MariusPOne Day trip in the heart of Transylvania
I’m back with some new and exciting adventures from my newest trip to Transylvania. The route I choose was simple and yet full of interesting discoveries.
From the very beginning I was excited to leave Bucharest and discover the Carpathians and the legends surrounding the places we were about to visit. We left Bucharest early in the morning and drove towards the mountains. Passing Ploiesti we slowly reached the mountain area the Carpathians. Our first stop was Sinaia, a beautiful mountain resort that is hosting one of the most beautiful and well preserved 19th century castles.
We reached Pales Castle and we ware amazed by the beauty of the surroundings as we ware glazing at the king Carol masterpiece.
For a castle build late 19th century we ware surprised by the amount of “new technology” presented to us. At the time 1873 – 1883 the castle was the first one in Europe having autonomous central heating among other things. The view around the castle is one of a kind considering the place where the castle was built – surrounded by forest and having a small stream passing trough the property.
By form and functionality, Peles is a palace, but it is constantly called castle. His architectural style is a combination of romantic inspiration between neo-Renaissance and neo-Gothic, similar to Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria.
The Peles also has a theatre room with a small stage and 60 seats, plus the royal lodge. The castle had very modern facilities for the era in which it was built. For example, the glass ceiling of the hall of honor is mobile and can be operated by an electric motor. Since 1883, the castle has had central heating. In addition to the castle were built Pelisor, Guard Corps Building, Economate, Foisor Hunting House, Stables, Electric Plant, and Villa Sipot. During the construction of the castle (until 1883), King Charles I and Queen Elizabeth lived at the hunting house, finished before the castle. Thanks to its own power plant Peles castle was the first electrified castle in Europe.
After a short tour around the beautiful gardens that are surrounding the castle, we leave this amazing place and head for our next stop.
After almost one hour of driving, we leave behind Valahia region and we cross the mountains and we reach the most famous castle in Romania – Bran Castle. Situated close to what used to be the border between Transilvania and Valahia, Bran castle is the main turistic attraction of the area.
Bran Castle was built more than 600 years ago and was initially a fortress known as Dietrichstein, built by the order of the Teuton Knights in 1212, which was conquered by the Saxons toward the end of the 13th century.
The Bran Castle is less than 30 km from Brasov, built on a rock, in a strategically key location. He houses the Bran museum, which stretches on the four floors of the castle. This includes collections of ceramics, furniture, weapons and armor, and in the castle yard there is a small village museum with traditional houses from the Rucar-Bran region.
The castle was restored in 1920-1927 under the leadership of Royal Court architect Carol liman. During Queen Mary, the castle knew its period of glory as a royal residence, being one of the queen’s favorite places. Tourists can find out at the castle guide that the heart of Queen Maria was buried in Bran for a short time.
Although in 1938, the daughter of Queen Maria, Princess Ileana, received this castle by will, in 1948 the royal family was driven out of the country by the communist regime and the Bran Castle became the property of the Romanian state.
Ten years after the communist regime was established in Romania, the Bran Castle was opened as a museum of history and feudal art. Its deterioration led to its closure in 1987 and to its reopening only in 1993 as a result of the restoration works.
At present, the Bran Castle is the property of the follower of Prince Ileana, Dominic of Habsburg.
The main reason why foreign tourists choose to visit the Bran Castle is the legend that created around it. Bram Stocker created the caracter Dracula based on Vlad the impeller, the prince of Valahia. He connected the story with the castle of Bran and made this place the main turistic attraction of this area.
We leave this beautiful places behind and we head back for Bucharest. It was a great journey and we learned some new interesting things about the places we’ve visited.
Join me for new adventures to come or book a ticket and come visit this places. The guys from TourInRomania are more then happy to guide you
