prahova valley attractions

8/3/2019 Prahova Valley Attractions

1/8

Prahova Valley

Prahova Valley (Romanian: Valea Prahovei) is the valley where the Prahova river makes its waybetween the Bucegi and the Baiu Mountains, in the Carpathian Mountains, Romania. It is a tourist

region, situated about 100 km north of the capital city of Bucharest.

Geographically, the Prahova river separates the Eastern Carpathians chain from the SouthernCarpathians. Historically, the corridor was the most important passage way between theprincipalities of Wallachia and Transylvania. The present DN1 road, linking Bucharest with the cityof Braov and the future A3 will be built along the Prahova Valley.

Prahova Valley will be the bid of Romania for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The region is a popular destination for mountaineers and for winter sports fans. The most importantresorts are:

Predeal Azuga Buteni Sinaia Comarnic Breaza

Covered with mixed forests and surrounded by spectacular mountains, Prahova Valley attractsboth romantic souls and daring explorers. The valley is crossed by the main highway that connectsBucharest to Transylvania and offers many points of access into the adjacent mountains andvalleys.

Pele Castle

PELE CASTLE, one of the mostrepresentative and magnificent museums ofRomania, an architectural masterpiece, was builtin the late 19th century and early 20th century(1873-1914) and conceived as a summerresidence for the first King of Romania, Carolthe 1-th of Hohenzollern - Sigmaringen (1866-1914). The king bought the land where thereare built beside the castle: Pelisorul, BodyGuard, Economat, Hunting Turret House,Housing, Power Plant, and Villa Sipot.It is located in N-W Sinaia, also known as Thepearl of the Carpathians, a town located at 60km far from Brasov and 135 km away fromBucharest.


2/8

The first architects Wilhelm von Doderer from Wien,and Johannes Schultz from Lvov, gave to the castle thefeatures of the German Renaissance style: vertical andsharp profiles, asymmetry of the corps, abundance ofcarved wood and integration into the landscape.

Pele Castle had its official Royal Ball of Inaugurationon October 7, 1883.Pele Castle is situated in a splendid park with terracesand has 160 rooms and halls and a central tower 66meters high.Due to its own power plant Pele Castle was the firstelectrified in Europe.

The changes and the enlargements of the initial outlook were realized by the Czech architect KarelLiman, who leaded the building operations, until the death of the king in 1914. Taking intoconsideration the advice of King Carol, a very calculated personality, and those of QueenElizabeth's (Carmen Sylva was her pen name) the architects of the castle managed to build up a

synthesis of style, which is also found in the interior decoration. It is dominated by the sameelements of the German neo-Renaissance, combined with other styles, such as the resumption ofthe Italian Rennaissance, the German Baroque, Roccoco, Hispanic-Moorish and Turkish styles,and Art Nouveau. In this respect one can admire the rich and elegant rooms, and the valuablecollections which belonged to the royal family.

Construction saw a slight slowdown during the Romanian War of Independence against theOttoman Empire in 187778, but soon afterwards the plans grew in size and construction wasquite rapid.

By form and function, Pele is a palace, but it is consistently called a castle. Its architectural style isa romantically inspired blend Neo-Renaissance and Gothic Revival similar to Schloss

Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. A Saxon influence can be observed in the interior courtyard facades,which have allegorical hand painted murals and ornate fachwerk similar to that seen in northernEuropean alpine architecture. Interior decoration is mostly Baroque influenced, with heavy carvedwoods and exquisite fabrics.

Pele Castle has a 3,200-square-metre (34,000 sq ft) floor plan with over 170 rooms, many withdedicated themes from world cultures (in a similar fashion as other Romanian palaces, likeCotroceni Palace). Themes vary by function (offices, libraries, armories, art galleries) or by style(Florentine, Turkish, Moorish, French, Imperial); all the rooms are extremely lavishly furnished anddecorated to the slightest detail. There are 30 bathrooms. The establishment hosts one of thefinest collections of art in Eastern and Central Europe, consisting of statues, paintings, furniture,arms and armor, gold, silver, stained glass, ivory, fine china, tapestries, and rugs. The collection ofarms and armor has over 4,000 pieces, divided between Eastern and Western war pieces andceremonial or hunting pieces, spreading over four centuries of history. Oriental rugs come frommany sources: Bukhara, Mosul, Isparta, Saruk, and Smirna. The porcelain is from Svres andMeissen; the leather is from Crdoba. Perhaps the most acclaimed items are the hand-paintedstained glass vitralios, which are mostly Swiss.

A towering statue of King Carol I by Raffaello Romanelli overlooks the main entrance. Many otherstatues are present on the seven Italian neo-Renaissance terrace gardens, mostly of Carraramarble executed by the Italian sculptor Romanelli. The gardens also host fountains, urns,stairways, guarding lions, marble paths, and other decorative pieces.

