Peles castle romania. Three castles worth a trip to Romania. Museum exhibitions of the castle

In a picturesque corner of the Carpathian Mountains, on the medieval path that connects Wallachia and Transylvania was built Peles castle(Castelul Peleş).

It is located near the city of Sinai. The capital is located at a distance of 135 kilometers. The construction of the castle was carried out in the period from 1873 to 1914. The castle got its name in honor of the mountain river flowing in the immediate vicinity.

King Carol I (1839-1914) rejected several original castle projects due to high cost and lack of originality.

However, the architect Johann Schulz was able to design a castle that pleased the king: a small castle or rather spacious Alpine-style palace, combining Italian elegance with German neo-Renaissance aesthetics to serve as a summer residence filled with political, cultural and symbolic meanings.


The architecture of the building is eclectic, a lot of things are mixed here: rococo, baroque, and renaissance.

In addition to the king, his wife Elizabeth was also involved in the construction, in whose letters one can find many references to the construction of Peles. The castle was opened only in 1883, but immediately began to be reconstructed. Since the castle was built in the second half of the 19th century, during the period of rapid development of technology, it used all the advanced technologies of that time. A power plant was built specifically to supply the castle, and Peles became the first castle in the world where electricity was supplied and even an elevator was installed. A little later, in 1916, a cinema was even made in the castle.

In 1947, after the forced abdication of King Michael, the new government confiscated all royal property, including the estate and Peles Castle. Most of the collections of paintings, furniture, textiles, decorative arts and books were donated to the National Art Museum in Bucharest. For some time the castle was open to tourists, and in 1953 it was declared a museum. The office premises of the castle served as a holiday home for Romanian cultural figures

But at the end of the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu, Peles Castle was closed to visitors and turned into a residence for the country's leadership. Here it is worth mentioning the history, thanks to which Nicolae Ceausescu himself very rarely visited it. And all because the museum workers started a rumor that there was a lot of harmful fungus in the castle, and Ceausescu was quite distrustful in terms of his health.

After 1989, Peles was reopened, and in 2006 the Romanian government returned the castle to the royal family. But the dynasty refused Peles for a modest reward - € 30,000,000. The request was fulfilled, and, finally, Peles received the status of a state museum.

The interior design of the castle is not made in the same style.

The castle building has 160 living rooms and 30 bathrooms. The interior looks very rich: ebony, porcelain, leather from Cordoba, oriental carpets, tapestries, gold and silver utensils, paintings, sculptures, ivory.

The most interesting for tourists to visit are the library of the king (contains more than 800 rare volumes) and his study (not completely decorated, since the king died in the midst of work, and it was decided to leave everything as it is), a dining room, a hall for spectators (it was located there cinema), a meeting room and halls of Eastern and European weapons. It is also worth looking into the music, Moorish, Florentine, Oriental and Turkish halls. Their names give an idea in what styles the interior of these rooms is made and filled.

The park ensemble is also worthy of attention. It is very beautiful here: the terraces are decorated with beautiful fountains, exquisite staircases, urns, lions, Carrara marble statues and various fancy decorative details.

Collections of the Peles Castle

Glassware collection

Glassware collection Peles National Museum includes more than 1500 exhibits. The initiative to create the collection belonged to King Carol I, and his followers, especially Queen Mary, continued to enrich it. The collection includes German, Italian, Austrian, English, French and Czech crystal vases made in the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

Collection of gold and silver items

This collection consists of approximately 5,500 exhibits, including objects of great artistic and documentary value. The basic collection was created by King Carol I, who ordered items from various masters from,. The exhibits of the collection belonged to the King and Queen of Romania, other members of the Romanian royal house and their contemporaries. The collection contains many gifts to the Romanian monarchs on anniversaries, birthdays, holidays dedicated to defining events in the history of Romania. It should be noted that about a third of the silverware collection is represented by German creations: goblets, decorative beer mugs, dishes, decorative figurines, cigarette cases, ties, frames, key chains, hairpins, pens, pencils, glasses rings, decorative plates.

Watch collection

King Carol I was known for his punctuality, so this collection of more than fifty clocks from the 18th - 20th centuries: wall, table and floor clocks, miniature and fireplace clocks, of various typologies and styles, was created by him with special attention and care. The collection also includes several alarm clocks and pocket watches. The famous Swiss watch company Patek Philippe produced in 1881 a pocket watch of the first king of Romania. The watch case is made of solid gold, monogram engraved on the bezel, surmounted by a crown encrusted with diamonds and rubies. This clock is also an exhibit of the museum.

