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Tag: Peles Castle

  • Autumn on Prahova Valley

    Autumn on Prahova Valley

    The area is famous not only for its wonderful resorts, which are perfect tourist destinations all year round, but also for its special historical monuments, natural monuments and vineyards. Together with our guide, Anda Popa, who is the secretary general of the Association for the Promotion and Development of Tourism in Prahova County, we’ll be reviewing some of the reasons why a trip to Prahova Valley in autumn is a must.



    The first stop in your trip to Prahova Valley should be in Sinaia, also known as the Pearl of the Carpathians, which is located 120 kms north of Bucharest, on the upper course of the Prahova River, at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains.



    Anda Popa: “We are promoting our county at international level under the motto ‘Prahova, your royal holiday’, therefore my advice to you is to start by visiting the royal Peles Castle in Sinaia. The French daily Le Figaro put this castle on the list of top ten most beautiful castles in the world. It is a former residence of the Romanian kings in the 19th and 20th centuries. You’ll find there guides who speak English, French, Russian and other foreign languages, and all you have to do is ask for the right guide upon showing your admission ticket. The castle can be visited all year round, except for November when it is closed for cleaning.”



    Next to the Peles Castle there is the Pelisor Castle, built in the German Renaissance style, with pinnacles covered in vividly-colored glazed roof tiles and with 70 rooms artistically decorated with original pieces as well as with replicas of the original ones, to recreate the atmosphere of the 1900s.



    Next our guide will recommend us the natural beauties of Prahova Valley: “A marvel of the Bucegi plateau is the rock shaped liked a Sphinx, the energy center of the Carpathian Mountains. The Sphinx from Romania has the same height as that of Egypt, namely 8 meters, and is similar to the statue of Venus discovered in Italy. Access to the Bucegi plateau is possible from both Busteni and Sinaia resorts.”



    Once on the Bucegi plateau, you should not miss the Cross on Caraiman Peak, which was built to honor the memory of the Romanian heroes. The Cross was inaugurated on September 14, 1928.


    Anda Popa: “The Cross was registered in the Guinness Book of Records in 2014. It is the cross erected at the highest altitude in the world, namely 2,291 meters. It is 28 meters high, being in the top 19 highest crosses in the world, and, on sunny days, it is visible from Busteni resort.”



    In late September, a 20-year old Wine Festival is held in Prahova Valley, when tourists can taste a famous Romanian wine, Fetesca Neagra, and can also visit the region’s wine cellars. Next Anda Popa will tell us about the main cellars on the Prahova wine route: “The Wine Route is open to tourists all year long. In autumn they will have the possibility to taste fresh must and also various wines, depending on the cellar they choose to visit. I recommend the area of Dealu Mare which is quite similar to the famous French region of Bordeaux. We have this program that takes tourists on a foray into the world of winemaking. They can visit the vineyard and the cellar, they can see the old and new instruments used for making wine and can also get to know a little about the history of Romanian wine. The wine route also includes a special mansion which provides a short history of the area.”



    A last destination on Prahova Valley recommended by Anda Popa is the Slanic Salt Mine: “Slanic is the biggest salt mine in Europe. It covers more than 78 thousand square meters and has 14 areas open to visitors. Some of them are even 50 meters high. The salt mine can be visited all year long and for tourists from Bucharest it is within reach, as it is less than 100 kms away from the capital. Doftana Valley is another destination worth a visit. It boasts a special produce called cascavea, a sort of semi-hard cheese, to which a festival has been dedicated, which is usually held in September.”

  • The Sinaia Casino

    The Sinaia Casino

    On the road between Bucharest and Brasov, an old trade route
    crossing the mountains, Sinaia developed in the 19th century as a
    resort on Prahova Valley. It started with inns built for the traders traveling
    between the two major urban centers. The development of the settlement was
    boosted by the St. Nicholas monastery, documented since the 16th
    century, and by the Sinai Monastery, set up in 1695. However, the most
    important event for the development of the resort was the building of Peles
    Castle, between 1875 and 1883 by the first king of Greater Romania, Carol I, as
    the most beloved royal residence.

    By early 20th century, Sinaia had
    become one of the favorite vacation destinations for the inhabitants of Bucharest.
    In 1912, a casino was built in the resort. The building, designed by architect
    Petre Antonescu, is located in Dimitrie Ghica park, on the foundation of the
    first villa built in the resort. The new building was erected very quickly,
    probably because one of the main shareholders in the casino was the Baron of
    Marcay, who was also a shareholder in the casino in Monte Carlo.

    The manager of
    the casino, Cristian Negulescu, told us about the history of the place:


    The casino, emblematic for the town of Sinaia, was built
    in just 7 months, in 1912. From its inauguration and until 1945, at the end of
    WWII, the building hosted the casino, which was equipped with roulette tables
    and various other games. It was designed to accommodate a large number of visitors,
    and so the flow of gamblers was huge, especially on the weekend. It had 600 to
    800 gamblers every day. Nowadays, the building is a location for cultural and
    corporate events, both private and public, attracting thousands from every
    corner of the world. Along the years, the building had many uses. During the
    communist years, the casino was a cultural center for trade unions, like many
    other historic buildings, and for a while it housed the town library. During
    this time, the building housed school clubs, theater shows, traditional music
    shows, and so on. In 1978 it became a building for protocol, and in 1990 it was
    turned over to the Ministry of Culture. Only a few days later, it was turned
    over to the Ministry of Tourism. In 1995, the casino was finally turned over to
    the institution handling state protocol.


