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Peles Castle

Nestled at the foot
of the Bucegi Mountains in the picturesque town of Sinaia, Peles Castle
is a masterpiece of German new-Renaissance architecture, considered
by many one of the most stunning castles in Europe.

Commissioned by King
Carol I in 1873 and completed in 1883, the castle served as the summer
residence of the royal family until 1947. Its 160 rooms are adorned
with the finest examples of European art, Murano crystal chandeliers,
German stained-glass windows and Cordoba leather-covered walls.

Peles Castle was the
first European castle entirely lit by electrical current. The electricity
was produced by the castle’s own plant. The castle draws its name
from neighboring Peles Creek, which passes right through the courtyard.
The first movie projection in Romania took place in 1906 in the castle’s
Theater Hall. The furniture in the Music Room is carved of teak, a gift
to King Carol I from the Maharajah of Kapurtala in India, while handmade
silk embroideries adorn the ceiling and walls of the Turkish Salon.
The ceiling paintings and decorative frescoes in the Theater Hall were
designed by the renowned Austrian artists Gustav Klimt and Frantz Matsch.

Over 4,000 European
and Oriental pieces dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries are on
display in the armories. King Ferdinand, who succeeded Carol I, commissioned
the smaller, art nouveau-style Pelisor Castle nearby. Pelisor's 70 rooms
feature a unique collection of turn-of-the century Viennese furniture
and Tiffany and Lalique glassware.

Sinaia
Monastery

Also worth exploring
in town is Sinaia Monastery, founded by Prince Mihai Cantacuzino in
1695, and named after the great Sinai Monastery on Mount Sinai. The
monastery built in between 1690-1695 had a double function: first of
defence and surveillance, of the Prahova valley commercial route, and
of cherity: providing shelter for the needy. Here one can find the Old
Church, the Great Church, a museum and Tache Ionescu's (prime minister
during WWI) grave. The Great Church was built in between 1842-1846.
In 1892 the Bell Tower was added, with its 1700 kg weighing bell. Tkanks
to Carol I this was the first church lit by electic power.

The paintings of the
church were made by a Danish painter Aage Exner. They show Queen Elisabeth
and her daughter Mary who died at a young age, and Mihai Cantacuzino,
the founder of the church. The furniture is carved wood, the altar screen,
the furniture of the nave and the two thrones are gold plated. The King's
chair bears the royal emblem and the 'Nihil sine Deo' (Nothing without
God) inscription. Elisabeth's chair bears the monogram E.D. One of the
remarkable pieces in the museum is Ana Roth's epitaf emroidered with
silk and gold thread, made in between 1897-1900. There are two Russion
icons representing Saint Serghei and Saint Nicholas, which were a gift
from the Russian czar Nikolai II, to Nifon Arhimandritul, the leader
of the monastery at that time, on baptising Nicolae, King Ferdinad's
son. In 1895, 200 years after the Old Church was built the country's
first exhibition of religious objects was opened. In between 1897-1903
Eforia which manages the wealth of the monastery renovated the building.
It was then that the church gained its today look. The restoration of
the Old Church was completed in 2006. The painting on the porch and
the open hallway are original, made by Pârvu Mutu, the favourite painter
of the Cantacuzinos.

The chapel was built
in 1695. Its size and more than 300 years old, blackened paintings evoke
the religious creeps of the catacombs in the early years of Christianity.

Cantacuzino Castle

The initiator of the
building and also the owner was Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, called
the "nabab" because of its impressive wealth. It said that
he could have paved the courtyard of the castle with the gold coins
he owned.