Collection of stained glass windows.

Revived in the 19th century, the medieval art of stained glass is seen as an architectural demonstration of Christian sentiments, as a means of depicting divine light, which is reflected on believers. By order of King Carol I, a collection of stained glass windows from the time of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation was assembled, as well as specially made between 1881 and 1883 by the FX Zettler company from Munich. There are about 800 stained-glass windows in the collection, which are distinguished mainly by the original method of representing religious scenes.

Collection of weapons

It has over four thousand copies. The most interesting and most valuable exhibit is an original item from: it is half a pistol and half a dagger.

Collection of external monumental sculpture

Peles Castle of King Carol I is surrounded by a beautiful terraced garden created between 1881-1914. The political context of the reign of King Carol I, as a young monarch, prompted him to surround his residence with an appropriate garden. After long hesitation, the king settled on the classical model of the French monarchy, whose ideology was supported and supplemented in landscape architecture. The gardens contain many fine fountains and statues.

Textile Collection

Oriental carpets

The purchase of carpets for Peles Castle was carried out in parallel with other items, King Carol I was equally interested in painting, sculpture, furniture, weapons, silver, tapestries, etc. The king's passion for art continued throughout his life. The collection consists of about 300 oriental carpets, which were made by well-known workshops of that time in Persia (the cities of Kirman, Keshana, Tabriz, Isfahan, Khorasan), Turkish Anatolia (manufactory Istanbul, Smyrna), in the Caucasus (workshop of Shirvan, Karabakh) and Turkmenistan (Bukhara) .

tapestries

Along with carpets, the textile collection contains some tapestries made in famous tapestry centers in Europe (France, Belgium, Italy). The most valuable tapestries from the collection are exhibited in the Hall of Honor, the main reception hall of the castle, made in the Aubusson workshop in France in the middle of the 18th century. A valuable Flemish tapestry in the collection is a tapestry of impressive dimensions (523×270 cm) entitled "Justice of Trajan", from the middle of the 15th century.

Collection of ceramics.

In this huge art project, the collection of ceramics (ceramic tiles, porcelain) of Peles Castle occupies a rather significant place (the collection has more than 5000 exhibits). The collection includes pieces by European and Oriental craftsmen that were in vogue in the 19th century.

Official site: http://peles.ro

Peles castle address

Aleea Peleşului 2, Sinaia 106100, România.

Coordinates: 45.35966, 25.541697.

For route planning by public bus transport, please use the website www.autogari.ro, railway - www.infofer.ro.

Access to the castle is only in the form of organized tour groups. Groups are recruited as tourists arrive. Guided tours are available in Romanian, English, French, Spanish and Italian.

Full tour ticket prices (1.15 minutes).

Adults - 50 lei (€ 11.00), pensioners - 25 lei (€ 5.50), pupils, students - 12.5 lei (€ 2.80).

Photo - 32 lei (€ 7.00) from the camera, video - 53 lei (€ 12.00) from the camera

Prices for a quick tour (45 minutes) are half the price.

Between 1873 and 1914, his inauguration took place in 1883. It was named after a nearby mountain stream. Currently, the castle is a historical monument. The Peles National Museum is located on the territory of the castle.

Peles castle in summer

Inner courtyard of the castle

Story

Description

The first architect of the castle was the German Johann Schulz (1876-1883), his successor was the Czech architect Karel Liman. According to its structure and functions, Peles is a palace, but everyone affectionately calls it a castle. The main architectural style is Neo-Renaissance, but the half-timbered facades of the courtyard, with their luxuriously painted walls, show a Saxon influence, while the interiors, decorated with rich wood carvings and fine fabrics, show a baroque influence.

Peles Castle has 3200 m² of area, more than 160 rooms, 30 bathrooms, luxuriously furnished and exquisitely decorated, a theater hall with 60 seats with a royal box. It has one of the finest art collections in Eastern and Central Europe, which includes sculpture, painting, furniture, weapons and armor, gold and silver, ivory, porcelain, carpets and tapestries. The collection of weapons and armor includes more than 4,000 items. Oriental carpets are produced in the best workshops in Bukhara, Mosul, Isparta and Smyrna. The collection of Sevres and Meissen porcelain, leather from Córdoba is striking, but the most impressive is the hand-painted stained glass windows from Switzerland.

