Our Visit to Cantacuzino Castle and Peleș Castle in Romania

Hello, during our visit to Romania, we visited two impressive castles. I wanted to share my impressions and photos of this trip with you. We visited the Cantacuzino Castle and Peleș Castle. We rented an apartment in Brasov for six days. We visited the famous Transfagarasan road and Vidraru Dam, and also visited the castle of Count Dracula in Bran.

First, we headed towards Cantacuzino Castle. The castle is only 39 km away from Brasov, but due to traffic, our journey took about an hour and a half. If you plan to go, I recommend allocating time for traveling by car. We set off at 12:00. The road is straight, so driving is easy. Additionally, it can be reached by train in about an hour, costing between 9 and 14 euros per person. Did you know that the TV series "Wednesday," which was filmed in 2022, was set in Romania? The Cantacuzino Castle is located in the mountain town of Bușteni, in the Zămora region. However, it is said that the name Zămora comes from a dog owned by the Cantacuzino family and used by them for hunting. They used to use these types of dogs to fetch game.

I wasn't sure if we needed to take a guided tour. Tours were offered in Romanian, and I thought 75 Romanian lei was quite a high fee since there was no English guidance. The exterior of the building is made of carved stone, the interior is made of brick, the foundation is concrete, and the roof is tiled. On the first floor, there are Roman mosaics, wall paintings by Venetian artists, stained glass windows made of Murano glass, Italian ceramics, and limestone fireplaces adorned with alabaster in the main hall.

The central pavilion, service pavilion, administrative villa, and chapel are part of the castle complex, which consists of four buildings. The castle features bronze furniture, chests, and decorative friezes. In addition to many decorative motifs inside the building, this section also houses a unique series of wall paintings on leather made by Cordovan masters, which is unique in Romania. The gallery contains life-sized portraits of the main members of the Vallachian-Mesiricic family.

The coat of arms belonging to the Cantacuzino family is carved in stone above the main entrance of the castle. On the park side of the main entrance, there is a large stone terrace with breathtaking mountain views.

Photographs of Queen Maria of Romania, Princess Ileana, Romania's first patriarch Miron Cristea, George Cantacuzino, the grandson of the Cantacuzino family, and Zoe Grecian, one of Romania's prominent archaeologists, are displayed. Above the entrance to the castle from the inner courtyard, there is an inscription carved with the names of Prince Georgi Cantacuzino and his wife Catherine.

The castle is surrounded by a hunting tower on the east side of the inner courtyard. In the garden below the palace, there are three ponds, two of which have fountains. There is also a Grotto, a shallow horizontal cave, which is a prominent feature of the park. In the later period, a small wooden church was built in the castle park. This church, dedicated to Saint George, was built to replace an old church.

The Cantacuzino Mansion also has a forest on the outskirts of Zamora. There is a small souvenir section inside. They mainly make money through Wday t-shirts. There are also some Romanian books.

I believe the walls were painted during the period when the building served as a health facility. However, the restoration process has started again to reveal the original wall paintings. In the inner courtyard of the castle, there is an amusement park for children and parents, as well as terraces of two restaurants. The castle is open from Monday to Thursday from 10:00 to 19:00, and from Friday to Sunday from 10:00 to 20:00. Its own free parking lot is located on Zamora Street, 50 meters away from the main gates, and there is also a paid private parking lot in the castle area. The parking fee is 10 lei.

The second castle we visited was Peleș Castle. It only took us 20 minutes by car from Cantacuzino to Peleș Castle. We paid 30 lei for parking here. When we arrived by car, it started raining in the parking lot. It was very heavy, and it seemed like it would last for a long time. Nevertheless, we decided to go ahead. Luckily, there was an umbrella in the car.

This grand mansion of the royal family combines Italian elegance with German Renaissance aesthetics. The foundation of this castle was laid on August 22, 1873. The current owner of the building is the Romanian Royal Family, and it houses the Peleș Castle National Museum. Many famous people have stayed at the castle, including writers, musicians, and even rulers like Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary. The castle has 160 rooms, several entrances, and internal staircases. In addition to the central tower, there are other buildings associated with the castle: the guard house, the hunter's lodge, and the royal stables. An electricity plant was also built here, making Peleș the world's first electrically powered castle.

My impressions suggested that this castle is worth visiting. We were quite tired that day. It's really a beautiful place inside. Most of Peleș Castle's stained glass windows were brought from Switzerland and Germany, and its objects date back to the 15th and 16th centuries. Around the castle, there are seven terraces adorned with stone sculptures, fountains, and decorative vessels made of Carrara marble. After Bran Castle, Peleș is considered the second most visited place in the country. According to information from museum staff, Peleș Castle is closed for general cleaning every November.

That's all I have to tell about Peleș and Cantacuzino castles. I hope you enjoyed reading my account. We stayed in Romania for three weeks and were able to visit other beautiful places as well. Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to share them in my future writings. Thank you for reading.