In 1911 the Cantacuzino
Castle was built along with a series of caves, waterfalls and fountains,
all located in the park. Impressive in terms of builiding limit, the
castle is compared to other buildings completed in neobrancovenesc style
such as the patriarchal Palace, Peles complex in Sinaia and the Cotroceni.
The interior decorative repertoire consists of polychrome molding, ornamental
and figurative painting, stained glass windows, carved carpentry, tiled
ceilings, railings carved in stone, wrought iron or wood, floors in
decorative sandstone slabs or floors with parquetry, which confer a
romantic feel to the interior, even if the molding of the interior columns
and door framing sculpture reminds us of the decorative Brancoveanu
style repertoire. The interior polychromy supported by the geometrical
motifs of the receptions hall arcades reminds us of the paintings found
in religious spaces due to neobizantin style. Stained glass windows,
railings, the stairways of the hallway and the ceilings with visible
beams some of them painted, remind us of the romantic decorative repertoire.
All this decorative repertoire emphasizes the unique character of the
building, bringing forward the ensigns of the Cantacuzino family as
well as those belonging to families related to this, painted in the
reception room next to the fresco of the most outstanding members of
the Cantacuzino boyar -related Wallachian branch.

The complex is in full
coordination with ample exterior decorations, terraces and walls of
support, ramps and stairs with railings of stone that besides functionality
makes perfect integration of this complexity in the mountain area. In
addition, the complex is located in an area scientifically proven as
being an important energetic pole and studies stand for it.

Rasnov Fortress

Rasnov Fortress (Rosenau in German), is located on a rocky hilltop
in the Carpathian Mountains, 650 ft. above the town of Rasnov. First
mentioned in an official document in 1331, the fortress was built by
Teutonic Knights as protection against invading Tartars and was later
enlarged by the local Saxon population. Strategically located on the
commercial route linking the provinces of Transylvania and Walachia,
Rasnov differs from other Saxon fortresses in that it was designed as
a place of refuge over extended periods of time. As such, it had at
least 30 houses, a school, a chapel and other buildings more commonly
associated with a village. According to local legend, two Turkish prisoners
were put to the task of digging a well through solid rock in the center
of the fortress. They were promised their freedom once the well was
finished. Work on the 470-foot-deep well began in 1623 and took 17 years
to complete. The well provided extra security as it meant the people
didn't have to go outside the gates at all during a siege. It was in
use until 1850 when the wheel broke. The defensive system included nine
towers, two bastions and a drawbridge. Surrounded by 500-foot-slopes
on the north, south and west sides, the fortress was obliged to surrender
only once, in the year 1612 when invaders managed to find the secret
route that supplied the people inside the fortress with water. With
the location of their water supply no longer a secret, the need for
a well inside the fortress became a must. The last siege of Rasnov Fortress
took place in 1690 during the final Ottoman invasion of Transylvania.
Damaged by fire in 1718, it was rebuilt the following year. The next
major damage occurred as the result of an earthquake in 1802. The fortress
was last used as a place of refuge during the revolution of 1848 and
was abandoned after that. Recently, the old fortress has been restored
to its former glory and today, you can visit the impressive remains.
There is also a museum here, hidden behind the ancient walls, where
you can find a skeleton buried beneath a glass floor, as well as some
other interesting artifacts. The inner rooms are maze-like, with several
wooden ladders linking them and a few so-called secret passages which
should keep you busy for quite awhile.

Bran Castle

Surrounded by an aura
of mystery and legend and perched high atop a 200-foot-high rock, Bran
Castle owes its fame to its imposing towers and turrets as well as to
the myth created around Bram Stocker’s Dracula.

Built on the site of
a Teutonic Knights stronghold dating from 1212, the castle was first
documented in an act issued by Louis I of Hungary on November 19, 1377,
giving the Saxons of Kronstadt (Brasov) the privilege to build the Citadel.

Although Stoker never
visited Transylvania, the Irish author relied on research and his vivid
imagination to create the dark and intimidating stomping ground of Count
Dracula, leading to persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad
Tepes, ruler of Walachia. While the association with Dracula is sketchy
at best, the castle continues to hold a strong attraction for all fans
of the Count.

From 1920 to 1957 Bran
served as royal residence, a gift of the people of Brasov to Queen Marie
of Romania. The castle is now a museum open to tourists, displaying
art and furniture collected by Queen Marie.

Narrow winding stairways
lead through some 60 timbered rooms, many connected by underground passages,
which house collections of furniture, weapons and armor dating from
the 14th to the 19th centuries. The castle overlooks the picturesque
village of Bran, which offers an open-air Ethnographic Museum consisting
of old local-style village houses complete with furniture, household
objects and costumes.