A very recent trip to the mountains brought me in front of the most famous and beautiful castle in Romania.
Peles Castle
Located in Sinaia, the most famous mountain resort in the Bucegi Mountains, 120 km from the capital Bucharest. Bucegi Mountains, part of the Carpathian Mountains.
The town of Sinaia was built around the Sinaia Monastery, a monastery from 1695. The monastery was named after the biblical Mount Sinai.
Thus, this monastery has a very important role in the existence of this small mountain town. But the fame of the place is not given by this monastery. The most important tourist attraction is the Peles Palace, built by the first king of Romania, King Carol, as a summer residence. When I write this I think that even then, at the end of the nineteenth century, summers in Bucharest were almost as hot as now... except that there was no air conditioning!
The short trip to Sinaia could not fail to include a visit to this castle. At the same time, it couldn't be just a visit to the castle. It also had to be a trip through nature, so much desired by us, the inhabitants of big and polluted cities. Ideally, we would have liked a few short hikes in the mountains, but unfortunately, years and poor health prevented us from venturing into such adventures. We were left with memories of our youth when we didn't even think about the castle, all we wanted and did were long mountain trails...
Like any self-respecting castle, Peles Castle was located in a forest clearing near Sinaia. This makes it necessary to travel about 2 km through the forest. Just what we needed for moving in nature!
Peles Castle is a must-see for tourists, and it really is. For this reason, I will show below the route from the city to the castle, as we did. This way, those who are interested will know how the route is, what they can see and what awaits them.
From the railway station to the entrance to the royal domain.
Sinaia train station is a landmark that anyone can easily find. Coming from the train station, so standing with your back to the station, you have to walk on the road on the right side. At this road junction, we take the road on the right, which goes downhill (the road on the left leads to Sinaia Monastery)
Sinaia is at an altitude of 8oo m and is surrounded nearby by small forested mountains that must be seen. The greenery rests the eyes best!
Another important landmark of the city is the casino. We walk past this beautiful building and its garden.
An inscription that refers to the American servicemen who fought here in World War II and to the Romanian-American friendship attracts my attention. Thank you, America, on this occasion!
Finally, we reached the place where the path to the castle begins. Fortunately, there is a very easy-to-find landmark here too. A roundabout with a fountain in the middle.
Walk through the royal domain
After the end of the Second World War, Romania, along with many Eastern European countries was under Soviet influence, which led to the transition of these countries to communism.
All kinds of actions, pressure, threats and even rigged elections led to the abolition of royalty in Romania in 1947. King Michael, the grandson of King Carol, was forced to abdicate and was forced to leave the country. All the properties of the royal house, including Peles Castle, were confiscated.
After the abolition of communism in 1989, the former properties were returned to the royal house and for this reason, I use the term royal domain. Peles Castle and the surrounding forests belong to the royal house, represented by Princess Margareta, King Michael's daughter. The royal house has preserved the castle's museum status and allows it to be visited.
The road is paved and well maintained, eh, a road that kings used to walk on, isn't it?
One side of the road, towards the forest, is sloped, to prevent soil erosion.
On the other side, there is a mountain stream with small waterfalls.
From time to time we see construction among the trees. Former villas are now converted into restaurants or small hotels.
This part of the trail satisfies our longing for wilderness, greenery, and fresh air. Plus the coolness, it must be ten degrees Celsius less than in the city.
The road ends in a clearing, we can already guess that we are approaching the castle.
First contact with the commercial aspect of the place
Any tourist place, be it in the mountains or by the sea, is a place where many people come to spend their money! For their own pleasures or to buy gifts, small or large, for family and friends.
Plenty of stalls with all sorts of things, from food to clothes and toys. Of course, all these small traders pay a fee to be left there.
I forgot to introduce the walkers. That's me and two ladies, my wife, and a good friend. Shopping experts!
Happy, the ladies lost themselves in the crowd of walkers and shoppers. I don't like this sport myself, and that's why I sat in a place where I could better observe...
So many different items to satisfy all tastes and requirements. Not very good quality. The rather low price proves it.
My ladies must be looking for something specific, they have a target. They get into all kinds of tight, shady places...
... from where I can see that they come out in a hurry and even scared. I don't think so. But I don't think it was very pleasant inside either. Fortunately, that meant the end of the shopping and the sudden reminder that we were actually here for the Castle!
