Located at the foot of Mount Bucegi in the picturesque town of Sinaia, Peles Castle (Romania) is a masterpiece of German New Renaissance architecture and considered by many to be one of the most beautiful castles in Europe.
After Bran Castle, Peles is considered the second most visited museum in the country. In 2006 alone, two hundred and fifty thousand visitors from the countries of the former Soviet Union, as well as the United States of America, Australia, Japan and New Zealand crossed its threshold.
The importance of the castle is also emphasized by the existing security measures - the presence of a large number of guards and video cameras.
A Brief History
The construction of Peles Castle began in 1873 by order of King Karol the First, under the direct supervision of the Viennese architect Wilhelm Doderer, and continued until 1876 by his assistant Johann Schulz-de-Lemberg. During the war (1877-1879) the builders refused to work. Therefore, the castle was opened only on October 7, 1883. It was supposed to serve as the summer residence of the royal family. Until 1947, he performed this function.
Peles Castle (photoabove) was the first European castle to have heating and electricity. His own power plant was located on the banks of the Peles Brook.
The castle covers three thousand two hundred square meters, and the height of each tower is sixty-six meters.
Castle interior
Peles Castle has one hundred and sixty fully furnished rooms. This includes bedrooms, armory, libraries, offices, game rooms (for playing cards), thirty bathrooms, a hookah room, galleries, tea rooms, children's playrooms, conference rooms, breakfast rooms, dining rooms, kitchens. And that's just the main part.
Each of these rooms, as well as halls and hallways, are decorated in an individual style. Therefore, when you walk around the castle, you don’t even know what style awaits you at the next door. Decor ideas were taken from Turkish, Venetian, Florentine, French, Moorish and other styles.
The interior of the castle is striking with spiral staircases, internal balconies, massively decorated mirrors, countless statues, doors that are hidden inside cabinets, a glass roof that opens in summer, and so on.
Today, only about ten rooms out of the total number can be visited by tourists.
What can tourists see on the tour?
The first room you enter is the lobby. Its walls are decorated with carved walnut panels.
Next, you can walk through the following rooms:
- Royal Library. A collection of rare valuable books has been collected and stored here, some even in leather covers with engraved gold letters. Also in the library, in one of the cabinets, there is a secret door through which, according to legend, the king could get into different rooms of the castle.
- Music room. All the furniture in the room was a gift from the Maharaja of Kapurthala.
- The lounge, called the Florentine, impresses with its carved basswood ceiling, two gilded chandeliers and Italian Neo-Renaissance decorations. Doors for her were specially ordered and brought from Rome.
- A meeting room that resembles one of the city hall rooms in Lucerne, Switzerland.
- An office with an impressive desk.
- Dining room. It is decorated in rustic eighteenth century British style.
- Guest room in Turkish style. Within its walls is a collection of Turkish and Persian brass pots. Previously, it served as a place to relax and smoke a pipe.
- A bedroom illuminated by a Czech crystal chandelier.
- An auditorium with sixty seats, which is decorated in the French style of the time of Louis XIV. Since 1906 it has become a home cinema. The ceiling paintings and decorative frescoes were painted by renowned Austrian artists Gustav Klimt and Franz Match.
- Moorish living room. It received such a name due to the fact that it is decorated in a mixed style - Spanish-Moorish and North African. The interior of the living room is somewhat reminiscent of the Alhambra Palace in Grande(Andalusia).
Some rooms and corridors are decorated with stunning stained-glass windows, which were purchased and installed between 1883 and 1914. Most imported from Switzerland and Germany.
Tourists can also walk along the seven terraces, which are decorated with stone sculptures, marble fountains and decorative flower pots.
Tourists are also invited to take a walk in the castle grounds. The style of landscape design has been preserved, and numerous fountains are still working today.
Armory
Special attention deserves the armory, which is called the hall of European weapons. All the weapons that are here are decorated with gold, silver, corals and various precious stones. The hall was built from 1903 to 1906 and is decorated in neo-Renaissance style.
In total, the collection contains more than four thousand pieces of hunting equipment, military weapons and knightly equipment. All this was collected between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Tourists can get acquainted with such weapons and uniforms as mail armor, helmets, scimitars, daggers, spears, muskets, pistols, shields, axes and so on.
Some items were received as gifts from India from numerous friends of the King-Emperor.
Opening hours
You can visit the Peles Castle (Romania), the photo of which is presented below, on the following days and hours:
- June to September - Tuesday to Sunday (10 am to 4 pm), day off -Monday;
- October to May - Wednesday to Sunday (10 am to 4 pm), weekends - Monday and Tuesday.
The museum is closed in November.
Location
The address where Peles Castle is located is Sinaia, Peleselni Street 2, Wallachia, Southern Romania.
Nearest major cities:
- Brasov - 65 kilometers (40 miles) north;
- Bucharest is 129 kilometers (80 miles) south.
The nearest train station is Sinai.
Admission fees:
- general – 20 lei;
- pensioners – 10 lei;
- students – 5 lei.
Additionally charged for photo and video shooting: 30 and 50 lei respectively.
It is better to check all prices at the box office, which is located right at the entrance to the castle.
