Jósika Castle 1.61

The Jósika domain in Surduc, a village in Sălaj County, Romania, consists of a low-rise castle on the left bank of Someș River and a crypt built on a steep cliff at the entrance from Jibou into the village. The crypt, locally known as "Baron's crypt" (Cripta baronului), was built in 1825, in the memory of Miklós Jósika's father who died a year before. On the facade can be read "Parenti optimo pietas proculium posuit ano. MDCCCXXVII-mo", an inscription executed in 1828 by Hirschfeld Friedrich, a sculptor born in Debrecen.Here lived and worked from 1824 until 1853, writer Miklós Jósika, founder of the Hungarian romantic novel. Between the walls of the castle, he wrote the historical novel "Abafi", his style being likened to Walter Scott. Members of Jósika family, originating in the north of the current Hunedoara County, contributed significantly to the rise and final appearance of the castle.It is important from a historical perspective, because here Prince of Transylvania Francis II Rákóczi served a last lunch with Csáky István before the battle of Zsibó (today Jibou) of November 15, 1705, lost to the Austrian imperial army led by General Ludwig von Herbeville.The castle is included in the List of Historical Monuments elaborated by the Ministry of Culture, as monument of local importance.