Lăpuşna Castle

Lăpuşna is a village belonging to Ibăneşti commune, Mureş County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in Gurghiu Mountains, 45 km far for Reghin, in an area of outstanding beauty.


The story of the Lăpuşna Hunting Castle (or the Royal Hunting House) starts in 1923, when King Ferdinand I of Romania (1914-1927) had visited for the first time the area of Gurghiu Mountains. Charmed by the picturesque beauty of the landscapes, he decided to build in Lăpuşna a hunting lodge. The castle was built between 1925-1926.


The ensemble is composed of of 7 buildings with 35 rooms and a park of 4 hectares. It seems that the firs planted around the buildings form the contour of Romania. Not far is the wooden Lăpuşna Monastery (1779), brought here from Comori village by King Carol II, church that served as a place of worship for the Royal House. Once the relocation of the church, were brought here icons which proves the strong links between Moldavia and Transylvania during the 18th century.


The Hunting Castle was owned by the Royal House of Romania. King Ferdinand I, King Carol II (1930-1940) and King Michael I (1927-1930 and 1940-1947) often came here to hunt. It was nationalized in 1947, and was administrated by the commune of Ibăneşti.


Then, the castle became the favorite hunting place of the Ceauşescu family, the dictator bringing here numerous heads of state as Nikita Khrushchev, Todor Jivkov or Josip Broz Tito. Ceauşescu used the castle at least three times a year.


After the fall of Communism in 1990, the castle was used as a hunting base by Ion Ţiriac, Prince Dimitrie Sturdza, and many American and European hunters. Here were established several world records for trophies of Carpathian brown bear, black goat and deer. In total, there were obtained more than 300 gold medals for hunting trophies. Here is also a good place for trout fishing in Gurghiu River.

Images from here.

5 comments:

Octavia Salcudean said...

Se mai fac tabere de elevi la Lapusna?
Iarasi ne incantati cu lucruri frumoase!

Adrian said...

Da, se mai fac. Castelul e luat de vreo 5 ani de o firma care-l exploateaza, de ex. camera unde dormea Ceausescu se inchiriaza cu 55 Euro pe noapte. E solicitat in instanta de printul Paul.

Dan said...

Tabere nu se faceau la castel ci undeva mai sus chiar Tabara lapusna se numea. Acum e inchisa. A fost deschisa cateva luni in vara 2009 cand era un director roman la conducerea judeteana a taberelor dar din toamna a fost schimbata cu un ungur care nu se intereseaza de zona Lapusna. Pacat, ca era tare frumos acolo.

Adrian said...

Intr-adevar, tabara e mai sus. Multi ani de taberele din Mures s-a ocupat Claudiu Evi - si mergeau struna - dar dupa ce a murit (prea tanar), toti care au condus Administratia Taberelor au luat banii de pomana.

Roofing Miami said...

An exotic destination for those looking to spend the holidays in the mountains. Beautiful scenery!