Pelisor Castle

Pelisor is a castle in Romania. It was built by orders of King Carol I for his nephew Ferdinand, the future king of Romania and his wife Queen Marie. It was designed by the Czech architect Karel Liman in the Art Nouveau style.

Peles was summer residence for the first royal couple of Romania, King Carol I and Queen Elisabeth. The castle was built between 1873 and 1914. In the same complex is also located Pelisor, a castle built in 1899-1902 by orders of King Carol I for his nephew Ferdinand, the future king of Romania and his wife Queen Marie. It was designed by the Czech architect Karel Liman in the Art Nouveau style. Queen Marie herself has made many of the artistic decorations.

Karl Liman respected the king’s wishes about the architecture, but also added Romanian elements to Pelisor as the two towers which are covered in colored sandstone tiles like the churches’ steeples in Bucovina.

At Queen Marie’s wish Pelisor was built in a personal style combining Art Nouveau with Byzantine and Celtic elements. The so called “Golden room” was designed by the queen herself. Its walls are covered in oak-timber and wears Scotland floral emblem, the thistle in order to remember her about her homeland.

Pelisor has known more than one stage of interior decoration which will show the evolution of Queen Marie’s taste. The castle is exactly the contrary of King Carol vision, him being a supporter of Germans.

Pelisor Castle was opened for visitation in 1993. The museum has an inestimable both historical and artistic value. The art collections in Pelisor have creations of famous artists with pieces that include: Galle glassware (Emille Galle), furniture (Joseph Hoffman), chandeliers (L.C.TIffany), glassware (Daum brothers) etc.

In 2006 the Romanian state decided to give back Peles and Pelisor to their rightful owners, the royal family of Romania, but it was sold back to the state for a considerable amount of money.

So nowadays Pelisor and his big brother Peles are again museums that can be visited easily as they are close to Brasov, more precisely in Sinaia. If you have the chance to visit the two castles, don’t miss it because they can offer a good history lesson about Romania’s royal family, a lesson about art and craftsmanship and about how a queen can dedicate body and soul to a country which practically adopted her.

Article: Andreea Andrei

Photo: Pure Romania

Enjoy below Pelisor Castle photos