During the construction of the castle, the most modern technologies of that time were used - built in 1883, the castle was originally equipped with a central heating system and fully electrified. The height of the clock tower of the castle is 66 meters

Excursion to Peles: how to get there, what to see, the cost of entrance tickets and opening hours. What hotels can be booked near Peles Castle. Why not - after all, Sinai has amazing places!

Peles Castle got its name from the river that flows near it. The initiator of its construction was King Carol the First, who in the early 1870s decided to build a new house for himself and his family. The work was personally supervised by the king and his wife. The construction process is partially described in the letters of Queen Elizabeth to Karol the First.

Castle construction

According to the letters, the start date for the construction of the building was established, the foundation of which was laid in 1873. Despite the fact that ten years later the royal family moved to the castle, finishing and construction work continued for another two decades. A feature of the castle were technical innovations that were invented at the end of the 19th century. First, electricity appeared here, and then an elevator was installed. During the First World War, a cinema was opened in the castle.

Architecture and interior of the palace

The appearance of Peles Castle combines several styles - from Rococo to Renaissance, resulting in a mixed eclecticism. It manifests itself everywhere: in design, decorative elements, furniture. Columns, fountains were placed on the terraces of the building, and the roof was decorated with towers. The entrance to the castle begins in the park, in the middle of which stands the royal residence. A statue depicting Queen Elizabeth was placed here.

Inside, Peles Castle is decorated in the same mixed styles. This was the result of the fact that each owner of the castle tried to improve its interior. At the same time, oriental motifs and classical European architectural styles are clearly traced in it. The windows in the castle are stained glass, which were painted by Swiss masters.

One hundred and sixty rooms and thirty baths were built in the castle. Each room is decorated in a unique style. The main interior materials are leather, tapestries, gold and silver, porcelain. Paintings by famous artists of Europe and the world are hung on the walls. Sculptures, precious dishes, antiques are placed in many rooms.

The attention of visitors is attracted by the chandeliers hung in the central halls of the castle. They are made of Murano glass and were specially delivered to .

Opening for visitors

The castle belonged to the royal dynasty until the end of World War II, but since 1945 it has undergone the inevitable - nationalization. N. Ceausescu believed that it was worth making a museum here. In the late 1980s it was closed, and became the residence of the head of state. After the collapse of the communist regime, Peles Castle was again open to visitors. An attempt was made to hand it over to representatives of the royal family, but they refused.

Fortunately for travelers and connoisseurs of elegant architecture, Peles Castle has again become a museum, which is visited annually by almost five hundred thousand people.

How to get to Peles Castle

To get to Sinai and see with your own eyes the most beautiful castle in Romania, you first have to buy air tickets to Bucharest. And from there to get to the ski Mecca of the country and the Peles castle itself.

Flight tickets to Bucharest from Moscow - a year ahead:

Cheap flights to Bucharest from your city:

Peles Palace Museum is located in the city of Sinai. If you are relaxing in this resort, then if you wish, you can take a walk. Or order a taxi so you don't get lost.

Getting to Peles from Brasov or Bucharest will also be through Sinai. From Brasov - by intercity bus, from Bucharest - by train from the northern station (Gara de Nord).

Peles Castle on the map of Romania

Peles Palace Address: Aleea Peleșului 2, Sinaia 106100, Romania

Opening hours and excursions to Peles Palace

The Castle Museum is open to visitors all year round, except for one month - November. You can get into the palace daily from 9 am to 5 pm.

There is one nuance to visiting Peles Castle: you can get inside only with an organized tour, on your own - no way. You can buy an excursion to Peles directly at the ticket office of the museum. There are Russian-speaking guides there. In another way, just buy a sightseeing trip in the city of Sinai or any other place in Romania. It is also worth considering that out of almost 170 (!) Rooms and halls of the palace, only 35 are available for inspection by tourists. But this is also a lot.

Some visitors are interested in us, is it worth going inside at all? Maybe it's enough to take a photo of the facade of the building, take a walk in the park? But we are sure - it is worth it, the interiors of Peles are impressive! This is not rustic, this palace has got both beauty and grace in abundance.

