The first fortification of Cris was built in the mid-15th century by the Bethlen family. The Bethlens ware one of the most important and wealthiest families of Transylvania.
The actual Renaissance palace was built in the 16-17th centuries. One of the towers began sinking in 1910 and the family demolished it. The Bethlens lived in there until 1949. After WW2 the castle was nationalized. The furniture and other valuables were taken to several museums (part of them disappeared). The building was used as an office building of the agricultural cooperative of Cris. Several agricultural machines also were stored here. (Some villagers told me that the medieval gate was too narrow for the tractors. Because of this, the gate and the adjacent bastion were demolished. The ruins were used to fill the moat.)
Otherwise the cooperative took care of the building.
The castle was declared a national monument in the 60s. The cooperative had to evacuate the castle, which was later completely abandoned. The rest of the furniture was stolen.
Some reconstruction begun after the fall of the Communism in the 90s. The heiress of the Bethlen family claimed the building. (It wasn't easy, but the tribunal returned it to the family.)
