Not far from Malancrav lies the village of Cris. Like Malancrav, it is reached by a surprisingly well-maintained valley road.
Cris is somewhat different from the other Saxon villages, as it has a castle rather than a fortified church. This is Bethlen Castle, which dates from the 14th-century.
We knew that Bethlen was not the ordinary tourist attraction from the outset. Reached up a rutted little road to a rough area for parking (you can park lower down and walk), you won’t find a ticket office or visitor centre. What you will find is an array of farmyard animals wandering around.
The site is surrounded by builders fencing – in fact, it was one of the builders who sold us the tickets. These costs about £1 each.
There now needs to be a word of caution – Bethlen is currently a work in progress. Its once completely dilapidated structure is being renovated. This is a significant task which will continue for many years, possibly decades to come. Therefore, what you get is a rather unusual mix of a historic ruin and a building site. The renovators, are more than happy for you to wander through the rooms that they are working on. In fact, there is a wander at will policy to the entire place. This does mean that health and safety somewhat goes out of the window – as could you if you take a wrong turn too quickly! Needless to say, visitors with young children, in particular, should take care.
It is however well worth visiting. On the plus side, it’s refreshing to be able to wander at will – be that up rickety staircases to the tower, or down into the unlit cellar. The latter reminded us of the plot of a horror movie – ‘two tourists explore the dark cellar of an uninhabited Transylvanian castle’ – what could go wrong!
You are able to wander outside the castle walls too, which gives you the opportunity to compare towers pre and post-renovation.
After a thoroughly enjoyable visit, we made our way back to the car. It was pleasing to see that the donkeys, ducks, geese, and pigs had performed their carpark attendant duties very well.
