THE PELES CASTLE

In 1873, Prince Carol of Hohenzollern Sigmaringen, who had come to Romania's throne in 1866, started the building of the Peles Castle in Sinaia (at that time a commune called Podul Neagului), on a place known by the name of Pietrele Arse (the Burnt Stones).
The place chosen by the Prince for His castle was isolated but picturesque, which probably attracted Him mostly. Carol had come for the first time to Sinaia on August 5-6 1866, when He had been sheltered at the local 24524o1415y monastery, erected by Mihail Cantacuzino in 1695.
In 1872 the monarch bought the land (1000 acres) and asked the architect Wilhelm Doderer, of German origin and school, to draw up the plans for the future residence.

Building operations started in the autumn of 1873, but the foundation stone of the Castle was put later, on August 10/22, 1875. After 1876 the works at Peles were entrusted to the architect Johannes Schultz, Doderer's assistant, who was easier to convince in changing the initial plans. On October 7, 1883 the official inauguration took place. That was the date when the first building stage of Peles Castle was practically ended, as there, just immediately, other operations would be started; the Peles Castle was transformed and enlarged, attaining its present-day shape only in 1914. The building operations between 1893-1914 were entrusted to the Czech architect Karel Liman, who left his strong print on the castle and who was to build the other edifices of the pile.
The characteristic features of the external architecture of the Peles Castle are specific to the German neo-Renaissance style: vertical and slim sharp profiles, irregular shapes, fragmented composition of the facades, asymmetry of the corps, abundance of carved wood and decorative elements.
The terraces of the Castle, in the initial outlook conceived in the Italian neo-Renaissance style, were adorned with statues, vases, columns, and wells, all contributing to the successful landscape architecture of the entire ensemble. Very much like the exterior, the interior is dominated by the same elements of the German neo-Renaissance; nevertheless, there are combined various other styles, resumption's of the Italian, English Renaissance, of the German Baroque style, the rococo, Hispanic - Moorish and Turkish styles etc.

Karel Liman arranged the Hall of Honor, the most sumptuous reception hall of the castle, in 1911, on the place of a former patio. It takes three levels in the center of the main building of the castle. The walls of the hall are paneled with nut-tree wood with inlays of noble and exotic essences up to the first floor balconies, the entire decoration being inspired by one of the most representative chambers in the epoch of the German Renaissance, i.e. "Fredenhagen", which is to be found at present in the Palace of Commerce in Lubeck. Bas-reliefs and alabaster statuettes, representing mythological, Biblical and historical subjects round off the sculptural richness of the wood plates. Above them, one can notice the frieze with inlay panels illustrating the German and Swiss mediaeval castles of the Hohenzollern family.
The entire wood decoration of the hall, as well as a part of the furniture, were manufactured in the Viennese Bernhard Ludwig's workshops, the main decorator of Peles. At the upper level, between the arcades of the first floor balconies, there is displayed a suite of French tapestry works of Aubusson dating from the 18^th century, worked out after Francois Boucher's drawings. The glass ceiling of this hall was adorned with stained-glass windows, representing allegorical scenes and heraldic motifs; it is mobile, being operated by an electric or manual engine.

The Armouries were arranged between 1903-1906 in a space decorated in a German neo-Renaissance style. On the lower half the walls are paneled with oaken timber and the ceiling is divided into wood cases including arms and devices in Latin language. They exhibit a rich collection of over 4000 European and Oriental pieces of different weapon coming from the 14^th-18^th centuries. Beside the weapons panoplies there are also a suite of German armors dating from the 16^th-17^th centuries and a precious and complete horse-and-knight armor of Maximilian type, unique in Romania.
In the Great Armory there is worth mentioning the monumental fireplace, of no utility at present, as the castle has been endowed with central heating ever since 1883. On its upper side there is a bas-relief illustrating a scene of the battle of Nicopole (1396), signed by the Berliner Paul Telge.
On the mantelpiece of the decorative fireplace there is an executioner's sword of the 16^th century, used to decapitate the noblemen sentenced to death.
The ensemble of those halls is completed with stained-glass windows, original German works of the 17^th century.

The Council Hall, arranged in 1914, was inspired after a hall of the Townshall in Lucerne - Switzerland. Sculpture, intaglio and inlaid works are of an impressive richness.

The Study, decorated in the German neo-Renaissance style in the Heynmann's workshops of Hamburg was finalized in 1883. Among the pieces of furniture there are worth mentioning an imposing writing table and a desk for official hearings. The stained-glass windows, Swiss pieces of the 17^th century, represent the cantons' arms.

The Old Music Hall was turned into a salon for literary evenings after 1905, according to Queen Elisabeth's wish. The canvases, signed by Dora Hitz, illustrate German fairy tales stained-glass windows conjure up images from the Romanian folk fairy tales versified by the poet Vasile Alecsandri. Furniture was made up of carved teakwood and it was received as a gift from the Maharajah of Kapurtala.

The Florentine Hall is the first reception hall of the castle; being also surnamed the "Big Salon". This Space is decorated in the Italian neo-Renaissance style including many elements of the Florentine Renaissance. The doors, made of cast bronze, were decorated with feminine figures and floral motifs in Luigi Magni's workshops in Rome. The upper part of the fireplace, made of marble of Paunazio, is decorated with reductions after Michelangelo. The ceiling, carved in golden lime-tree wood, is decorated in the center with a copy after a Georgio Vasari's painting, worked out by Enst Klimt. The luxury and sumptuousness of the room are completed with two big chandeliers; a mirror and pieces of decorative art, all made of Murano glass. Fine arts are represented by two original paintings of Veronese and Bernardino Luini's school and by other pieces, copies after Italian masters.

