May 30, 2024
Seventy-seven miles north of Bucharest, nestled high in Romania’s dramatic Carpathian Mountains stands the most beautifully elegant castle we’ve visited this entire trip. Built between 1873 and 1914, Peles Castle reflects the German heritage of its original owners, King Carol I of Romania, and his wife, Queen Elisabeth. The King was brought from Germany to assume the throne in 1866 and remained in power until his death in 1914. He and his wife had only one child, a little girl, who died when she was four years old.
Built as a summer home, the castle was the most technologically advanced of its time. Its style has been compared to that of Neuschwanstein in Bavaria (aka the “Disney Castle,” fond memories for Pam and her daughters).
We arrived on a rainy day when the main clock tower was under construction. It was difficult to get good outside shots, so we’re supplementing Ken’s photos with some from the Internet.
Our tour began in the courtyard where what was once the guards’ quarters is now a restaurant. The building in the first picture with the clock tower originally served as the guest house. Back in the day guests would arrive with their own horses and servants and stay for extended periods of time, which also meant lots of luggage and personal items. There simply wasn’t enough room to fit all of them in the 34,000 sq. ft. 170 rooms of the castle, even if they did have 30 bathrooms (really???), so they were essentially given their own living quarters.
As we entered the main courtyard of the castle itself, we were struck by the incredible craftsmanship that surrounded us. From the moment you enter the courtyard you are surrounded by beauty and art. Each of the windows you see in the picture of the courtyard is etched glass, as shown in the second picture. Upon entry through the main door, you are greeted with parquet floors, marble walls and the statue shown in the last picture of the last row.
We started in the Hall of Honor, where guests would have received their initial welcome. The Hall is three stories high, topped with a fully electric sunroof, powered by a hydroelectric plant built along the river specifically to provide electricity to the castle, which also enjoyed running water, central heating (all of the fireplaces are cosmetic), two electric elevators and a central vacuum system. Keep in mind this is the King’s “cheap” version of a castle. He rejected three earlier designs because they were too costly.
Next up was the armory, displaying only 1,600 of the 4,000 pieces of weaponry owned by the King. All of the items are original, have actually been used in battle and were received as gifts to the King. The knight on the horse is the exception – it was never worn or used in battle. Just the armor being worn by the knight weighs 270 lbs. Might have been a little tough to engage in battle wearing that. A horse probably would have buckled under the weight of the armor designed for it.
The armory was followed by the study and the library. We just can’t say enough about the artistry on display. The third picture below is of the ceiling of the study, and every room is like this. The library contains a secret door, disguised as part of the bookcase, that leads to a series of tunnels used by the servants to more quickly reach the King and Queen when they required service, no matter where any of them were located.
There is nothing that is not art in this home. Even the furnishings are masterpieces.
The music room contains a harp and piano actually used while the King and Queen lived here.
The Florentine Hall was used for receptions. Its Murano glass chandeliers were crafted in Italy, dismantled and loaded onto a person-drawn carriage (they were afraid the horses would create too much jostling and break the glass in transit) which delivered them to a ship where they were transported to Romania. Once there the chandelier pieces were again loaded onto person-drawn carriages, delivered to the castle and reconstructed and hung. Each fixture weighs 200 lbs.
In the first picture you’ll notice the ceiling between the chandeliers contains a beautiful painting. On the wall across from the fireplace is a mirror angled just right so that it offers a reflection of that painting. Guests could enjoy a view of the painting without twisting or craning their necks to see it – genius!
But perhaps the most impressive feature of this room is its floor-to-ceiling bronze doors with 3-D figurines. They are absolutely stunning.
We continued on to the Mirror Hall, Dining Room, Moorish Room and a final reception room before exiting down the stairs into the Hall of Honor and into the back garden area.
In 1947 Communist Romania seized all of the property owned by the monarchy. Peles Castle was declared a museum in 1953, but during the final years of Romanian communism it was completely shut down, open only for maintenance and use by the military. Nicolae Ceausescu (pronounced chow-shesk-oo), the last Communist ruler of Romania, did not like the castle and closed it in 1975. After the Romanian Revolution in December 1989, which resulted in the execution of Ceausescu and his wife and ended 42 years of Communist rule in Romania, Peles was re-established as a heritage site and opened to the public.
We had lunch on our own and time to explore in the wonderful ski resort town of Sinaia. The rain continued, but we weren’t going to let it ruin our day! Check out those rain canapes for outdoor dining in that last picture. What a great idea!
We even found some properties for sale…
A beautiful ride back through the Carpathian Mountains took us to the town of Brasov, where the weather cleared, and we enjoyed a beautiful view of a floral peacock and an inviting park from our room.
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