilapidated castle from the widow and renovated it.

The renovation works are planned to start in the spring: the total budget of the project is 42.4 million lei, of which the Cluj County Council provides 8.8 million lei, although István Vákár emphasized: experience shows that from time to time something more comes in, which will require additional financial support.   

The municipality of Cluj-Napoca received the funding through the 2021-2027 North-West Regional Operative Program to renovate, modernize and integrate the building complex, which functions as a museum, as well as the adjacent summer garden into the tourism cycle of the county. The main goal of the renovation of the monument complex is to save the built heritage value of the castle, and on the map of the cultural route preserving the memory of Endre Ady, the Boncza castle in Csucsa, where Endre Ady and his wife, Boncza Berta lived temporarily between 1915 and 1917, will have a prominent place on the map.

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Featured image: István Vákár/Facebook