The artistic patrimony can be divided into the following categories: carved wooden decoration,furniture, stained glass windows, the collections of art (plastic and decorative arts) and weapons.Pele Castle shelters a painting collection of almost 2,000 pieces. One can notice original paintings


3/8

integrated into specific of the castle (signed by Gustav and Ernst Klimt, Frantz Matsch, Dora Hitzand Queen Elizabeth) genuine works (signed by Tiepolo, Cornelius de Wael, Correggio) and aseries of reproductions made after famous painters.The collection of decorative art contains both glass work, pieces of faience, porcelain, preciousmetal and various medals, decorations and coins with a great memorial and documentary value.The visitor of the Pele Castle has the opportunity to know a page of Romania's history and toadmire the artistic patrimony of this museum.

Today Pele Castle has been returned to King Michael I of Romania, but it will remain a museum

and open for public visits; arranged as a museum Pele Castle is the cultural attractions in the

Prahova Valley and is visited annually by thousands of tourists from Romania and abroad.

The heritage museum has many ornamental objects, ivory sculptures, tapestries, furniture, oriental

rugs, collections of arms and paintings. Rooms are furnished with objects from India, Arabian

Peninsula, Persia, and Turkey among the most important being: the hall of honor, the great hall of

arms, council hall, music room, the Florentine living room, Mirror Hall, room Moorish hall, Turkish

room, the Theater.

Holul de Onoare (The Honor Hall) was finished completely only in 1911, under the guidance ofKarel Liman. It spreads over three floors. Walls are dressed in exquisitely carved woodwork,mostly European walnut and exotic timbers. Bas-reliefs, alabaster sculptures, and retractablestained glass panels complete the decor.

Apartamentul Imperial (The Imperial Suite) is believed to be a tribute to the Austrian EmperorFranz Joseph I, who visited the palace as a friend of the Romanian Royal Family. Hence,decorator Auguste Bembe preferred the sumptuous Austrian Baroque in style of Empress MariaTheresa. A perfectly-preserved five-hundred-year-old Cordoban tooled leather wall cover is therarest of such quality.

Sala Mare De Arme (The Grand Armory or The Arsenal) is where 1,600 of the 4,000 pieces ofweaponry and armor reside. One of Europe's finest collection of hunting and war implements,timelined between 14th and 19th century, are on display. The king added pieces used in his victoryagainst the Ottoman Turks during the War of Independence. Famous are the complete Maximilianarmor for horse and rider and a 15th-century German "nobles only" decapitation broadsword. Alsoon display are a wide array of polearms (glaives, halberds, lances, hunting spears), firearms(muskets, blunderbusses, snaphaunces, flintlocks, pistols), axes, crossbows, and swords (rapiers,sabers, broadswords, and many others).

Sala Mica De Arme (The Small Armory) is where predominantly Oriental (mostly Indo-Persian,Ottoman and Arab) arms and armor pieces are on exhibit, many of them made of gold and silver,

and inlaid with precious stones. Included are chainmail armor, helmets, scimitars, yataghans,daggers, matchlocks, lances, pistols, shields, axes, and spears.


4/8

Sala De Teatru (The Playhouse) is decorated in Louis XIV style, with sixty seats and a Royal Box.Architectural decoration and mural paintings are signed by Gustav Klimt and Frantz Matsch.

Sala Florentina (The Florentine Room) combines revived elements of the Italian Renaissance,mostly from Florence. Most impressive are the solid bronze doors executed in Rome; ateliers ofLuigi Magni; and the Grand Marble Fireplace executed by Paunazio with Michelangelo motifs.

Salonul Maur (The Moorish Salon) was executed under the guidance of Charles Lecompte deNouy, and is meant to embody elements of North-African and Hispanic Moorish style. Mother-of-pearl inlaid furniture, fine Persian Sarouk and Ottoman Isparta rugs, and Oriental weapons andarmor are perhaps the most expressive elements. The salon has an indoor marble fountain.

Salonul Turcesc (The Turkish Parlor) emulates an Ottoman "joie de vivre" atmospherea roomfull of Turkish Izmir rugs and copperware from Anatolia and Persia. Walls are covered in hand-made textiles like silk brocades from the Siegert shops of Vienna.


5/8

Pelior Castle

Pelior Castle (Romanian: Castelul Pelior) is a castle in Sinaia, Romania, part of the samecomplex as the larger castle of Pele. It was built in 18991903 by order of King Carol I, as the

residence for his nephew and heir, the future King Ferdinand (son of Carol's brother Leopold vonHohenzollern) and Ferdinand's consort Queen Marie.

In 2006, it was decided that the palace complex, including Pelisor, long a museum and tourist site,is the legal property of the heirs of the Romanian royal family. They will take legal possession of itand sell it back to the Romanian state, so that it will remain in its current status. The main castle ofPele has already so sold, but negotiations about other villas and chateaus are ongoing. KingMichael I of Romania appears decisive that of the complex, Pelior castle will remain as place forhis heirs, the Royal Family.

