4. Legends of Corvin Castle 

Like any medieval castle, Corvin castle does not lack interesting legends.

• The Legend of the three Turkish prisoners. During the visit, you will pass by an ancient well in one of the inner courtyards of the castle. The legend has it built by three Turkish prisoners whom John of Hunyadi kept in the castle. He promises the three that he will release them if they dig a well with good water. The prisoners did so and dug in the rock for 15 years, and at 28 meters deep, they finally found the precious water. Meanwhile, John had died, and his wife, Elisabeth Szilagyi, decided not to respect the word given by her husband and to execute the three Turks. As a last wish, the Turks request permission to write on the fountain an inscription: “You have water, but you don’t have a heart!” In fact, the inscription says as follows: “The one who wrote it is Hassan, a prisoner in the fortress near the church.” The old Arabic characters contained in the inscription date back to the middle of the 15th century. The current position of the inscription is on one of the buttresses of the chapel.

• The Legend of the Raven is probably the most interesting one. It explains the story of the heraldic sign of the first noblemen who built and ruled the castle 600 years ago. A raven holding a golden ring in his beak is inscribed on the Corvin family's coat of arms. And there is a reason why. It is said that John of Hunyadi was actually an illegitimate son of Sigismund of Luxembourg, king of Hungary, and a beautiful woman from the Land of Hateg, named Elizabeth. To protect her and her honor, the king gives her one of his brave militaries to be her husband. His name was Voicu. The king also offers her a ring as a gift for the unborn child to be recognized when he grows up and goes to the royal court. Later, after years, during a trip made by Voicu’s family, they stopped for lunch. The ring was forgotten on the edge of the towel on which the snacks were placed. A raven, attracted by the glow of the ring, stole it, trying to get away with it. The child John of Hunyadi took a bow and arrows the raven, thus recovering the ring. When he grew up and reached the royal court, he told this story to the king. Impressed by the boy's courage, the king decided that the symbol of the family of the Hunedorenians would be the golden ring in the beak. Moreover, the family name also comes from the Latin “Corvus,” which means “raven,” a bird that symbolized wisdom and longevity in the Middle Ages. During the visit to the castle, visitors discover the 500-year-old frescoes, which show the legend we just mentioned earlier.

• The Legend of Ana Török – According to some historians, the courtyard of the Corvins’ Castle was in the past the place of public executions. According to legend, Ana, John Török's wife, the nobleman who owned the Corvin Castle, was killed in the courtyard. John Török spent most of his time on the battlefield. He was a very jealous man, so every time he left home, he would remind his beautiful Ana not to go through her mind to deceive him, for he would have no mercy on her. Once, it happened that the young woman remained locked in her room and had to call for the blacksmith to unlock her. The spy who Török left to follow his wife told his master what had happened. Török ordered his wife to be removed and tied to a pillar to punish her. Then he ordered the execution of Ana.