Mikó Citadel
The Mikó Citadel is situated in the administrative old centre of the Miercurea-Ciuc town, on the territory of the village that used to be here, „Mártonfalva ”. The citadel was built by count Hidvégi Mikó Ferenc, between 1623 and 1631, in the neo-renascent style. The count was the supreme captain of the Ciuc Throne, Gheorgheni and Casini, also member in the Transylvania council and the personal counselor of the principle Bethlen Gábor. Beeing a border citadel it had an important role in defending Transylvania, against the enemies, that were getting in the country on Ghimes passage.
On 21st October 1661 the citadel was occupied and set on fire by the Turkey-Tartar armies, leaded by Ali, leader from Timisoara.
It has gone through ample works of reconstruction between 1714 and 1716, the exterior system also being rebuilt afterwards, that was formed by defending ditches and outside fortifications, that lasted until 1732. The reconstruction was made my Austrians, that made the project of a defending system with 4 Italian bastions, of which’s names can be seen nowadays on the southern wing. On the western wing they built a gunpowder deposit and the Southern-Western bastion was transformed into a chapel. Being fortified like this, the citadel represented an important strategic point on the Eastern border of the Habsburgic Empire.
During Revolution from 1848-1849 it was the center of the Revolution troupes of Gál Sándor, after the Revolution it became the barrack of the Austrian troups and from 1873 it went into the suborder of the Hungarian Army.
Nowadays the citadel hosts the Székely Museum of Ciuc and in the garden that’s behind the citadel there is the village museum where there are specific Ciuc buildings: Székely gates, peasant houses and dependencies.
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