Satu Lung (Hosszúmacskás) – Cluj County
Although located only 20 km from Cluj-Napoca, the village of Satu Lung (Chinteni Commune) seems like it belongs to another world compared to the busy metropolitan lifestyle. With fewer than 100 inhabitants, the long hours flow differently in this village, whose center hosts a manor with a history lost in the mists of time.
Satu Lung, the former estate of the Macskási noble family
The history of Satu Lung stretches back to 1314 when it was first mentioned under the name Gene-Genyemacskása. In 1451, the settlement, owned by the Macskási (Matskássy/Matskási) noble family, was renamed Zenthmiklosmacskása, in accordance with the medieval Roman Catholic church dedicated to Saint Nicholas. However, the original population of the village disappeared during the 17th century, and it received its current Hungarian name (Hosszúmacskás) in 1724.
By 1712, only the site of the ruins of the former medieval church was known, and the existing community formed an independent Reformed parish, a situation that lasted until 1888, when the parishioners were subordinated to the parish of Măcicașu, then to Feiurdeni, and eventually to the parish of Chinteni. Today, no ethnic Hungarians live in the village, and there is no church either. However, there is a legacy left behind by the nobles who lived here, located right in the center of the village.
The Szentiványi Manor lies abandoned in the center of Satu Lung
A man approaches us with unsteady steps. „Why are you taking photos here?” he asks curiously, but his words are slurring together. Noticing the big beer bottle in the man’s bag, we quickly understand why. He looks proudly at the ruined building in the heart of the village. „I went to school here! There was the fifth grade, and there was the sixth…” the villager reminisces as he points to the broken windows, unable to answer questions about the building’s history. In fact, the only certain information the locals know about the manor is that many of them attended school there.
The large, eclectic-style manor, which also bears Baroque features, was supposedly built at the initiative of Iván Szentiványi, but the exact date of construction is unknown. The last rightful owner was presumably the Bártfay family, and over the Communist years it served as a warehouse, cultural center, and school. According to the scant available information, the unknown heirs have requested the restitution of the manor in court, but the years-long legal process has yet to reach a conclusion. Meanwhile, the building’s roof has collapsed, and its future is as bleak as the dark rooms overgrown with dense vegetation.
A simple Google search reveals that the first and among the few images of Satu Lung are those of the Szentiványi Manor. „Manor, former school.” It is a big shame that in a village with no tourist appeal at all, the only point of attraction, located right in the center, lies in a catastrophic state…