Entrance fees to Peles Castle - prices 2019

At the checkout you will be offered (or rather, you will have to figure it out on your own) 3 options for excursions to Peles Castle. The main difference between them is the duration:

• Big excursion. It is also the most complete, covering all the premises of the palace open to the public. Its cost is 70 RON;
• Average excursion. Includes first and second floors. Tour price - 50 RON;
• Small excursion. You can call it introductory (but it lasts, no less, about 40 minutes). Suitable to get a general impression of what the interiors of the Peles castle are like. The cost is 20 RON.

For photo and video shooting, you will have to pay an additional 32 RON and 50 RON, respectively. But you can take pictures with flash.

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Peles is one of the most beautiful castles in Romania. The architecture of the building is eclectic, a lot of things are mixed here: rococo, baroque, and renaissance. There are columns and fountains on the terraces, and several towers on the roof.

Peles got its name from the name of the river that flows in the park around the castle. The park itself is worth a short walk. It is very beautiful here: terraces, fountains, statues. At the entrance to the castle there is a statue of Carol I. And in the park you can find a sculpture of Queen Elizabeth, who is busy with embroidery.

The collection of weapons in the castle has more than four thousand copies.

The construction of the castle began in 1873 and continued for several decades. Construction was carried out by Carol I and his wife Elizabeth, in whose letters one can find many references to the construction of Peles. The castle was opened only in 1883, but then the reconstruction continued. Since Peles was built in the middle of the 19th century, all the advanced technologies of that time were used. Peles was the first castle in the world to have electricity and even an elevator. A little later, in 1916, a cinema was even made in the castle.

The building has 160 rooms and 30 bathrooms. Everywhere a rich interior: ebony, porcelain, leather from Cordoba, oriental carpets, tapestries, gold and silver utensils, paintings, sculptures, ivory. The chandeliers in the castle are mostly made of expensive Murano glass. The windows are made of stained glass, hand-painted by Swiss craftsmen.

The most interesting rooms are the king's library (more than 800 rare volumes) and his study (not fully decorated, since the king died in the midst of work, and it was decided to leave everything like that), a dining room, an auditorium (there was a cinema), a meeting room and halls of Eastern and European weapons. The collection of weapons has more than four thousand copies. The most valuable exhibit is an original item from Turkey: half pistol, half dagger.

It is also worth looking into the musical, Moorish, Florentine, Oriental, Turkish halls. By the names it is clear in what styles these rooms are made.

After World War II, the castle was nationalized and turned into a public museum. But by the end of the reign of Nicolae Ceausescu, Peles was closed to visitors and turned into a residence for the country's leadership. Moreover, Nicolae Ceausescu himself also rarely visited the castle. According to legend, museum workers are to blame for this, who started a rumor that there was a lot of harmful fungus in the castle, and Ceausescu was rather suspicious in terms of his health.

After 1989, Peles was reopened, and in 2006 the Romanian government returned the castle to the royal family. Interestingly, the dynasty abandoned Peles, but in return "asked" the country's leadership for 30 million EUR. The request was fulfilled, and finally Peles gained the status of a state museum. About 500 thousand people visit Peles every year.

Peles is open to visitors every day except Monday. In November, the castle does not receive visitors. Opening hours: from 10:00 to 16:00.

Coordinates

Peles is located in the town of Sinaia, which can be reached from Bucharest by train or from Brasov by bus. And already in the city itself, any “native” will tell you the way to the castle.

Address: Romania, Prahova Country, Sinaia town, Aleea Pelesului, 2.

Prices on the page are for September 2018.

We learned an amazing story from one blogger about the history of Peles Castle, which is located in Romania.

Once upon a time, the Buchedzhsky massif in the southern Carpathians was known as a wild place. Not everyone dared to set off along the "princely road" - a mountain path winding among the rocks along the Prakhova River. According to legend, the history of this region was drastically changed by one episode from the time of medieval boyar civil strife. ... Spentar (military leader) Mikhail Cantacuzino was leaving along the "princely road" from the chase sent by the leader of the rival principality ... The wild ride exhausted the strength of his Arabian horse, and in the Peles valley he had to say goodbye to his faithful friend. Here, having quenched his thirst by a mountain stream, the warrior made a vow: if he manages to escape, build a monastery on this place. The enemies lost track of Mihai, and six years later, returning to his homeland after wandering around foreign lands, he kept his word. And since the monastery, built on his orders, was a copy of the Sinai one, which struck the spantar during the eastern wanderings, then this place was called Sinai.

