Located at the foot of Bucegi Mountain in the picturesque town of Sinaia, Peles Castle (Romania) is a masterpiece of German architecture of the New Renaissance, and, according to many, one of the most beautiful castles in Europe.
After the Bran Peles castle 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 existing security measures - the presence of a large number of guards and video cameras.
Short story
The construction of the Peles castle began in 1873 by order of King Carol 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. He was supposed to serve as the summer residence of the royal family. Until 1947, he performed this function.
Peles Castle (photo above) was the first European castle to have heating and electricity. His own power station was located on the banks of the Peles Brook.
The castle occupies 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, an armory, libraries, study rooms, game rooms (for playing cards), thirty bathrooms, a hookah room, galleries, tea rooms, children's games rooms, conference rooms, breakfast rooms, dining rooms, and kitchens. And this is only the main part.
Each of these rooms, as well as the halls and hallways, are individually decorated. Therefore, when you walk around the castle, you don’t even guess what style awaits you at the next door. Decor ideas were taken from Turkish, Venetian, Florentine, French, Moorish and other styles.
The castle’s interior is striking with spiral staircases, interior balconies, massive mirrors, countless statues, doors that are hidden inside cabinets, a glass roof that opens in the summer, and so on.
To date, only about ten rooms out of the total number can be visited by tourists.
What can tourists see on excursions?
The first room you enter is the lobby. Its walls are decorated with carved walnut panels.
Further you can stroll through the following rooms:
- Royal library. Here a collection of rare valuable books has been collected and stored, some even in leather covers with engraved gold letters. Even 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 that was furnished in the room became a gift from Maharaja Kapurthala.
- The lounge, called the Florentine, impresses with its carved linden ceiling, two gilded chandeliers and Italian neo-Renaissance decorations. Doors for her were specially ordered and brought from Rome.
- Meeting room, which resembles one of the rooms of the city hall in Lucerne (Switzerland).
- Study with an impressive desk.
- Canteen. It is decorated in a rustic British style of the eighteenth century.
- Guest room in turkish style. Within its walls there is a collection of Turkish and Persian brass pots. It used to be a place to relax and smoke a pipe.
- A bedroom that is lit by a Czech crystal chandelier.
- The auditorium with sixty seats, which is decorated in the French style of the times of Louis XIV. Since 1906, it has become a home theater. Ceiling paintings and decorative murals were painted by famous Austrian artists Gustav Klimt and Franz Match.
- Moorish living room. It got such a name because it is framed 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 stunningly beautiful stained glass windows that were bought and installed between 1883 and 1914. Most are brought from Switzerland and Germany.
Even tourists can stroll along seven terraces, which are decorated with stone sculptures, marble fountains and decorative flower pots.
Tourists are also invited to walk around the castle. The style of landscape design has remained the same, and numerous fountains work to this day.
Armory
The armory, which is called the hall of European weapons, deserves special attention. All weapons that are located here are decorated with gold, silver, corals and various precious stones. The hall was built from 1903 to 1906, and it is decorated in the Neo-Renaissance style.
In total, the collection contains more than four thousand units of hunting equipment, military weapons and knightly equipment. All this was collected between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Tourists can familiarize themselves with such weapons and uniforms as chain 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 emperor king.
Working hours
You can visit Peles Castle (Romania), the photo of which is presented below, on the following days and hours:
- from June to September - from Tuesday to Sunday (from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), the day off is Monday;
- from October to May - from Wednesday to Sunday (from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), weekends - Monday and Tuesday.
In the month of November, the museum is closed.
Location
The address where Peles Castle is located is Sinaia, Peleselni street 2, Wallachia, Southern Romania.
Nearest major cities:
- Brasov - 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the north;
- Bucharest is 129 kilometers (80 miles) to the south.
The nearest train station is Sinai.
Entrance fees:
- total - 20 lei;
- for pensioners - 10 lei;
- students - 5 lei.
An additional fee is charged for photo and video shooting: 30 and 50 lei, respectively.
All prices are best checked at the checkout, which is located directly at the entrance to the castle.