Peles Castle
Peles Castle beside the Sinaia resort, is situated 60 km from Brasov and 135 km from Bucharest, in the magnificent wilderness and amazing mountain scenery of the Carpathian Mountains. The Peles Castle is one of the best-preserved royal palaces in Europe, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914 in Neo Renaissance style. A grand palatial alpine villa of the Peles Castle, which was built in purpose of the summer residence for the first king of Romania, Carol I of Hohenzollern, combines different features of the classical European styles, mostly following Italian elegance and German aesthetics along Renaissance lines. The cost of the work on the Peles Castle undertaken between 1875 and 1914 was estimated to be 16,000,000 gold Romanian lei (approximately $US 120 million today). Between three and four hundred men worked on the construction of the Peles Castle.
Peleş Castle has a 3,200-square metre floor plan with over 170 rooms, many featuring themes from world cultures varying by function (offices, libraries, armories, art galleries) or by style (Florentine, Turkish, Moorish, French, Imperial). Peles Castle most impressive room is the gold room, with Art Nouveau decorations. All the rooms of the Peles Castle are extremely lavishly furnished and decorated to the slightest detail. There are 30 bathrooms in the Peles Castle. The establishment of Peles Castle hosts one of the finest collections of art in Eastern and Central Europe, consisting of statues, paintings, furniture, arms and armor, gold, silver, stained glass, ivory, fine china, tapestries, rugs and hand painted stained glass from Switzerland. The collection of arms and armor of the Peles Castle has over 4,000 pieces, divided between Eastern and Western war pieces and ceremonial or hunting pieces, spreading over four centuries of history. Peleş Castle houses a painting collection of almost 2,000 pieces. The Museum in the basement and 35 rooms of the Peles Castle on the first floor are open for visit. Peles Castle Visit schedule : Winter Hours – From September 15 to May 14 for the Peles Castle & Pelisor Castle : Wednesday: 11:00 – 17:00; Thursday to Sunday: 9:00- 17:00 and Monday & Tuesday: Closed. Summer Hours – from May 15 to 17 September : Tuesday: 11:00 – 17:00; Wednesday to Sunday: 9:00 – 17:00; Monday: Closed.
