Bran Castle, situated between the Bucegi and Piatra Craiului Mountains, 30 km far from Brasov, is the only touristy point that attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists because of a legend: Count Dracula’s Legend, although the historical sources state that Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impeller) dropped by only once, in his way to Brasov.
Initially, the Bran Castle (in Slavic „brana” means „gate”) was a stronghold known as Dietrichstein, built by the Teutonic Knights in 1212, stronghold that was conquered by the Saxons living in Transylvania towards the end of the 13th century.
The first documentary attestation dates from 1377, when Ludovic I D’Anjou gave the inhabitants of Brasov the privilege to build the citadel in the place of the old stronghold. Then, between 1419 and 1424, it was in Sigismund’s possession.
At the end of the 15th century, it was subordinated to the authority of the Szeklers Committee, and since the reign of Iancu of Hunedoara, it passed under the rule of the Voievod of Transylvania.
On 1st December 1920, the Bran Castle was donated to Queen Marie of Great Romania, as a symbol of the inhabitants of Brasov’s gratitude for her contribution to the achievement of the Great Union of 1918. Right after that, the Castle came into a seven year restoration period under the guidance of the Royal Court architect, Carol Liman. He imagined the architectural ensemble as a summer residence. During the same period of time the Tea House was also built. During this restoration works, the Castle was supplied with running water from a 57 meters depth fountain dig up in a rock and lighted by a turbine electric power plant. Later, in 1932, the Bran, Simon and Moeciu villages were lighted on from this electric power plant. Then, in 1938, Queen Marie left with will the Bran Castle to Princess Ileana, who owned it until 1948.
After the abdication of King Mihai and the expulsion of the Royal Family, the Castle became the property of the government, being abandoned and ravaged for a period. Only in 1956 the Castle was set as a museum of history and medieval art. The rooms of the four flour museum include ceramics collections, furniture, weapons and armoires. In the court of the Castle there is a village museum presenting the life of the peasants in the area, the work and customs from the Rucar – Bran area. The Bran Castle is the destination preferred by American and British tourists for Halloween.
Peles Castle
Located on Peles brook valley, on the spot named Pietrele Arse (the Burnt Stones), the Peles Castle, the most famous royal residence in Romania, was built between 1875 and 1883 - when it was officially opened.
It is said that sometime in august 1866 king Carol I arrived in the neighborhood, and spent the night at the monastery of Podul Neagului (as Sinaia was known at that time). He liked so much the wild and picturesque landscapes that he decided to built here a castle. So he bought the land in 1872, and then hired the German architect Wilhelm Dodderer to make the plans for the construction. That is why, in what concerns the exterior architecture, the main elements are specific to the German neo-renaissance style.
As a matter-of-fact, the construction began in 1873, but the basement of the castle dates from 1875. After its official opening in 1883, some development plans followed, the present shape of the building being finished in 1914. Mainly it is about some buildings that were annexed, like The Guardian’s Rooms, the Bursarship, the Hunting Chateau, the Royal Stables and the Power Station. Over 300 craftsmen, from all over the world, worked here during this period.)
Between 1889 and 1903, architect Karel Liman, who was in charge of the construction, built Pelisor Castle - a modern and smaller replica of the main building - the residence of King Ferdinand I of Romania and of Queen Mary. The royal couple also lived in the Hunting Chateau for a while, building that was destroyed in a fire and was rebuilt again in 1933. A brief estimation shows that between 1875 and 1914 there were spent over 16 million golden lei for Peles.
Both, at the end of the 19th century and nowadays, the Peles Castle was and is considered to be one of the most beautiful castles in Europe, and the first to be entirely electrified on the continent. Its own power station was located on the bank of Peles Brook. Otherwise, the building had, even at that time, an interior elevator, vacuum cleaner and central-heating system. The castle has 170 rooms, out of which only 10 can be visited by tourists, and shelters various valuable collections of paintings, sculptures, armors, carpets, furniture, tapestries, statues, potteries, gold, silver and china dishes, stained-glasses.
The Entrance Hall is magnificent, with walnut tree carvings, covered with bas-reliefs and statuettes. The movable glass ceiling, activated by an electric engine or by a manual system, was a surprise element for the king’s visitors, who could admire the sky on cloudless summer nights.
