The seventeenth century noble residence from Cetatea de Baltă. Observations regarding the architecture of rounded corner towers castles in Transylvania

The article presents an architectural analysis of the seventeenth century noble residence from Cetatea de Baltă (Hu: Kükülövár), introducing it in the context of similarly shaped noble residences from Bahnea (Hu: Bonyha), Ozd (Hu: Magyarózd) and Ţopa (Hu: Kisbún), residences with a compact central building, framed by four rounded (or polygonal) corner towers. A comparative view of the seventeenth century architectural features of these residences has allowed us to identify a possible use of the eastern corner towers for accommodating the court chapel, and in the same time to understand better the possible influences and connections in building noble residences in the seventeenth century Transylvania. The origin of this model has been already argued to have a French parentage, and this article brings forward illustrated engravings showing this type of residence in sixteenth century architectural treatises published by Jacques Androuet du Cerceau, but the closer Central European influences are also discussed as a result of craftsmen and architects coming to work in Transylvania under princely patronage from the neighbouring provinces.