| Natural area of local importance. The design and furnishing of the castle The construction of the Ráday castle was started by Pál Ráday in 1700. The building is a one-storey classicist house with a central risalite on the main facade and 5 + 3 + 5 axes. The castle had many “prestigious” furnishings and items. Mention should be made of the aproximately 2,000-volume library, the more than a thousand pages of Count Imre Mikó's manuscript on the history of Transylvaniaand works from the 17th and 18th centuries, including Ortelius and the Pray codex. Numerous engravings, Bronze Age artifacts found here, several valuable old goldsmiths, including Prince Apaffy’s gold-plated, gold-stemmed pipe, toilette set for Prince Kaunitz, the Minister of Maria Theresa, the Rédey family’s rich silver set, and family paintings and many beautiful old furniture. The building took on many roles during it's history. It was a former monastery, Szövosz school, hospice and social home. There is currently a health institution in the castle - the Institute of Nursing, Care and Rehabilitation. As a result, other structures have recently been erected in addition to the castle building. The protected area cannot be visited in order not to disturb the institution and the patients. Flora and faunaIn the 8-hectares park belonging to the castle we can meet about 20 tree species. These include ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), a pyramidal shaped pedunculate oak (Quercus robur cv. fastigiata), Turkish hazel (Corylus colurna), western plane (Platanus occidentalis), ash-leaved maple (Acer negundo), common ash (Fraxinus excelsior) and The honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos). In addition to these, various pine, birch, yew and other ornamental shrubs form the woody stand of the park. Centuries-old, beautifully developed largeleaf linden (Tilia platyphyllos) has survived in the front garden. The old trees of the park are home to a colony of about 50 nests of the protected rook (Corvus frugilegus). |
