Documentary evidence of the city's existence first appeared in 1269 when Stephen
V, King of Hungary and Duke of Transilvania, mentioned "the royal castle
of Deva" in a privilege-grant for the Count Chyl of Kelling (Romanian: comitele
Chyl din Câlnic). Under Voivod John Hunyadi, Deva became an
important military and administrative centre. Partially destroyed by the Ottoman
Turks in 1550, it was afterward rebuilt and the fortress extended. In 1621
Prince Gabriel Bethlen transformed and extended the Magna Curia Palace (also
