People’s
\ninterest in Romania’s traditional noble houses has been growing in recent
\nyears. Such people are the very curious ones, who roam Romania’s villages in large
\nnumbers, looking for old mansions. Or they may be the entrepreneurs who relish
\nin venturing so far as to restore the old-time beauty to such buildings.
\nAnyhow, a trend has begun to take shape, that of rediscovering the out-of-town
\nnobles’ residences. In Romania, there are more than 300 such buildings, listed
\nmonuments, that is. We have tried to reach a couple of such castles, which are
\nless well-known or less promoted. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
First of all,
\nnearby Bucharest, there is the Floresti Palace, lying quite close to Ploiesti,
\nor so art historian Irina Leca has told us. <\/p>\n
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Irina Leca: It
\nwas built by the tycoon Cantacuzino, after the plans of Ion Berindei. It is a
\nfine sample of early 20th-century architecture, which although it is
\nin ruins today, it makes a very picturesque and lively objective, Today’s
\nowners of the castle have tried to rejuvenate it, staging lots of cultural
\nevents there, the most important of which being the Kapatia Horse Trials equine
\ncontest.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
In eastern
\nRomania you can visit the Sturdza castle in Miclauseni, which still speaks
\nabout the history of the Sturdza noble family. Speaking about that, here is the
\nguide of the castle, Sebastian Marcoci. <\/p>\n
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Sebastian
\nMarcoci: It’s a beautiful story, the one about this building. George Sturza and
\nMaria Ghica built a castle following the structure of the old mansion, in the
\nneo-Gothic style. For our area, that is something very special. Construction
\nworks were completed in about 24 years. For the interior, it is painted in the Art
\nNouveau style. Maria Ghica was born in Istanbul. There she learnt how to paint
\nminiatures. It was also there that she learnt English and in 1869, she married
\nGeorge Sturdza. After the wedding, the two took a trip to Western Europe, to
\nGermany, France and Austria. On their way back, they decided to transform their
\nmansion in the Miclauseni castle. The Sturdza family estate has three
\ncomponents, a dendrological park stretching along a surface area of 30
\nhectares, the monastery and the castle. So we have the spiritual, the cultural
\nand the natural component. We kind of followed on the Sturdza family’s wish to
\ncreate cultural and educational events. Some of the outhouses have been turned
\ninto guesthouses, with about 50 accommodation places, There is a quotation we
\nhave in the castle, running something like, there where we have peace and
\nquiet, harmony prevails.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
We continue our
\njourney having art historian Irina Leca as our guide, and we reach the Cuza
\nCastle in Ruginoasa, lying quite close to Miclauseni. Here is Irina Leca,
\nspeaking about the castle.<\/p>\n
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Irina Leca: Again, it is a perfect example of neo-Gothic architecture, located in a
\nsuperb dendrological park, it is a castle that has been recently refurbished
\nand which plays host to the Cuza Museum. Here, visitors can find out many more
\nthings about the history of the Romanian ruling prince and especially about
\nElena Cuza, who used to live in the castle. Now, if we continue our journey to
\nTransylvania, nice and easy, we can have a stopover at the Cris castle, located
\n30 kilometers from Sighisoara. The
\ncastle, which is a superb example of Renaissance architecture dating back to
\nthe 15th century, is one of the most picturesque in Transylvania.
\nAlthough it is not very well-known to the public, the castle, which is currently
\nundergoing a full restoration process, has been opened to visitors for quite
\nsome time now. The foundation administering it offers to visitors guided tours
\ninto the history of this castle and the Saxon village around it.<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
Romania boasts a
\ngood number of castles, which are worth visiting. Here is Irina Leca at the
\nmicrophone again. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Irina Leca: I would like to mention the Bran Castle, Peles, Pelisor, the
\nCantacuzino Castle in Busteni, southern Romania. Quite a good number, and a
\ntour of these castles would be quite attractive and eye-opening. Similar to the
\nLoire Valley in France, we have castles on the either side of the rivers Mures
\nand Trotus, over the Carpathians. There are castles and mansions along the
\nMures Valey, up to the point the river leaves Romania and along the Trotus
\nvalley, at Darmanesti, Doftana and Comanesti. Some of them are in good
\ncondition and open to visitors, while others are not.<\/p>\n
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Sanda Vitelar,
\ncommunication and media advisor with the County Council has also confirmed the
\nfact that visitors can visit a lot of fairy-tale castles in Romania’s central
\nand northern region. <\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Sanda Vitelar: The Saxon village of Cris, 13 km of Sighisoara is famous for its
\nBethlen Castle built between the 14th and 18th centuries
\nbut you can also visit the picturesque castle of Lapusna, on the Gurghiu
\nValley. Also worth visiting is the Kemeny Castle in Brancovenesti, on the Mures
\nValley, on the national motorway linking Reghin to Toplita. The Mures County is
\nrenowned for its old castles and mansions. Although many of them are being
\nrefurbished, they can also be visited by tourists. The Ugron Castle, also known
\nas the Calendar Castle, is waiting for visitors in the plain area towards the
\ncity of Cluj Napoca. The castle has 365 windows, four towers, as the four
\nseasons, 52 rooms as the weeks in a year and 7 terraces. It also has 12 halls,
\nwhich represent the months of the year. The castle was built around an
\nunrequited love story between its owner and a Russian princess.<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
Those who are
\npressed for time can opt for Romania’s most representative castles, such as
\nPeles, Pelisor, Bran or the Corvin Castle but if time is not an issue, you can
\naccess the monumenteuitate.org, a vast platform promoting the mansions and
\ncastles in Romania’s rural areas. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
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