Peles Castle, Romania (photo)

Located at the foot of Mount Butcega in the picturesque town of Sinaia, Peles Castle (Romania) is a masterpiece of the German architecture of the new Renaissance, and according to many - one of the most beautiful castles in Europe.

After the castle, Bran Peles is considered the second most visited museum in the country. Only in 2006 its threshold was crossed by 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.

The importance of the castle is also emphasized by the existing security measures - the presence of a large number of security guards and video cameras.

Short story

The construction of Peles Castle began in 1873, commissioned by King Carol I, 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 to serve as the summer residence of the royal family. Until 1947, he did this function.

Peles Castle (photo above) became the first European castle, where heating and electricity were conducted. His own power station was located on the banks of Peles Brook.

The castle occupies three thousand two hundred square meters, and the height of each tower is sixty six meters.

Interior of the castle

Peles Castle has one hundred and sixty fully furnished rooms. This includes bedrooms, armory, libraries, offices, game rooms (for playing cards), thirty bathrooms, a hall with a hookah, galleries, teahouses, children's playrooms, conference rooms, breakfast rooms, dining rooms, kitchens. And this is only 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 can not even guess what style is waiting for you next door. The decor ideas were taken from Turkish, Venetian, Florentine, French, Moorish and other styles.

The interior of the castle is struck with spiral staircases, interior balconies, massively decorated 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 of the entire amount 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 walnut panels with carvings.

Then you can walk along the following rooms:

1. The Royal Library. There is collected and stored a collection of rare valuable books, some even in leather covers engraved with 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 to different rooms of the castle.
2. Music room. All the furniture, which was furnished with the room, became a gift from the Maharaja of Kapurthala.
3. The rest room, called Florentine, impresses with its carved ceiling of lime, two gilded chandeliers and decorations in the style of Italian neo-Renaissance. Doors for her were specially ordered and brought from Rome.
4. A meeting room that resembles one of the rooms of the City Hall in Lucerne (Switzerland).
5. Cabinet with an impressive sized desk.
6. Canteen. It is decorated in a rustic British style of the eighteenth century.
7. Turkish style guest. In its walls a collection of Turkish and Persian brass pots is collected. Previously, it served as a place for rest and smoking pipes.
8. The bedroom, which is illuminated by a crystal Czech chandelier.
9. The auditorium has 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.
10. Moorish drawing room. This name she received because of the fact that it is decorated in a mixed style - Spanish-Moorish and North African. The interior of the living room reminds something of the Alhambra Palace in Grande (Andalusia).

Some rooms and corridors are decorated with stunning beauty stained glass windows, which were purchased and installed between 1883 and 1914. Most come from Switzerland and Germany.

Still tourists can stroll along the seven terraces, which are decorated with stone sculptures, fountains of marble and decorative flower pots.

Tourists are also invited to take a walk and on the territory of the castle. The style of landscape design has remained the same, and numerous fountains work to this day.

Armory

Special attention should be paid to the weapons, which is called the hall of European weapons. All the weapons that are here are decorated with gold, silver, coral and various precious stones. The hall was built from 1903 to 1906, and it was decorated in the style of neo-Renaissance.

In total, the collection contains more than four thousand pieces of hunting equipment, military weapons and knight equipment. All this was collected between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. Tourists can get acquainted with such weapons and uniforms as chain armor, helmets, scimitars, daggers, spears, muskets, pistols, shields, axes and so on.

Some items were received as gifts from India from the numerous friends of the king-emperor.

Working hours

Visit the castle Peles (Romania), the photo of which is shown below, you can in the following days and hours:

• From June to September - from Tuesday to Sunday (from 10 am to 16 pm), the day off is Monday;
• From October to May - from Wednesday to Sunday (from 10 am to 16 pm), weekends - Monday and Tuesday.

In November the museum does not work.

Location

The address, where Peles Castle is located, is Sinaia, Peleshelni 2 street, Wallachia, Southern Romania.

Nearest major cities:

• Brasov - 65 kilometers (40 miles) to the north;
• Bucharest - 129 kilometers (80 miles) to the south.

The nearest railway station is Sinai.

Cost of entrance tickets:

• Common - 20 lei;
• Pensioners - 10 lei;
• Students - 5 lei.

In addition, there is a charge for photo and video shooting: 30 and 50 lei respectively.

All prices are better specified in the cashier, which is located directly at the entrance to the castle.