    Today, the casino in Sinaia is a cultural institution, hosting
    theater and classical music shows, art exhibitions and various other events.
    The Sinaia Museum, one of the most recently built in the country, also hosts
    arts exhibitions. Cristian Negulescu told us more about it:

    The museum is
    hosted by Stirbey Castle, an emblematic building dating back to 1875, the
    oldest civilian building in Sinaia. It lies opposite to the town hall building,
    in the center of the town. In December 2015, Town Hall restored the building
    using its own funding, and the museum was inaugurated. Most exhibits were
    donated by the citizens of the town, as a result of a local campaign to collect
    objects with cultural and historical value for our town. We also have objects
    donated by religious institutions, such as Sinai Monastery, and also by Peles
    Castle.


    Since its opening, in 2015, Sinaia Museum had no less than 5,000
    visitors. Their number is sure to go up this summer, when the museum and the
    casino will host events as part of the international music festival called
    Enescu and World Music, taking place between August 7 and 30, 2017.

  • Peles Castle

    Peles Castle

    Ceremonies marking 150 years since the instatement of the Romanian monarchy have also been venued by the Peles Castle, a landmark of the Romanian Royal House situated in Sinaia, one of the most popular mountain resorts in Romania, which partly owes its fame to this emblematic building. It was in Sinaia that the new sovereign of Romania chose to build an authentic royal residence, of unparalleled beauty, as compared to what he found upon his arrival in Romania, in 1866.



    Construction works started in 1873, and the foundation stone was laid two years later. The official inauguration was held in 1883, but works continued and were completed rather late, in 1914. Thus, Peles Castle has become an architectural landmark of the late 19th century in Romania, says art critic Ruxandra Beldiman, who authored the book “Peles Castle. An Expression of German historicism.” But who are the builders and architects who worked on the Peles Castle along the years? Ruxandra Beldiman tries an answer.




    Ruxandra Beldiman: “In a first stage, Wilhelm von Doderer, a professor from Vienna, who had earlier worked at Baile Herculane (Herculane Baths), and later on, Johannes Schulz’s aide who remained at Peles until 1881 had a significant contribution. In a second stage, after 1895, works were taken over by the Czech architect Karel Liman, who also became the director of the royal architecture office.



    As Carol I wanted to propose a political and social model of German inspiration, his residence was to bear the same hallmarks. He didn’t want Peles to be a residence where to relax or spend his leisure time, but he regarded it as a residence of high political and symbolic value. He designed it as a cradle for his dynasty, a dream that came true in 1893, when Prince Carol, the future king Carol II was born, and later on when Prince Mihai was born on the Peles royal estate, which became a place where significant political decisions were made.”




    Architects Schultz and Liman were followed by Emil Andre Lecomte du Nouy, the architect who also worked on the Princely Church in Curtea de Arges, who was joined by various fine artists and decorators. Consequently, Peles Castle owes its appearance to the transformations brought to it in 1894. The castle covers an area of 3,400 square meters, has a ground floor, two floors and an attic. The interior is just as spectacular as, if not more spectacular, than the exterior. Art critic Ruxandra Beldiman has more.



    Ruxandra Beldiman: “Stylistically speaking, Peles is emblematic of the late 19th century European architecture. As regards the façade, we notice a mixture of German and Italian architectural styles, German Neo-Renaissance being illustrated by the wooden structure incorporated in the masonry, in the upper part of the building, whereas the lower part of the castle is of Italian inspiration. The interior boasts a wider variety of styles, such as German Neo-Renaissance, which was the favorite style of Carol I, as well as Neo-Renaissance in 19th century Florence or the Austrian Baroque, with several halls being decorated in Moorish-Ottoman style and last but not least, Art-Nouveau.”



    Walking through the Peleş Castle’s rooms, visitors may be surprised to discover paintings by Gustav Klimt, which are quite different from those that made him famous. Ruxanda Beldiman is back at the microphone.



    Ruxandra Beldiman: “Gustav Klimt together with his brother Ernst and a friend from faculty set up an interior decoration workshop in Vienna in 1879. At the time, Klimt was not famous. It was only 16 years later that his star began to rise, so at the Peleş Castle they worked in their quality as a subcontracting company. Therefore, by accident, the Peleş Castle came to have among its assets valuable paintings by Klimt, given that his youth paintings started to be reassessed. These paintings are atypical because, when he worked at the Peleş Castle, he used the techniques he learned in school, namely the academic style. And I’m referring to the Gallery of King Carol’s ancestors on the Main Staircase and the reproductions after the grand old masters. Another piece by Klimt, close to the art nouveau style, is the frieze that decorates the theater hall: Muses, Masks and Allegories. The frieze, made in 1884, has several elements that allude to the style that would later make Gustav Klimt famous.”



    Nationalized in 1948, turned into a museum between 1953 and 1975, the Peleş Museum is today open to visitors. During Communism, a part of the castles’ assets was transferred to other museums and to the Communist Party’s Economic Department. There have been attempts to recuperate the assets integrally, but they have failed. Nevertheless, by capitalizing on the building ‘in situ’ and by initiating a large-scale restoration work starting in 1975, the Communist regime managed to preserve the Peleş Castle that has eventually survived. Today it belongs to its rightful owners, the heirs of King Carol I: the Royal House of Romania.