Before heading back to the castle, we noticed a group of tourists (local tourists) fascinated by the way a draughtsman was drawing portraits of those who wanted them.
Thanking thought the shopkeeper who made my colleagues give up shopping, I looked the proper way. Towards Peles Castle!
Oh, not like that. A plant distracted my camera. Once again...
Impressive sharp silhouette of the castle. Excellently positioned in the beautiful clearing.
Peles Castle
Prince Carol, I is elected ruler of Romania in 1866. He is a German prince, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who obviously did not know Romania and traveled a lot to get to know the country. That's how he came to see this place near Sinaia, which he liked very much. He bought the land and started building the castle in 1875. Construction was completed in 1883. During this time 300 workers worked under the direction of renowned German and Austrian architects and decorators.
Peleș then gained increasing importance, becoming the summer residence of the Romanian royal family, who spent a lot of time here, usually from May to November. Important political meetings were held here, such as the Crown Councils of 1914 (when Romania's neutrality from the First World War, which had just begun, was decided) and 1925.
The castle hosted many personalities of the time, writers, musicians, as well as kings and queens. The most important visit was that of the old Emperor of Austria-Hungary, Franz Joseph, in 1896. He took a lot of photographs on that occasion, impressed by the beauty and richness of the castle.
This is the castle we want to visit. It's a place that each of us visited many years ago and now we are curious to see if it will make the same strong impression on us... but, before we get to the castle, there's one more temptation. Well located.
We take advantage of the rest of the walk to also look at nature. The view is great and people enjoy it as best they can. Some cool off in the small river.
Others, including us, look at the beauty of the landscape and the grandeur of the mountains in the distance.
Finally, the last stop. A restaurant and a terrace, are only good for some rest and hydration.
A temptation that, thankfully, I skipped. A surprise that the ladies didn't buy anything, I should have thought this wasn't free, that something would happen later.
My companions preferred something natural, from the forest. Lots of women and children were selling berries, fresh and tasty.
We rested in the shade, ate raspberries, and prepared for the final assault. Visiting the castle. Which, of course, happened, only it was so much to visit that it's impossible to recount now. Definitely very soon!
I looked at the landscape. A strange feeling thinking I was looking at the same view that all the kings of Romania and their families once looked at.
In the end, a flower, #alwaysaflower!
Written for #marketfriday by @dswigle, #sublimesunday by @c0ff33a, and #beautifulsunday by @ace108
The castle and architecture is so beautiful but I'm mostly struck by the natural environment: the greenery, the mountains and general air. Must be such a sweet place to visit.
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You chose well. Nature is beautiful, the king knew where to build his castle...
I have visited Romania on a few occasions but always spent time in Bucharest only. It's been on my list to go to the countryside too! I hope I will manage one day :)
This is such a beautiful place! I love castles, history and architecture and this clicks all the boxes! It looks a bit like a place that I visited recently in Latvia. Oh, and I love those kiosks with traditional souvenirs. I think I would spend hours there as well as a ton of money :D
You visited Romania! I am glad and hope you will come again and visit this castle too. There are a few more notable ones but this one is the most important and it's easy to get to from Bucharest (an hour and a half by train). Thanks for reading!
I've been there on business trips but was lucky with my colleagues who took me around. Sometimes we would leave the work after lunch and spend the day roaming around :) Great memories!
I'm so glad you say you are left with fond memories. I have mixed feelings about Bucharest and that's why I'm glad to hear the objective opinion of a foreign tourist. Thank you!
The castle is so beautiful. It's so nice to visit ancient places like this. Thanks for sharing.
I thank you!
@tipu
Multumesc mult, @dswigle and @tipu!
Ești binevenit Dan!
Ha, ha..., that was a mistake! I don't know how I wrote it in Romanian, sorry.
No worries! I still remember some! :)
Very nice!
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The castle doesn't look big but it looks nice.
It's big enough for a king to live there, I'll do a post with a close up and interior photos.
Wonderful, guess you get to see where the sleep and go to toilet too. haha.
Well, it would have been interesting, but we didn't get there.
Hiya, @lizanomadsoul here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1642.
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Thank you, @pinmapple team and @lizanomadsoul!
You are very welcome @bluemoon :) Keep up the good work!
I try, thank you!