Mikes Estate, Zăbala
  • Contact information

    Contact Person: Dima Zsuzsa
    Address: Zăbala Village nr. 437, Covasna County, Romania
    Phone: +40 724003658
  • Opening Times

    For visiting and tourist guidance, please contact the previously mentioned contact person. For events and room reservation, please contact Dima Zsuzsa via e-mail: reservations@zabola.com or phone: +40 724003658.
  • Short history of the building

    A Renaissance-style mansion constitutes the basis of the Mikes Castle we see today. The castle gained its monumental aspect in 1867, when Earl Mikes Benedek reconstructed the mansion and extended the building. During these construction works, the style of the building was completely changed - the mansion was added a mansard level, and additional rooms were built in the attic. The rectangular, turret-like three-story porch was constructed with carved pillars. The double family crest of Mikes Benedek and his wife, Sophia Moser, was placed on the forefront. During the Second World War, the estate was destroyed. In 1949, the building was nationalized, and the family was evicted. The castle became the headquarter of the state’s agriculture, after which it was used as a summer house by the labour union, later it functioned as orphanage, school, as well as a sanatorium. The property was regained by the Mikes family in 2005.
  • Access

    Zăbala is located at 40 km from Sfântu Gheorghe, at about 14 km from Târgu Secuiesc, and only 5 km from the city of Covasna. If you are travelling by car from the direction of Sfântu Gheorghe, we recommend you to head towards Covasna on county road nr. 13E. If you are coming from the direction of Târgu Secuiesc by car, please follow county road nr. 121 towards Covasna. However, it is easy to get to Zăbala village by train as well, there is a local private company, that provides rail services between Brașov and Brețcu.
  • How do I get here?
  • Services

    At the moment, there are three guest houses operating on the Mikes estate, that can accommodate 40 guests in total. There is a restaurant and entertainment rooms suitable for hosting weddings, conferences, team buildings, concerts etc. with a maximum capacity of 200 persons. In addition to the basic services (such as accommodation, restaurant, sauna etc.), the guest houses offer special services at request, such as baby-sitting, washing and ironing clothes etc. to the guests. Moreover, they organize hiking tours, carriage tours, bear and deer watching safaris at request. In the vicinity of Zăbala, the city of Covasna offers a variety of accommodations and medical treatment and thermal spas.
  • Other things to visit

    In the region, there are several monument buildings and museums to visit: the church from Ghelința dated from the 14th century is famous for its Gothic mural paintings, but there is another Mikes estate with a nice manor house in Zagon village, and there is the Sándor Csoma Memorial House in Chiuruș, the Village Museum in Cernat, the Crafts’ Museum in Târgu Secuiesc, the fortified church and chapel in Sânzieni - just to mention a few. Furthermore, there are many natural sights as well in the region, that we recommend you: the mofettas and thermal spas in the nearby Covasna city are highly popular among tourists, Saint Anna Lake, Bálványos Resort and the Mohos moss attracts thousands of tourists every summer. During the winter, there are many ski resorts near Zăbala, for e.g. in Covasna, Comandău, Băile Șugaș, Tușnad and the biggest one in Poiana Brașov. Moreover, many local termal spas have been recently renovated, for e.g. in the villages of Peteni, Harale and Băile Bálványos.
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