The first stop on our road trip through Romania is Sinaia where we visit the Peleș Castle. It is built in the German Neo-Renaissance style as a summer residence of the first king of Romania, Carol I of Hohenzollern. The castle is pretty from the outside, especially in the winter wonderland we entered driving north and into the mountains.
After entering the castle and walking up a stair, we enter The Hall of Honour, which has incredibly detailed wood carvings three storey’s high. It’s impressive, especially if you take the time to look at the details, like the spiral staircase, the skylight, tapestry, carved figures and scenes, little balconies (if you know what these are called, let me know in the comments), peeks into adjacent corridors with arches and paintings… there is so much detail in this hall that it seems impossible to take it all in. Look at the skylight alone—each of the four corners has a protrusion that looks like a lantern which would let in more light due to its larger surface.
Leaving the Hall of Honours, there are a few knight armours standing in the hallway before I enter the Armoury Halls where King Carol’s weapons collection of almost 4000 pieces is displayed. The fireplace is only decorative because the castle was already built with a central heating system (as well as electricity and even a central vacuum cleaner). On the fireplace mantle is a German executioner’s sword displayed with an inscription on its blade: “May God give eternal life to the sinner whose head will be cut with this sword.” There is also a display of a mounted knight with steel armour for both horse and horseman, which is unique to Romania and known as Maximilian armour.
Walking through King Carol’s study, I get to a library with a small spiral staircase to a second level. One of the bookcases contains only empty covers of books because it’s actually a hidden door to a spiral staircase that leads to the upper levels of the castle. Following the library is a New Room for Audiences, which was the last room built before Carol’s death.
Next, I walk through The Old Music Room with a Bechstein grand piano and a harp, stained glass windows and paintings of nymphs. The Florentine Hall follows, which is stunning with its Murano chandeliers and mirrors, gold-plated ceiling, ebony wood cabinets and marble fireplace. When you stand in front of the mirror, you can see the reflection of a ceiling fresco in it which is a nice detail to notice.
The Moorish Room is dominated by large oriental rugs and oriental weapons on the walls; it looks interesting, but not inviting. I like the tapestries, one with a man and the other with a woman in the corner before I get to the Turkish Room, where oriental rugs are seemingly covering every inch of floor and wall. It looks much cozier than the moorish room.
From the Mirrors Hall, we get a peek into the dining room, which can seat 36 people at its extendible table. From there, I enter the Western Corridor, where I waited for a long time to get a picture without any people in it. I think it was worth it. Giant mirrors can be found here as well, and there are many opportunities to peek into the Hall of Honors again from here. At the end of the corridor, I am led up the stairs to the second floor (which would be the third floor for my North-American friends).
The second floor is the highest floor of the castle, and it’s much less ornate and more down-to-earth than the ground floor. Here, Queen Elizabeth’s ladies in waiting resided, as well as her maid, a talented cellist and even George Enescu had chambers here. Each of the little apartments are a few steps down from the corridor, and the entrances are barricaded with plexiglass screens, so I can peek in only from the corridor. The most impressive room on this floor is the queen’s painting studio. I also get a few nice glimpses through the glass doors to the little balconies into the Hall of Honours.
From the second floor, I go downstairs to visit the first floor. It starts with the Marble Gallery which leads directly into The Great Music Hall where Queen Elizabeth hosted musical events; talented guest musicians appeared here including George Enescu (Romania’s most lauded composer). Following this hall is the Small Music Room, which is sharing the organ (keyboards on both sides of the pipes) with the Great Music Hall. I can’t help but wonder and imagine what would happen if both keyboards were played at the same time (using the same pipes). The small music room hosted musical performances, and a balcony with additional seating was accessed via beautiful wooden staircase. In the next corridor, I get another peek into the central Hall of Honours.
Next, I enter the Royal Bedchamber, the bathroom and dressing room, followed by the breakfast room, which has a wonderful old tile stove. Then, after the guard room, comes the Rococo Apartment, used for royal guests. Prince Carol was born in this apartment. After this follow several drawing rooms where visitors used to be entertained. The Library for Guests looks out into the Hall of Honours again. After even more peeks into the Hall of Honours and walking through several corridors and down the stairs to the ground floor again, I get to the end of the tour.
Overall, my visit to the Peleș Castle was very worthwhile. The castle is built around the impressive Hall of Honours, where you can still discover new details after many years, I’m sure. The entire ground floor was awe-inspiring. The photos displayed here are the best I have, but they don’t quite do justice to the real experience. However, if I were doing it again, I would skip the second floor and instead go to the small Peleș Castle, Pelișor. I’ve heard that there is a gold room, literally a room covered in gold.
After the castle visit, we went to a restaurant at the bottom of the hill where I enjoyed a delicious wild boar stew to top the day off.
Wow very oplulent! You know I like this kind of stuff. Thanks sharing!!
Plus I am back!! I have some catching up to do!
C
Very ornate places in this country.
I often think of the crafts people who spent their lives making the places more beautiful. It is their legacy, Though they do not get the credit. Of course, I love the teal walls…
Looks like a little chilly there!