The inhabitants of the mountain monastery were, apparently, not only diligent servants of the Lord, but also zealous masters. The monastery quickly began to grow land, took over the surrounding vineyards, pastures, salt and oil mines. In the nineteenth century, the "princely road" was replaced by a decent highway, along which quarries and manufactories grew. But today Sinaia is famous, first of all, as the best mountain resort in Romania. And the town owes this turn in its fate to King Carol I and the Peles castle built by him here.

Karol (Karl) I, a descendant of one of the branches of the Prussian Hohenzollern dynasty, was elevated to the Romanian throne shortly after the merger of the principalities of Moldova and Wallachia into a single state.

Traveling around his new possessions, the founder of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty ended up in Sinai in 1867 and, fascinated by the beauty of these places, ordered to build a residence here. So the Peles castle was founded, and around it, as usual, palaces and villas of the monarch’s close associates, hotels and sanatoriums for wealthy lovers of mountain air began to grow.

The best architects, sculptors, interior masters from different parts of Europe worked on the ensemble of buildings scattered around the royal park. The main one, which served as the residence of Karol himself, is now a museum, where crowds of tourists meet family portraits of the Hohenzollerns, ancient weapons on the walls, mannequins in knightly armor, magnificent stained-glass windows of German masters. There are giant Venetian glass mirrors, cozy living rooms in Moorish and Turkish styles, and a music cabinet-orchestrion ordered from America, a true work of art that can decorate any collection of antiques. And of course, as it should be in a real medieval castle, there are secret doors and passages. But this is more a tribute to tradition than a necessity in enlightened times when this little miracle was created.

If Sinai in Romania is called the “pearl of the Carpathians”, then Peles Castle can be called the pearl of Sinai itself. And at the same time, there is not a word about the castle in the guidebooks of the 70-80s of the last century! The secret is simple: the family nest of the Hohenzollerns served as one of the many residences of the Ceausescu clan, so the gates of the Peles castle remained tightly closed to the public. Maybe that's where today's pilgrimage of tourists, who queue up to get into the royal chambers, comes from.

The age of the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen dynasty was short-lived: it ruled Romania for only 81 years. Much is connected with Peles Castle in its annals: the founder of the dynasty died here, Carol II, the father of the last Romanian monarch Mihai I, was born here. . The only exception, perhaps, is the monument to Carol I, sternly looking at his possessions from under the visor of his military cap. Yet the Prussians lived here ...

The castle was built simultaneously with the power plant on the river flowing nearby, so Peles is also the first electrified castle in Romania. The castle was built literally by the whole world. Gypsies, Turks, Poles, and Czechs worked on it. A real international. At the time of the war for independence, construction slowed down, but after that, it began to boil with renewed vigor. Karol II was born in this castle. No wonder his father gave the castle the name Peles, which meant the cradle of the nation. When Karol the First was dying, he ordered his son to make a museum out of Peles. After the death of his father, Karol II, as an obedient son, fulfilled his dying will. The castle began to work as a museum, remaining royal possessions. As a royal apartment, the castle did not last long. After the communists came to power, the castle was confiscated into public property and miraculously not plundered.

The castle after some time becomes a museum. From 1975 to 1990 the castle was closed to the public. As you know, the then leader com. The Romanian Party Nocolas Ceausescu suffered from a whole set of phobias. So, so that the castle would not be ruined by zealous relatives of the then authorities, museum workers came up with a legend that a fungus started up in the castle, which spoils the wood and is very harmful to humans. True or not, Ceausescu never appeared in the castle. In 1989, Romania becomes a capitalist country. In 2006, the castle is returned to the former king. Mihai came into possession, but soon reached a consensus with the authorities and the castle was sold to the state for 30 million euros. Now it delights all visitors with its beauty and charm. But filmmakers continue to treat this castle with special trepidation. Many famous films were filmed here.

The front vestibule is the highest room of the Peles castle - 3 floors, 12 meters high. The hall reproduces the famous German chamber of commerce in Lübeck. Furniture in the Italian Renaissance. Initially served as an inner courtyard. In 1911 it was covered with a mobile ceiling, which can still be moved apart today to ventilate the room. This hall was decorated with wood and you can see 2000 figures in it. On the panels are two rows of alabaster bas-reliefs (marble plaster) depicting mythological, biblical and historical scenes. Rich marquetry on the walls depicts 18 castles in Germany and Switzerland - the residence of the Hohenzollern dynasty.

