Traveler’s Guide

People's interest in Romania's traditional noble houses has been growing in recent years. Such people are the very curious ones, who roam Romania's villages in large numbers, looking for old mansions. Or they may be the entrepreneurs who relish in venturing so far as to restore the old-time beauty to such buildings. Anyhow, a trend has begun to take shape, that of rediscovering the out-of-town nobles' residences. In Romania, there are more than 300 such buildings, listed monuments, that is. We have tried to reach a couple of such castles, which are less well-known or less promoted. 

First of all, nearby Bucharest, there is the Floresti Palace, lying quite close to Ploiesti, or so art historian Irina Leca has told us.

Irina Leca: "It was built by the tycoon Cantacuzino, after the plans of Ion Berindei. It is a fine sample of early 20th-century architecture, which although it is in ruins today, it makes a very picturesque and lively objective, Today's owners of the castle have tried to rejuvenate it, staging lots of cultural events there, the most important of which being the Kapatia Horse Trials equine contest."

In eastern Romania you can visit the Sturdza castle in Miclauseni, which still speaks about the history of the Sturdza noble family. Speaking about that, here is the guide of the castle, Sebastian Marcoci.

Sebastian Marcoci: "It's a beautiful story, the one about this building. George Sturza and Maria Ghica built a castle following the structure of the old mansion, in the neo-Gothic style. For our area, that is something very special. Construction works were completed in about 24 years. For the interior, it is painted in the Art Nouveau style. Maria Ghica was born in Istanbul. There she learnt how to paint miniatures. It was also there that she learnt English and in 1869, she married George Sturdza. After the wedding, the two took a trip to Western Europe, to Germany, France and Austria. On their way back, they decided to transform their mansion in the Miclauseni castle. The Sturdza family estate has three components, a dendrological park stretching along a surface area of 30 hectares, the monastery and the castle. So we have the spiritual, the cultural and the natural component. We kind of followed on the Sturdza family's wish to create cultural and educational events. Some of the outhouses have been turned into guesthouses, with about 50 accommodation places, There is a quotation we have in the castle, running something like, there where we have peace and quiet, harmony prevails."

We continue our journey having art historian Irina Leca as our guide, and we reach the Cuza Castle in Ruginoasa, lying quite close to Miclauseni. Here is Irina Leca, speaking about the castle.

Irina Leca:" Again, it is a perfect example of neo-Gothic architecture, located in a superb dendrological park, it is a castle that has been recently refurbished and which plays host to the Cuza Museum. Here, visitors can find out many more things about the history of the Romanian ruling prince and especially about Elena Cuza, who used to live in the castle. Now, if we continue our journey to Transylvania, nice and easy, we can have a stopover at the Cris castle, located 30 kilometers from Sighisoara.  The castle, which is a superb example of Renaissance architecture dating back to the 15th century, is one of the most picturesque in Transylvania. Although it is not very well-known to the public, the castle, which is currently undergoing a full restoration process, has been opened to visitors for quite some time now. The foundation administering it offers to visitors guided tours into the history of this castle and the Saxon village around it."

Romania boasts a good number of castles, which are worth visiting. Here is Irina Leca at the microphone again.

Irina Leca: "I would like to mention the Bran Castle, Peles, Pelisor, the Cantacuzino Castle in Busteni, southern Romania. Quite a good number, and a tour of these castles would be quite attractive and eye-opening. Similar to the Loire Valley in France, we have castles on the either side of the rivers Mures and Trotus, over the Carpathians. There are castles and mansions along the Mures Valey, up to the point the river leaves Romania and along the Trotus valley, at Darmanesti, Doftana and Comanesti. Some of them are in good condition and open to visitors, while others are not."

Sanda Vitelar, communication and media advisor with the County Council has also confirmed the fact that visitors can visit a lot of fairy-tale castles in Romania's central and northern region.

Sanda Vitelar: "The Saxon village of Cris, 13 km of Sighisoara is famous for its Bethlen Castle built between the 14th and 18th centuries but you can also visit the picturesque castle of Lapusna, on the Gurghiu Valley. Also worth visiting is the Kemeny Castle in Brancovenesti, on the Mures Valley, on the national motorway linking Reghin to Toplita. The Mures County is renowned for its old castles and mansions. Although many of them are being refurbished, they can also be visited by tourists. The Ugron Castle, also known as the Calendar Castle, is waiting for visitors in the plain area towards the city of Cluj Napoca. The castle has 365 windows, four towers, as the four seasons, 52 rooms as the weeks in a year and 7 terraces. It also has 12 halls, which represent the months of the year. The castle was built around an unrequited love story between its owner and a Russian princess."

Those who are pressed for time can opt for Romania's most representative castles, such as Peles, Pelisor, Bran or the Corvin Castle but if time is not an issue, you can access the monumenteuitate.org, a vast platform promoting the mansions and castles in Romania's rural areas.