Pelior was designed by the Czech architect Karel Liman in the Art Nouveaustyle; the furnitureand the interior decorations were designed mostly by the Viennese Bernhard Ludwig. There are

several chambers, working cabinets, a chapel, and "the golden room". Queen Marie herself, anaccomplished artist, made many of the artistic decisions about the design of the palace, andparticipated in its decoration, including as a painter. Queen Marie considered Art Nouveau a


6/8

weapon against sterile historicism, creating a personal style combining Art-Nouveau elements withByzantine and Celtic elements.

The hall of honor is very simple with the walls covered with oak-timber and a glass ceiling.

Pelior has only 99 rooms.


7/8

Sinaia Monastery

SINAIA MONASTERY was built in the end of the 17th century (1695) by Romanian ruler MihaiCantacuzino in Brancoveanu style, who was inspired by Saint Ecaterina Monastery from SinaiMountain after a visit their. Also known as The Cathedral of the Carpathians, Sinaia Monastery is

located in a fantastic landscape.

The monastery consists of two courtyards surrounded by low buildings. In the centre of eachcourtyard there is a small church built in the Byzantine style. One of them"Biserica Veche" (TheOld Church)dates from 1695, while the more recent "Biserica Mare" (The Great Church) wasbuilt in 1846. The monks possess a library that is a repository for valuable jewels belonging to theCantacuzino family, as well as the earliest Romanian translation of the Bible, dated 1668. TakeIonescu, former Prime Minister of Romania, is buried on the grounds.


8/8

Sinaia Casino

Situated in the northern area of the "Dimitrie Ghica" park, Sinaia "Casino" still represents one ofthe architectural symbols of the resort. The stately edifice was built in record time, only one year

(19121913), in the same place where Sinaias first villa, raised by Prince Dimitrie Ghica, was built.The stockholder of Sinaia Casino was Baron of Maray, who was also a key shareholder at theMonte Carlo Casino; this is why it has been speculated that the Romanian building would be thearchitectural copy of the French edifice. In fact, there are only a few elements of indoor architecturethat could confirm the resemblance between the two casinos.

In 1913, the opening of the Casino marked a very important event; in this sense, the authoritiescalled Alexander Davila to present a refined show, attended by The Royal Family, TituMaiorescu and The Prime Minister of the country at that time. The unforgettable evening kept onwith an outstanding piano performance by George Enescu and ended with a tremendousfireworks show.

Due to its elegance and irresistible games, the Casino shortly became one of the main attractionsof the resort, and also an important source of income for its shareholders, the Board of CivilHospitals and the Town Hall.The aristocracy arrived every weekend here in order to play roulette, cards (baccarat or Brazilian),rummy, chess, backgammon and Nine Men's Morris. At four o'clock in the afternoon, when thegame rooms were opened, the players got off the Bucharest-Sinaia "temptations train" that rolledonly on Saturdays and Sundays. "The social magnet" hosted each and every game day at least800 people, an unconceivable ebb and flow in our days. On the 13 tables in the big Mirrors' Hall,lighted by crystal chandeliers, the players were playing roulette, while in The Oval Room, theywere playing "chemin-de-fer". In the restaurant-bar, everybody could eat, drink and dance on jazzrhythms. The smaller room, "la salle prive", had only two game tables, where the minimum bet

was five times bigger than the one in the other halls.It is said that, before entering the Casino, the players, being confident in the chance of a significantprofit, used to throw coins in the fountain near the building. But once entered, they were quicklyseduced by the game and they were losing great amounts of money; after that, they were loaninghuge sums and were signing policies equivalent to a fortune just to keep playing; and, as if gainingwas everything, women were betting their jewelry and men, their gold-chained watches.After the Second World War, the Ministerial Committee for Economic Recovery and MonetaryStabilization decided that the Sinaia Casino, among other touristic objectives, would be transferredfrom the administration of the Board of Civil Hospitals to that of the estate. Starting from that point,the Casino, symbol of a place dedicated to games of chance, will be closed, and the building willbe used for some time by the Red Cross Society for humanitarian purposes.

In the following years, after some major renovations, but with the same elegance which made itfamous, the "Casino" became the Cultural House of the Syndicates in Sinaia. Having a differentprofile now, the edifice will house the town's library, and a lot of artistic and cultural manifestations,among which: artistic sets, theatrical shows, folklore shows and piano performances.

In 1978, the "Casino" was dedicated to some protocol activities; in February 1990, it entered underthe administration of the Ministry of Culture, and a few days after, under that of the Ministry ofTourism. Later on, in 1995, the "Casino"'s administration was taken over by the State Protocol.

prahova valley attractions

Documents