Hall of European weapons - decorated in the German revival. The hall contains European weapons of the 15th-19th centuries. The palace has the second collection in the country - 3500 weapons. Crossbows, halberds, cannons, shields, spears stand out on the walls.

The Hall of Oriental Weapons of the Peles Palace presents various types of weapons dyed with gold, silver, precious stones, corals. The most valuable of them is Turkish weapons - half a pistol, half a dagger.

The king's office in the Peles Palace is decorated with German-style paintings and furniture. Between the stained-glass windows there is a music stand for official audiences, and next to it is the table at which the king worked.

The King's Library in Peles Palace has about 800 volumes. The rest of the books (about 10,000 were in the permanent royal residence in Bucharest). The library has carvings made of oak wood. The hall contains a secret door that communicated through a spiral staircase with the king's bedroom on the third floor.

The meeting room is the last audience hall. This was the last hall added to the palace in 1914. It was decorated in the year the king died. Therefore, part of the hall remained undecorated.

The music hall is a more austere decoration, made of spruce wood. Which also served as a hall for creative evenings. Carol 1 and Elisabeth were visited by great figures of Romanian culture such as George Enescu, Vasile Alexandri, Mihai Eminescu and other artists. The furniture set - a gift to the king from the Indian prince - is the main exhibit of the hall. Three generations of craftsmen worked on it for 104 years.

The Florentine Hall is the first of a series of reception halls. Decoration - in the Italian neo-Renaissance. The hall is richly decorated with marble and carved gilded wood. Original Murano crystal chandeliers. Venetian mirrors that reflect the ceiling. On the floor there are original oriental carpets made of natural silk.

Dining room - scenery from various wood species. German baroque furniture. The original stained glass windows (18th century) made in Munich depict scenes from the life of the German nobility. On the ceiling and on the chairs are covered with Cordova leather.

Moorish Hall - the third reception hall of the Peles Palace, in the Arabic style with ivory and mother-of-pearl inlays. Linden and plaster ceiling. On the walls are oriental weapons (XV - XVIII centuries). On the carpet and on the stools are verses from the Koran.

The Eastern Turkish Hall of Peles is an original decoration made of silk embroidery, specific to the Turkish style. On the tables - a hookah, a vessel for burning incense. On the floor is an oriental carpet from Smyrna.
The auditorium is a theater hall in the Peles Palace with 60 seats, in a French Louis XIV style setting. In 1906 the hall became a cinema hall.

Peles Castle was built in the neo-Renaissance style, but the half-timbered facades of the courtyard with their luxuriously painted walls show a Saxon influence, and the baroque influence is noticeable in the interiors, decorated with rich wood carvings and fine fabrics. Its outer decoration looks like a castle from a sweet fairy tale. It is somewhat similar to a fairy tale castle made of ice cream and cookies. But at the same time, it is different from all the artsy and pompous castles of Western Europe. Its style can be described as a light Swiss chalet. It is incredibly chic, there is simply dazzling architecture, but in some way, nevertheless, there is restraint, unlike all other castles. Most likely, the reason for this is a mixture of styles.

A huge number of sculptures, a chic park around, incredible frescoes on the walls, wood carvings that adorn the facade of the house, interior decoration, walls, and furniture are legendary. You can talk about this castle for hours. It is ideally inscribed by its previous architect, Johann Schulz, in the surrounding landscape. A white-cream building with dark wood trim, a pointed turret, many patterns on the windows, on the roofs, on the balustrades. And there are frescoes everywhere. Beautiful lanterns in the park and many sculptures complete the picture.

Peles Castle has a huge number of expositions that are constantly changing, and not all of its rooms are open to the visit. Especially valuable is the collection of weapons, which includes 4000 items (15-19 century, from the East to Europe). Another pearl of this castle is the collection of Maximilian equipment for horses and knights, it is the only one of its kind in Romania. And there are not many of them in Europe.

Peles castle area - 3200 sq. meters, which housed more than 160 rooms, 30 bathrooms, luxuriously furnished and exquisitely decorated. Among the many exquisite rooms distinguished by style and design are the Florentine room, the French room, the theater and study rooms. The tableware collection includes Meissen and Sèvres porcelain.

It has one of the finest art collections in Eastern and Central Europe, which includes sculpture, painting, furniture, weapons and armor, gold and silver, ivory, porcelain, carpets and tapestries. The collection of weapons and armor includes more than 4,000 items. Oriental carpets are produced in the best workshops of Bukhara, Mosul, Isparta and Smyrna.

