Macea Castle

Macea (Hungarian: Mácsa; German: Matscha) is a commune in Arad County, Romania, composed of two villages, Macea and Sânmartin. It is located 23 km from Arad and 6 km from Curtici.

Although the traces of settlements on this place are very old, traces from the Neolithic and from the Bronze Age having been found on its territory, Macea was first mentioned in documents only in 1380, while Sânmartin in 1477. The Macea domain belonged over time to many Austrian, Hungarian or Montenegro noble families. After the wars concluded with the peace treaties from Karlovitz (1699) and Passarovitz (1718), the Imperial administration from Vienna donated or sold the Macea domain several times. Thus, Macea belonged since 1715 to the Edelspacher family. Sigismund Edelspacher sold part of its properties to Arsenie Ciarnoievici, a Serbian noble from Montenegro. He and his son contributed to the release of Banat under Ottoman occupation and were ennobled by the House of Habsburg.

The first design of the castle dates from 1724. Yhe arboretum was then the main attraction of the domain. After his second marriage, Pavel Cernovici - Arsenie Ciarnoievici's nephew - retired to Macea. Cernovici was preoccupied with planning the reconstruction of the castle. The Macea Castle was built in a neoclassical style with a single level and a rectangular plan, in the first part of the 19th century and it has a sober architecture. Both the front and the back terrace are guarded by columns with Doric capitals.

Pavel's son, Petru, became a deputy. His connections with the Serbian and Romanian national movement leaders, but also with a number of foreign diplomats in Belgrade have been seen with bad eyes by Austrian police and fell into disgrace. In 1862, the castle was lost during a cards game. The new owner, Count Karolyi of "Nagy Karoly", was one of personalities of Hungary. Between 1862 and 1886, it was built the second wing of the castle, much larger, with eclectic elements. That gives the entire building a French style look.

The arboretum and the botanical garden were designed by the famous gardener Joseph Prochaska. He arranged the garden, built a fountain and a swimming pool, a tennis court, alley and brought many plants. After the First World War, both the park and castle went through a period of regression. In 1939, the park has come into possession of a doctor, which cleared over 10 acres of forest. The first large-scale repair of the castle was made ​​in 1956. Only in 1968 the garden and the arboretum were declared a dendrological park and protective measures were taken for maintaining and and redevelopment. Subsequently, the complex became the siega of a local agricultural association, then in the castle was moved a school for children with disabilities.

After the Revolution, the "Vasile Goldiş" University in Arad renovated the castle and the botanical garden - with a surface of over 20 ha. Currently, saved from ruin, the Macea castle hosts international events - scientific Congresses, symposia, research meetings.

A few days ago, the first hunting museum in Western Romania opened to the public at the Macea Castle. The trophies on display include some awarded gold medals in national competitions or animals coming from the Socodor game fund, killed during Nicolae Ceausescu’s hunting trips. The museum is the third in the country, after those in Posada and Sibiu. The trophies on display in the museum in­clude stags, wolves, bears, wild boars, foxes, lynxes and a number of birds. Alongside the trophies, visitors can see images of the animals in their natural habitat, hunting rifles or various hunting objects.

The Banloc Manor

Banloc (Hungarian: Bánlak, German: Banlok) is a commune in Timiş County, Banat, Romania. The village was first attested on 13 May 1400 in a document given by the copyist of Cenad as "Byallak" and for almost two centuries (1552-1716) became the summer residence of the Ottoman Pasha of Timişoara. In 1716, the Banat was conquered by the Austrians. The Banloc estate became the property of Croat Ban Draskovici and in 1783 was sold to Count Lázár (or Lazarus) Karátsonyi of Beodra (today Novo Miloševo, Serbia).

In 1793 the Count built the manor and during the 19th century and in the first years of the 20th century the buildings and the park enjoyed many improvements. At the end of WWI, the Serbians occupied the manor and devastated it. Covered in debts, the last count – Keglevich Karátsonyi Imre – sold in 1935 the remains of the domain, including the manor and the park to the ex-Queen Elizabeth of Greece, the sister of King Carol II of Romania. She renovated the entire complex, so the castle knew it’s last period of glory.

U-shaped, the Banloc castle is a Renaissance-style massive building with thick walls (approx. 1.25 m) of burnt brick, with the main façade facing south and at north with two wings forming a terraced courtyard. On the south façade the sole ornament was the Karátsonyi family crest carved in stone. The heraldic insignia was retained after the castle became property of the House Royal Romania, and was taken down after 1948. Compared with the simplicity of the south facade, the north façade - especially the two wings enclosing the yard - shows several elements of decoration: Baroque windows, alto-reliefs with well-defined themes (motives and heraldic themes inspired by Greek and Roman mythology) embedded in the masonry.

In addition there are 18th century iron decorations and the wrought iron lamps (one on each corner of the court) with the year 1793 specified on them. The wooden gates are provided with 18th century iron hardware and above there is a different themed alto-relief for each entry. The castle has basement, ground floor, first floor and attic. Each floor has a central large room, two rooms at left and two at right, and three rooms on each left and right wing.

An article appeared in "Dacia" newspaper in 1939 said: "Banloc’s beauty is given by the park which takes a good part of the right wing of the village, ending its surrounding walls – like ones of a castle - in the center. At the crossroad of the alleys there are Roman statues and lapidary inscriptions, chiseled in the first decades after the conquest of Dacia, taken from Sarmizegetuza after a german paleography study enlightens me. Among the lines of trees, sit in circles and connected with the cemented wounds, one of the 100 acacia, brought to America by Maria Thereza (1740-1780). Banloc Castle walls have a Gothic sweetened line with the arrow pointed top, in front of the park. It was built on the old ground in 1783."

