PELES CASTLE from Sinaia

When someone asks what are the things to do in Romania, Peles Castle is definitely at the top of the list of places to visit in Romania!

Located at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, Peles Castle was the Summer Residence of the Royal Family of Romania and is one of the most spectacular castles in Europe.

In 1866, at the initiative of Romanian politicians, Prince Carol from the German Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen  royal family secretly came to Romania and became the leader of what was then Romania: a country formed by two historical provinces, Wallachia and Moldova, but without Transylvania.

A totally new place for the young German prince, whom he immediately falls in love with. The young Carol visits the rural area at the foot of the Carpathians and decides that the Summer Residence of the Royal Family should be built in Sinaia - at that time a small village. The construction works actually started in 1875 and lasted almost 40 years in total. The palace was put into use after 10 years, but only in 1914 did it acquire the final form that we see today.

From the beginning, Peles Castle was one of the most modern in Europe. It had electricity, a central heating system and running water.

Carol the First entrusts the design of the castle to an Austrian architect, Wilhelm von Doderer, who proposes 3 models of buildings from the Loire Valley, but Carol rejects them. Another architect is appointed to start the works: the German Johannes Schultz. He led the first phase of the works, until 1894, when the Czech architect, Karel Liman, took over the continuation of the works until their completion in 1914. In 1884, the electrical network was installed, the castle had its own generating set, and in 1897, the power plant was built. In 1906, the central tower of the castle was erected, where a year later the clock with three dials was installed, a creation of the Tower Clock Factory of the Royal Court of Bavaria, Johann Mannhardt. At the same time, the old Music Hall, the Florentine Hall and the Hall of Columns are furnished, and the Royal Dining Room is extended. On the first floor, on the north wing, the Prime Minister's Apartment is built.
Between 1907 and 1911, the Hall of Honor was built on the site of the second inner courtyard, the main reception hall of the castle. The lobby is decorated in the style of the German Renaissance.

The decorative art collections were established by co-opting some famous Western companies of the time: Odiot, from Paris, Eduard Wollenweber, from Munich and Paul Telge, from Berlin, creators and suppliers of goldsmith products. They were joined by Josef Resch, a famous jewelry store in Paris, and J.A Eysser, a famous furniture manufacturer in Nuremberg.
The last King of Romania, Michael, was forced by the communist government to abdicate in 1947. The Castle was confiscated by the communist regime. For a while it was open as a museum, but from 1975 to 1990, the castle was closed. After the fall of the communist regime in 1989, Peles Castle is open to the public again. In 2007, the Romanian Government returned the Castle to King Michael and his daughters, but it was King Michael's express wish that Peles Castle could be visited by Romanians and foreigners.