In this unique castle, there is only one fake, masterfully executed, a fireplace props. By the way, an elevator was launched in Peles Castle for the first time in Europe. The ceiling paintings adorn the entire castle. They do not just repeat, but are absolutely identical to the pattern on the carpets. Without any exaggeration, we can say that this is the most unique castle in Europe with a rich collection.

Since everything in Peles Castle gives off originality, the architects could not ignore even the ceilings. Instead of standard ceilings, stained-glass ceiling windows are installed in the castle, moreover, they are all sliding. Stained-glass windows fit harmoniously into the architectural ensemble of the house as well as possible. By the way, they are hand-painted by Swedish masters. With the help of these stained-glass windows, the natural ventilation of the castle is still carried out.

Since its opening, Peles Castle has received almost half a million visitors every year. But, unfortunately, there are almost no Russians among them. For this reason, excursions in Russian, unfortunately, are not carried out here either. At the main entrance stands a statue of King Carol I, the work of the Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli, who owns the Carrara marble statues, located on the seven charming Italian terraces surrounding the castle and made in the Neo-Renaissance style. In the park there is also a monument to Queen Elizabeth, depicting the wife of Karol the first for embroidery - a traditional Romanian art. Gardens and terraces are decorated with fountains, urns, stairs, lions, beautiful statues and other decorative details.

The highest room in Peles Castle is the main lobby. Its height is 12 meters, which is equal to the height of three floors of the castle. The front vestibule is the highest room of the Peles castle - 3 floors, 12 meters high. The front lobby reproduces the famous German Chamber of Commerce in Lübeck. The furniture here is in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Initially, the front vestibule served as a courtyard, but at the request of the owners, in 1911 it was covered with a mobile roof, which is still being moved apart to ventilate the room. On the panels of the front vestibule are two rows of alabaster bas-reliefs (marble plaster), which depict mythological, biblical and historical scenes. Rich marquetry on the walls depict 18 castles in Germany and Switzerland - the residence of the Hohenzollern dynasty.

You should definitely pay attention to the hall of European weapons. It is decorated in the German Revival style. Here are collected unique and rare specimens of European weapons of the 15th-19th centuries. Also in Peles Castle there is a hall of oriental weapons. Here are various types of weapons, decorated with gold, silver, precious stones, corals. The most valuable of them is Turkish weapons - half a pistol, half a dagger. The study of Karol the First in Peles Castle, decorated with paintings and furniture in the German style. Between the stained-glass windows there is a music stand for official audiences, and next to it is the table at which the king worked. The room in which the library is located is finished with carved oak wood panels. A secret door from the library through a spiral staircase leads to the king's bedroom on the third floor. The library at Peles Castle has about 800 volumes. The rest of the books, and there are about 10,000 of them, were in the permanent royal residence in Bucharest.

Another room in the castle that I want to pay special attention to is the music room. The decor of the music hall is more strict, made of spruce wood. The unusually sophisticated furniture set of the music hall attracts attention. It was presented to Karol the First by an Indian prince. This set was made for 104 years by three generations of craftsmen. Creative evenings were held in this hall several times. Here, Karol I and Elisabeth were visited by the great creative personalities of Romanian culture - George Enescu, Vasile Alexandri, Mihai Eminescu and other artists.

The Florentine Hall is the main hall of Peles Castle, where lavish receptions were held. The design of this hall is made in the style of the Italian neo-Renaissance. The rich decor of the Florentine hall is made of marble and carved gilded wood. Murano glass chandeliers. The floor is covered with magnificent oriental carpets made of natural silk. The design and decor of the dining room is made using a huge number of different tree species, including exotic wood. German baroque furniture. The original stained-glass windows, made by Munich masters, depict scenes from the life of the German nobility. On the ceiling and on the chairs are covered with Cordova leather. The Moorish Hall is the third reception hall of Peles Castle. Made in Arabic style with numerous inlays of ivory and mother-of-pearl. Oriental weapons of the 15th - 18th centuries are on the walls.

In the eastern Turkish hall of Pelesha, there is an original decoration made of silk embroidery, inherent in the Turkish style. On the tables - a hookah, a vessel for burning incense. On the floor is an oriental carpet from Smyrna.

The castle also has a theater auditorium with 60 seats. It is made in the French Baroque style of Louis XIV. In 1906 it was converted into a cinema hall.