The rooms included in the touristy circuit have suggestive names, like Sala Maura (the Moorish Salon), the Florentine Room, the Columns Room, the Music Room, and the Armory.
The Royal library attracts especially those who are keen on rare books, with leather covers engraved with golden letters. There is an attraction point even for those who are not familiar with the universe of books, namely the secret door, a way of access behind a book shelf through which the king could becalm in various rooms of the Castle.
The armories, arranged between 1903 and 1906, shelter more than 4000 European and Eastern pieces from the 14th and 17 centuries. The most valuable are considered to be the German amours from the 16th and 17th centuries and complete amour for horse and knight, unique in Romania.
The Music Room became a musical soirée salon at Queen Elisabeth’s wish. The furniture from this room was a gift from the Maharajah of Kapurthala.
The Florentine Room, also called the Great Salon, impresses with its ceiling sculptured out of linden trees, gilded, with two great chandeliers, and its ornaments in the Italian neo-renaissance style.
Maura Salon is the work of architect Charles Lecompte de Nouy, having Spanish-Moorish elements and an indoor Carrara marble fountain, replica of a similar piece in Cairo.
The Playhouse has 60 seats and a royal box, being decorated in Louis XIV style.
At first floor there is the Concert Room, arranged in 1906, where one can find a harpsichord made in 1621 at Antwerp, a Bluthner piano with vertical tail and a Rieger organ with two keyboards.
The Imperial Suite was also arranged in 1906, for the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef, invited at King’s Carol I celebration of 40 years of reign.
Other rooms that offer the tourists various surprises are: the Council Room, which resembles one of the rooms of the mayoralty in Lucerne – Switzerland; the Work Cabinet where there is an imposing writing table and also an audience desk; the Dining Room, where there are exhibited some very valuable silver pieces, is at the first floor and has a rustic, Briton furniture from the 18th century; The Turkish Parlor which shelters a collection of Turkish and Persian brass pots; the Bedroom which is lighted by a Bohemia crystal chandelier.
The stained glasses from Peles Castle were bought and set up between 1883 and 1914, most of them being brought from Switzerland and Germany, dating from the 15th and 17th centuries. The castle also has seven terraces decorated with stone sculptures, fountains and Carrara marble decorative pots.
After the Bran Castle, Peles Castle is considered to be the second most visited museum in the country. Only in 2006 there were over 250 000 visitors from our country and also from USA, Australia, Japan and New Zeeland. The importance of the castle is also underlined by the existing security measures: military guards, supervisors and video cameras.
In March 2007 the Romanian Government gave back the Peles castle and Pelisor Castle and the afferent lands to the Royal Family. Then, after a memorandum signed by the representatives of the Royal House and of the Government, it was agreed that the Peles Castle and the Foisor Hunting Chateau remained “forever”, as museums, in the property of the Romanian state.
Sinaia – the pearl of the Carpathian Mountains
Located on Prahova River Valley, at the foot of Varful cu Dor, Furnica and Piatra Arsa Mountains, Sinaia resort covers an area from Gura Padurii to the North, to “Vadul Cerbului” inn, to Izvorul Dorului, and to the new quarter called “Platoul Izvor”.
Also called the Pearl of the Carpathian Mountains, Sinaia is located at an altitude between 767m and 860m, and besides the wonderful landscapes, it offers the possibility of practicing winter sports. The access to the ski slopes in the resort is possible by taking the cable car to Cota 1400 and then to Cota 2000. The Tourist Information and Promotion Center, located in a building in the Mayoralty yard, offers complete information about the touristic activity. The”Salvamont” Mountain Rescue Public Service also has its headquarters here. Among the main attraction points we can enumerate The Peles Castle, Pelisorul, Gara Regala (the Royal train station), Sinaia Monastery, Sinaia Casino, “George Enescu” memorial house, the “Luminis” villa in Cumpatu quarter, Nicolae Iorga’s house (on 1 Ghe. Doja Street), Anastasie Simu’s house (he was a great lover and collector of Romanian pieces of art), on 68 M. Kogalniceanu Street.
