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The Peles Castle

The Peles Castle in Romania was built in the late 19th century as the summer residence for King Carol I of Romania. Over 300 workers constructed the castle over two years, finishing in 1875. It featured modern amenities for the time like electric lighting. The castle housed the royal family until 1948 when it was confiscated by the state and turned into a museum preserving its original architecture and paintings collection.

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148 views1 page

The Peles Castle

The Peles Castle in Romania was built in the late 19th century as the summer residence for King Carol I of Romania. Over 300 workers constructed the castle over two years, finishing in 1875. It featured modern amenities for the time like electric lighting. The castle housed the royal family until 1948 when it was confiscated by the state and turned into a museum preserving its original architecture and paintings collection.

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0216 C
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Peles Castle is one of the most famous castles in Romania, along with

Bran Castle. If Bran is linked somewhat to the Romanian ruler Vlad Tepes, Peles is
distinguished by the fact that it was a royal residence over time, its sumptuous
rooms being sometimes used as decors for American films.
This castle was used as a summer residence by the kings of Romania. It was
built at the wish of the first Romanian king,.
Peles Castle is a unique construction, one of the most important monuments
of its kind in 19th century Europe.
The castle in Peles Valley, the summer residence of Romanian royalty, was
built during the rule of Carol I (1866-1914) and today it is an important national
monument of XIX century Europe. Here were held important political meetings,
even during the First World War.
The story of the castle begins with a visit made by Charles I in the town of
Sinaia. The king remained enchanted by the beauty of this place, located near the
mountains. At that time, Sinaia was actually a small village, named Podul
Neagului. Carol decided that the castle should be built in a secluded spot known as
Piatra Arsa. In 1872 he bought the land and the construction began a year later. It
was not an easy project to accomplish, because workers had to master the difficult
elements of nature, such as underground watercourses and landslides.
300 people worked at the construction of Peles Castle, which lasted two
years, under the supervision of Charles I. In 1875, the castle is finished and under
the cornerstone there were buried dozens of gold coins, first with the king’s image.
These coins are found today there and are known as the small treasure under the
castle.
Until the completion of Peles Castle(1883), the royal couple lived in the
hunting house. Due to the electrical plant in the Peles Valley, Peles Castle was the
first European castle entirely lit by electrical current. During the 1990s a new floor
was attached, ant the main tower was also raised. The castle cowers an area of
3200 sqm, has got 160 rooms and 30 bathrooms. The castle shelters one of the
valuable painting collections in Europe, and a XIV-XVII century weapon
collection, 4000 pieces. For the time, Peles had very modern facilities.
In 1948 the castle was confiscated and was found in the administration of the
state. It is sayd that the husbands Ceasusescu wanted to transform the castle into a
residence for protocol, but curators who managed the museum in the castle said
that inside there is a wood fungus which is very harmful to humans, because it was
known that the two had the mania of doing various changes to buildings, in
particular demolitions. Thus Peles could be saved and remained unchanged.
The castle was declared a museum in 1953. It was closed to the public
during the period between 1975-1990, at the wish of Nicolae Ceausescu.

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