The French architect Charles Lecompte du Nouy projects the Moresque Hall.

Its decoration borrowed elements from the Hispanic-Moorish style, the ceiling and the walls being adorned with arabesques of polychrome gold plated stucco. In the hinder part of the hall there is a well made of marble of Carrara, a replica of a piece, placed at present in a mosque of Cairo.

The Living Room was decorated by August Bembe of Mainz in a German neo-Renaissance style. Piece of silver, manufactured in Paul Telge and Edmund Wolenweber's workshops, are exhibited on the dressoir-cabinet and on the table.

The Turkish Salon has its ceiling and walls covered with hand-made embroideries, manufactured in the Siegert's workshops in Vienna. The entire ensemble is completed with a collection of Turkish and Persian copper vessels.

The Theatre Hall has preserved decorative elements in the Louis XIV style. The hall had 60 seats and a royal box. The painting of the ceiling and the decorative frieze were made by the Austrians Gustav Klimt and Frantz Matsch.

The Stairs of Honor, designed by Karel Liman, link the ground floor to the first floor; it is worth mentioning the sculptural richness specific to the German neo-Renaissance.

The Concert Hall, added in 1906, is decorated in the English neo-Renaissance style. The walls are paneled on the lower half and covered with leather of Cordoba dating from the 18^th century on the upper half. Above the fireplace, made of wood and stone of Ruschita, the portrait of Queen Elisabeth, painted by Jean du Nouy, is exposed. Also in that room, in 1914, there took place a Crown Council further to which Romania's neutrality in the First World War was decided. Among the musical instruments there is a remarkable and precious harpsichord, made in Antwerp in 1621, a Bluthner grand vertical piano and a Rieger organ with two keys.

The Princely Guests' Bedroom has a set of rococo furniture manufactured in Vienna by the ebonist Bernhard Ludwig, The chandelier of Bohemia crystal and the statuettes of Meissen porcelain fill in the space and give it brilliance.

The Living room at the first floor has Breton rustic furniture of the 18^th century. Its pieces are decorated with bas-reliefs representing scenes of the Breton peasants' life, their costumes and traditions.

The Imperial Flat, imposing by luxury and solemnity, was arranged in 1906, on the occasion of a visit that was to be paid in Romania by the Emperor of Austria-Hungary Franz Joszef to celebrate the 40 years', reign of the King Carol I. The decorator August Bembe chose the Mary-Therese style, the Austrian Baroque, characterized by sumptuousness. The original tapestry of Cordoba leather dating from the 16^th century represents a supplementary touch of preciosity.

THE PELISOR CASTLE

Within the museum complex of Sinaia, beside the "Great Palace" one may also visit the Pelisor Castle. Built between 1899-1902 by the Czech architect Karel Liman and decorated by the Viennese Bernhard Ludwig, the Pelisor Castle was inhabited by the princely couple, Ferdinand and Maria, beginning with 1903. Ferdinand, King Carol I's nephew and Leopold of Hohenzollern's son came in Romania in 1889. In 1892 he married the princess Maria, the daughter of Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, and of Maria Alexandrovna, the daughter of the Tzar Alexander II. In 1914, after King Carol I's death, both of them became monarchs. The climax of their reign was in 1918, when, after the First World War, Romania regained the historical provinces of Basarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania, Maria was a strong personality of the epoch. Being at the same time a poetess, a painter, a design creator, she was surnamed the Artist Queen. Endowed with a wide open spirit towards fine arts she understood profoundly the most predominant phenomenon in the epoch, the Art-Nouveau, a style chosen by the Queen for the decoration of the residence in Sinaia. As far as fine arts of 1900 were concerned, they represented for Maria a fight and revolt weapon against the sterility of historicism. The Artist Queen refused to imitate slavishly the forms belonging to the arts of 1900, but she imposed her personal style, characterized by eclecticism and bringing togheter the Art-Nouveau elements and influences of Byzantine and especially Celtic origin. Thus, the undeniably valuable and unique "Golden Bedroom", the "Chapel" and the "Golden Room" took shape.

The Hall of Honor, stylish through simplicity, is paneled with oaken timber cases. Quite remarkable is the stained-glass skylight, an architectural element specific to the fine arts of 1900.

King Ferdinand's Study is characterized by solemnity, being decorated with a set of furniture in the German neo-Renaissance style. There is worth mentioning the wall-nut wood desk with three carved panels featuring the Peles Castle, the Pelisor Castle and the Watch Tower Castle.

The Chapel, an integrand part of Queen Maria's flat, is placed in a place plated with marble of Ruschita. The entrance is made through a golden archway with columns, bearing an inscription with a figurative character. At the same time, the stained-glass windows decorated with entrelaquers filtering an almost fascinating light emphasize the recollection atmosphere.

The Golden Bedroom is furnished with pieces manufactured in 1909 in the workshops of Arts and Trades of Sinaia, after the Queen's plans and drawings. Carved in golden lime-tree wood, it bears in its decoration entrelaquer of Celtic inspiration and zoomorphic Byzantine elements, rendered in the manner of 1900.

Queen Maria's Study, placed in an architectonic space adorned with Brancovan columns and a fireplace specific to the Romanian interiors, shelter pieces of furniture manufactured by the Queen herself. The chairs and the writing table are decorated with Maria's symbols, the scaled lily and cross.