Sinaia train station
The train station in Sinaia was built in 1913, and at the beginning of the 20th century here stopped important international trains, like Orient Express or Arlberg Express. On the platform there is a plaque built in the memory of the Romanian Prime Minister I. Gh. Duca, killed by legionaries in 1933.
The second train station, Gara Regala (the Royal train station), was built in 1939 and it was for the trains transporting the Royal family.
At that time, the insignias of Carol II were on the building. In the central room there was a square mural painting, with sides of 5.5 metres, presenting o royal hunting, and which had a Latin inscription: Voivode Basarab, the 14th century.
The official destination of the Royal train station was kept also during Communism, the American president Gerald Ford passing by in 1975. Nowadays the train station is not open to the public.
Sinaia Casino
Built between 1912 and 1913, at Carol I’s wish, Sinaia Casino is located in the “Dimitri Ghica” Park. The first shareholder was Baron of Marcay, shareholder at Monte-Carlo Casino, after whose plans Sinaia Casino was built as well. After a short period of time it entered the circuit of the greatest casinos in the world, special trains bringing the gamblers in the resort. During the ‘30s it became the main attraction point of the resort, what brought the economic and social development of the town as well. It is said that, at that time, there were at least 800 persons per day that “visited” the Casino. After 1947 the building became Casa de Cultura (the House of culture), where were organized plays, folkloric performances and concerts. Only in 1975 it was completely renovated and used for international meetings.
Nowadays, Sinaia Casino houses the International Conference Center which is in charge of organizing conferences, symposiums, congresses, having all sorts of modern facilities: high speed internet, four international telephone lines, simultaneous translation, interprets, parking lots and so on. Sala Oglinzilor (the Mirrors Room) can shelter a 500 person reception. Salonul Oval (the Oval Salon) has a capacity of 240 places. Salonul cu Struguri (the Grape Salon) is for fewer than 60 person reunions. Sala de teatru (The theatre room) has 400 seats, and there are also two protocol rooms and two conference rooms.
Busteni
This resort is situated on Prahova Valley, 135 km away from Bucharest and 37 km away from Brasov at an altitude of 800-900 m, Busteni health resort offers, in every season, the best conditions to spend the vacation, the holydays, and the week-end in an amazing mountain frame.
Protected by Caraiman Mountains (2384m) and Costila Mountains (2489 m) and crossed by the Prahova River, the resort distinguishes itself through its picturesque surroundings and through the possibility of practicing various forms of tourism: mountain trips, mountaineering, winter sports, and chalets. There are a lot of hotels, chalets which are at tourists’ disposal.
Busteni resort, general view from cable car.
A cable car climbs from Hotel Silva to Cabana Babele, on the top of the mountains. This area features unusual rock formations like Sfinxul and Babele. Omu Peak is the tallest in the Bucegi Mountains, 2504 meters. If the weather is nice, you can admire spectacular views of Prahova Valley.
Busteni resort represents one of the starting points to mountain trips, on the most attractive lines in Bucegi Mountain Mass. The most important lines, that offer the tourists amazing natural monuments, are: Busteni-Valea Urlatoare Mare-Urlatoarea Waterfall (1 hour on foot); Busteni-Gura Dihamului Chalet-Diham Chalet (3 hours); Busteni-Pichetu Rosu-Omu Chalet (6-7 hours, in winter the road is accessible only till Pichetu Rosu); Busteni-Poiana Costilei-Malaiesti Chalet (in winter, the road is accessible only for mountaineers and skilled skiers); Busteni-Cantonul Jepi-Piatra Arsa Chalet-Caraiman Chalet-Babele Chalet (5-6 hours, the road is accessible in winter only for trained tourists).
In winter, the tourists can ski and sledge. There are even ski slopes with different difficulty levels. For the beginners in skiing and sledging, the slopes at the foot of the Zamora Mountain are recommended. The skilled skiers have the slopes from the Bucegi plateau and the outskirts of the Babele and Caraiman chalets at their disposal.
In Busteni town, there are some places which may raise the tourists’ interest: ”Cezar Petrescu” memorial museum that presents the writer’s life and activity, “Ultima grenada”(the last grenade) monument, which is dedicated to the hero Vasile Musat, who died in the First World War,The House Of Culture, The trout stock farm.
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