Peleş Castle (Romanian: Castelul Peleş /kas'te.lul 'pe.leʃ/) is a
romantic castle in Sinaia, Romania, built between 1873 and 1883, and is
considered by some to be the most beautiful in Europe and in the world.
In 2006, the Romanian government announced that the castle will be
returned to King Michael.
Built in the middle of one of the most breathtaking landscapes that
could be imagined, the castle from Sinaia - with its grandeur and
elegance , with its well proportioned and its daring lines - creates a
magical atmosphere , made by human hand among the huge and
impressive mountains that surround it. It took people ten years to build
the castle. In order to be created a path that led to it, a great part of the
forest had to disappear. Finally, they managed to create it, thanks to the
energy and will of the King , who was said to be the real architect of
Peles.
The author of “The Life of King Carol” noted :” The castle of
Peles is the creation of the King. Simple, using the German style of
Renaissance, the edifice, well proportioned, surrounds the principal tour
and the viewer discovers a lot of gracious ornaments. But more than the
outside image of the castle are made from the initiative and will of the
King…”.
Almost all the wood was sculpted by a German artist, Stoerh, who
had been working for the King for thirty years. Stoerh created in Sinaia,
as well as in Bucharest, true masterpieces of decorative sculpture which
prove, apart from one of the most artistic inspirations, the talent he
possessed.
The rich and wonderful apartments of the Queen are decorated in a
stylish way: “This is the place I have been dreaming for 15 years,” said
Carmen Sylva in a letter addressed to her mother “and which I was
describing to my father. It is a strange thing to see that my dream has
come true at the age of forty.”
Stoerh was very proud of the ladder of the castle he had created
with the most perfect art. The music room of the Queen was made of nut
tree wood, had coloured windows and seemed to be a chapel. The wood
was separated from the walls by a free space of a few centimeters. The
room contains pianos and other musical instruments. Another room of
music has been recently built and was opened in 1996.
The ceremony of opening the castle on September 25, 1883 was
very solemn. The King and The Queen signed some documents related
to the building of the castle. That document can still be seen nowadays
on the corridors of the castle. At that time, the well-known writer, Vasile
Alecsandri, wrote a poem dedicated to the opening of the castle: “ Me,
Carol, and My people/ Built with one wish and one thought,/ My
kingdom while fighting in battle/ My palace when there is peace.”
For the first time, on August the 5th and 6th, 1866, Carol the 1st
came in the mountains and was hosted at the Sinaia Monastery, which
had been built in 1695 by Mihai Cantacuzino.
In 1873, Carol the 1st started building the Castle of Peles, after
choosing the place with his wife, Mrs. Elisabeth. He had bought the
space in 1872. In 1876, the building of the castle was given to the
architect Johannes Schultz. On October 7th,1883, it was opened
officially. But the second part of construction was finished in 1914 by
the Czech architect, Karel Liman. The exterior architecture was made in
the style of German Renaissance: sharp towers, with different shapes,
full of ornaments and wood sculpture.
The interior has different styles: statues, bas-relief, luxurious
furniture, icons, mirrors, candelabras and many objects made of silver.
The most beautiful rooms are: “The Honor Hall”, “The Room of
Arms”, “The Council Room”, “The Florentine Room”, “The Turkish
Room”, “The Theatre Room”, “The Concert Room”,etc.
“The Honor Hall” is the most sumptuous reception hall of the
entire castle, where had been earlier the interior yard. “The Room of
Arms” are placed in a space decorated in the neo-renaissance style. It
has a big collection of arms, over 4000 European and Oriental, pieces,
from the XIV-XVII centuries. “The Council Room”, arranged in 1914,
reminds of one of the of the City Hall’s room in Lucerna, Switzerland.
“The Florentin Room”, the first reception room of the castle, which is
also called “The Great Salon”, is decorated in the Italian neo-reinassance
style, with numerous elements of Florentin Reinassance. “The Turkish
Room” has a collection of Turkish and Persian vases and on the ceiling
there are embroidery made in Viena. “The Theatre Room” has, in its
decoration, elements in Ludovix XIV style. It contains 60 seats and the
royal lounge. “The Concert Room”,in English neo – renaissance style,
was added in 1906. In 1914, here was decided Romania’s neutrality in
First World War.
It is also important to know that Peleş Castle shelters one of the
most important and most valuable painting collections in Europe, almost
2,000 pieces. After King Michael's forced abdication by the communists
in 1947 the whole Peleş complex except the homonymous castle which
was opened for tourism became, for a short time, a creation and resting
place for Romanian cultural personalities. During the last years of the
communist regime, Nicolae Ceauşescu closed the entire area. The only
persons accepted in this area were maintenance and military guard
personnel. The whole area was declared a state protocol interest area.
It is interesting to note that Ceauşescu did not like the castle very much
and visited rarely. After the December 1989 Revolution, Peleş and
Pelişor Castles were re-integrated into the tourism circuit. At this
moment, The Foişor Castle remains - like in the past times - a
presidential residence, unlike the Economat Building and the Guard's
Chambers Building where hotels, restaurants and terraces have been
established. The other components of Peleş complex became either
tourism villas or state protocol buildings. Still, the most interesting
account about Peleş Castle remains the one that comes from Angelo de
Gubernatis (1840-1913), an Italian writer, who arrived in 1898 in Sinaia,
as a guest of the Royal Family:
Inaugurated in 1883, Peleş Castle is not only a pleasant place during
summer time; it has been conceived to be also a national monument,
meant to keep the trophies of the Plevna victory, which explains the
simple but majestic style. The castle's courtyard - Bramantes type - with
a fountain in the middle, in the most accurate Renaissance style,
pleasantly surprises the visitor. The courtyard has a merry decoration,
made out of plants and flowers; all round, the building's facades are
animated by elegant drawings. The interior of the castle is a true
wonder, due to the beauty and richness of the sculpted wood and the
stained glass windows. As you get in the vestibule, you are on the Honor
Staircase, in front of the most important rulers of old Romania: Holy
Stephen the Great, and Michael the Brave. In a proud attitude, wearing
whether a fur cap or with the gold crown on their heads, they impress
through the brilliant dressing, in which the white of ermine blends with
the emerald green or the red of the large mantle. On the right and on left
side of the two rulers, as servant knights, four shield bearers carry the
Romanian Provinces escutcheons. Inside the Queen's library, over the
groups of children symbolizing poetry and science, there is the image of
Ulfilas (311-383 a.d.) a Goth religious ruler, from the northem side of
Danube River, translating the Bible in their language and bringing his
contribution in spreading Christianity, a Christian apostle of the
Romans, and the image of Dante Alighieri, the creator of western
poetry. Passing the library and getting into the dormitory, we will meet
the image of Genies and Allegories of Painting and Music, as well as a
series of legendary themes. Inside the apartments reserved for the honor
guests, a number of coat-of-arms were shining through their heraldic
abundance, speaking about the ancestors of the Royal Family. But
among all, the glass paintings from the Peleş Castle are, beyond any
doubt, the most profound and shining. Here, the subjects are taken out of
Alecsandri’s poetry.
THE LEGEND OF THE GOLDEN COINS
A very fantastical legend,but liked by the Romanian people,says that in
the capsule of time placed on the foundations of Peles Castle, were
introduced some pieces of this famous coin, the first gold coin made in
the modern Romania.
In the next picture, on the left side there is the Sigmaringen Castle and
on the right is the Peles Castle from Sinaia. The image is a postal mark.
Students: STANONIU MARIA, 16 years old and TABREA
ANDRADA, 17 years old