Peles Castle, Sinaia

...
The castles of Peles and Pelisor are right next to each other, for reasons I'll explain later, but it's a visit to the bigger, grander Peles Castle I'm reviewing here. The castle was originally built as a summer residence for King Carol I who was actually German; the guide who took us round the castle explained a little of how it came about that this German became king of Romania, a rather complicated history which is too intricate to explain ...
...Something that is great about Peles is that you need not pay an admission fee unless you actually want to see the interior but you can go into the grounds and get a good look at the exterior of the castle and the murals in the courtyard as well as the superb Romanelli sculptures in the gardens. The somewhat smaller and more tasteful Pelisor Castle stands in the same grounds and as you come in through the gate (look out for the bedraggled looking ... more

Romania's Bran Castle is understandably one of the country's most visited tourist attractions; the somewhat tenuous association with Vlad Dracul - aka Count Dracula - draws thousands of visitors to explore this rather attractive but (for me) slightly disappointing castle. But not far away in the town of Sinaia are two wonderful castles that are, in my opinion, much more interesting and worthwhile to visit.

The castles of Peles and Pelisor are right next to each other, for reasons I'll explain later, but it's a visit to the bigger, grander Peles Castle I'm reviewing here. The castle was originally built as a summer residence for King Carol I who was actually German; the guide who took us round the castle explained a little of how it came about that this German became king of Romania, a rather complicated history which is too intricate to explain here, suffice to say that in the design of Peles Castle, an attempt was made to reference the fairytale like castles of Bavaria. The Viennese architect Wilhelm Doderer was responsible for the initial part of the project and work started in 1873; when war broke out in 1877 building work had to be suspended and did not resume for two years. The work was finished in 1883.

The style is basically German renaissance, one which was considered to be the choice of anyone with good taste at the time; however, there are touches of rococo and gothic design, as well as others, here and there and although you couldn't call it a hotch potch, it's certainly quite varied. Although it much less forbidding - partly because of its location in beautifully landscapes gardens - it has visual similarities with the famous Bavarian castle of Neuschwanstein.

A guided tour is the only way to explore the interior of the castle and is available in various languages. We bought our tickets at the ticket counter in the courtyard and we fortunate to find a tour in English was about to begin. When you go in you first have to don felt slippers that go over your shoes; don't worry about having a matching pair, it would take forever to find one. Just find two that fit over your shoes as quickly as you can or risk being left behind.

The tour doesn't take in all 170 plus rooms - only about 35 of them, alas - but you do get to see quite a lot and the tour is quite long and for that reason I wouldn't recommend it for youngsters. There are lots of stairs to climb and the felt shoes can make the going quite treacherous on some of the floor surfaces; it struck me as downright dangerous in parts and a few people had to grab onto friends and family to keep themselves upright.
Should you be up for this ordeal you will be truly rewarded with a wealth of exquisite paintings, furnishings and artefacts from around the world. Not only were the best materials used but craftsmen were brought in from all over Europe to carry out specialist work. There is a Moorish Room, a French Room, a Turkish Room and so on; as you would expect each one is decorated and furnished with the very best that money could buy. There is a magnificent collection of hand-painted glass from Switzerland while the Turkish and Middle Eastern rugs are breath-taking in their detail. I was less interested in the vast collection of arms and armour than anything else and I was pleased that the tour did not spend too long on this section.

The interior is in many respects over the top with lavish elements such as a hall of mirrors and the dining room ceiling which is clad in leather from Cordoba; to have such design elements these days would be construed as tacky and tasteless and to some extent the decor here is too. However there are plenty of worthwhile things to see such as the collections of paintings and ceramics. I was very interested to see the Florentine Room because I had heard it contained a work by Gustav Klimt: it's a copy of an earlier work by Vasari and Klimt reproduced it here on the ceiling when he was still an art student. I was not disappointed.

My favourite room was the Turkish room: the walls are covered with silk tapestries while ornate footstools and chairs are upholstered with more vivid red needlework and Anatolian copper work urns form the centrepieces on the tables. To say this was sumptuous would be a massive understatement.

The interior of the palace is really a sustained visual assault. I found many of the contents fascinating but it is a little disappointing in that it barely reflects Romanian culture or history at all as it crams in so many global influences. By the end of the tour I was quite overwhelmed by the sheer number of exhibits and their variety though I was pleased to have explored the interior. The guide was excellent and answered lots of questions as well as presenting an overview of the history of he building and the exhibits. One compliant would be that the group was too large - over twenty people - and it was sometimes difficult to hear what the guide was saying; this of course depends on whether there are impolite people on your tour.

Something that is great about Peles is that you need not pay an admission fee unless you actually want to see the interior but you can go into the grounds and get a good look at the exterior of the castle and the murals in the courtyard as well as the superb Romanelli sculptures in the gardens. The somewhat smaller and more tasteful Pelisor Castle stands in the same grounds and as you come in through the gate (look out for the bedraggled looking bear) there are some craft stalls selling handmade items such as linens and knitted goods. We stayed in a hotel within the grounds which was formerly the quarters for the palace servants; it was a good deal and included breakfast and one meal at the restaurant in the same building. Non-residents can also eat here, and a small selection of traditional Romanian dishes are on the menu. Nearer to the castles there is a small cafe which was heaving with visitors. This serves a range of drinks and a few snacks; most people were buying drinks but eating their own food at the tables and it was impossible to find anywhere to sit (as well as being very noisy) so we walked a little way down the hill where there are a few cafes and bars on the way into town.

Peles Castle is a visually stunning building that certainly warrants at least a look. The interior has some interesting exhibits but I would recommend viewing the interior of Pelisor instead which is more tasteful and contains slightly more interesting displays. There is also the added interest to British tourists from the connection to Queen Marie, who was English by birth; she did not want to live in Peles when she married King Carol's heir, Ferdinand, and so the smaller more human Pelisor was built for the couple and subsequently furnished to Marie's taste.

The Romanian royals lived at the palace until 1947 when the communists seized power in Romania. It is especially ironic to know that Ceausescu didn't much care for Peles Castle since the his own project, the unashamedly extravagant Place of the People in Bucharest is similarly crammed with all manner of ostentation; apparently he didn't spend much time at Peles for which we should probably be thankful. The castle was declared a museum in the 1950s but was suddenly closed by Ceausescu in the 1970s and, after some restoration work, re-opened in 1990.

The two properties are just a few minutes from the centre of Sinaia and an hour or so from the larger town of Brasov.

June - September
Tuesday - Sunday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

October - May
Wednesday to Sunday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Peles Castle is closed all of November.

The admission fee for adults equates to something in the region of 2 Euro 50.

 

...less