On the European road E58 towards Baia Mare from Cluj, there is a small village called Coplean. It is a quite insignificant village, one might just pass through without even remembering it’s name. There is, however, one thing in this village, that made me go there and took some photos of it: the ruins of the Haller Castle.
The castle was built in 1725-1771 by János gróf Haller de Hallerkö, the governor of Transylvania between 1735-1755. It is a baroque style castle having some rococo elements which have been added later by the sculptor Anton Schuchbauer (1719-1789).
In quite the same shape as the Bánffy Castle, this small castle has been completely forgotten nowadays. Nobody really knows about it, there are no markings on the road to lead a curious visitor there, it is just standing alone, hidden behind the village houses, out of sight. In size it is much smaller than the castle of the Bánffy family from Bonchida, no stables, no side-buildings, just one single one storied U-shaped building surrounded by brick fences (what is left of it) and the ruins of a small tower at the entrance. The communist era did quite the job to ruin the “Shell Castle” (because of the ornaments on the side) along with its five hectare park…
How to get there: well, there is one dusty side-road that forks off the main road and leads into the village. Follow that, cross the railroad, take a left and then a right and the ruins will immediately get into sight. No signs, no markings, just ask the locals if you’re lost (that’s what I did…). Oh, yes: make sure you do not go there in shorts and sandals the vegetation surrounding the ruin is not very friendly on some points :).
Here are some pictures I have taken. Enjoy.
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