In 1948, immediately after the Communists seized the power in Romania, the Queen left and the manor was devastated, the statues were vandalized, and the archives and the library were burnt. Between 1950 and 1997 the building and its land were successively used as a headquarters of the agricultural association, care home for the elderly, orphanage or local school.

Photos from Wikipedia.

The Şofronea Castle

Şofronea is a commune in Arad County, Romania, lies in the Arad Plateau and it is located at 15 km from Arad. It consists of two villages: Şofronea and Sânpaul. The first documentary record of Şofronea dates back to 1437, while Sânpaul was first mentioned in 1235. Its most attended touristic sights are the springs of thermal water with therapeutic effect in the treatment of rheumatic diseases and the complex of the Purgly Castle with its park and households, registered in the national cultural patrimony.

According to documents kept in London, Lisbon, Budapest, Vienna, the Şofronea Castle was built in 1789. In 1889, the owner of the castle exchanged properties with Purgly Janos, the owner Gurahonţ Castle. After he established in Şofronea, Janos Purgly has renovated the castle in Secession style and bought an important area of agricultural land. He was one of the well-known barons of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. His youngest daughter, Magdolna Purgly de Jószáshely, married in 1901 with Horthy Miklós, a young officer. The wedding took place at the Reformed Church in Arad. The exact involvement of Horthy in maintaining of the Şofronea property is not known. Horthy was concerned about its military and political career; during World War I he became the commander of the Austrian-Hungarian fleet in the Adriatic, then in 1920 he became regent of Hungary until 1944, when he was arrested.

Purgly Janos donated the property to his son, Purgly Laszlo: 860 acres of land, the castle, an animal farm, a plantation of fruit trees and a vineyard. Purgly Laszlo's one of the main concerns was the financing of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (The Red Church) in Arad, which he was the main sponsor. In 1922, the baron's wife, Margit, committed suicide because of her husband's infidelity. He buried she in the courtyard of the castle and remarried his wife sister. In 1949, the Communist authorities deported him to Târgu-Jiu, then he returned to Arad in 1951 and died of starvation in the basement of the parish which belonged to the Red Church.

The castle was nationalized by the Communists and became the headquarters of the local agricultural association. After the Revolution of 1989, it was leased to the Humanitas Gura-Popii Foundation, that renovated it according to the original design. The facade is richly decorated and provided with medieval-style projections and towers. The interior maintained its original shape. The main entrance conduce to the central body, in the reception room where the ceiling provided with wooden boxes is a remarkable artistic work. The ground-floor dining room, lounge and the great room are very spacious and decorated with specific ornamentation. The staircase is richly carved, there are many other artistic works made of wood and stained glass windows. In the courtyard are the Roman baths with thermal water, visited by thousands of tourists.

Photos from Wikipedia.

Cantacuzino Castle of Buşteni

Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (September 22, 1833 – March 22, 1913) was a Conservative Romanian politician who twice served as the Prime Minister of Romania: between 23 April 1899 and 19 July 1900 and between 4 January 1906 and 24 March 1907. He was born into the Romanian noble Cantacuzino family and was a descendant of Romanian voivods (ruling princes) and Byzantine Emperors. Prince Cantacuzino was known as "the Nabob" due to its fabulous richness, being the the largest owner of land in Romania at that time. He built the Cantacuzino Palace in Bucharest (The George Enescu Museum) and the Cantacuzino Castle of Buşteni.

Buşteni is a small mountain town in the north of Prahova county, in the center of Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, on Bucegi Mountains, and it is one of the most popular mountain resorts, offering spectacular views with lots of year-round tourism opportunities, ranging from skiing to mountain climbing. Cantacuzino Castle was built in 1911 in the park owned by the Prince and is one of the top castles in Romania in terms of architecture. During the communist regime, the castle was nationalized and transformed in a TB sanatorium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs; after 1989 it was returned to the heirs of the Prince, who sold it in 2004 to a group of investors that restored it and reinstated in the tourist circuit.

The castle has 1200.30 sqm ground surface, composed of basement, ground floor and first floor with a developed surface of 3148.09 sqm, with concrete foundation, walls of carved stone, and covered with tiles. It has also a service pavilion of 201.90 sqm ground surface, ground floor and first floor with developed surface of 403.80 sqm; an administrative mansion of 114.41 sqm ground surface, one level; the chapel.


Vizualizare hartă mărită

Impressive in terms of architecture, the castle is compared to other buildings completed in neo-brâncovenesc style. The interior decorative repertoire consists of polychrome molding, ornamental and figurative painting, stained glass windows, carved carpentry, tiled ceilings, railings carved in stone, wrought iron or wood, floors in decorative sandstone slabs or floors with parquetry, which confer a romantic feel to the interior, even if the molding of the interior columns and door framing sculpture reminds us of the decorative Brâncoveanu style repertoire. The interior polychromy supported by the geometrical motifs of the receptions hall arcades reminds us of the paintings found in religious spaces due to neo-byzantine style.

Stained glass windows, railings, the stairways of the hallway and the ceilings with visible beams some of them painted, remind us of the romantic decorative repertoire. All this decorative repertoire emphasizes the unique character of the building, bringing forward the ensigns of the Cantacuzino family as well as those belonging to families related to this, painted in the reception room next to the fresco of the most outstanding members of the Cantacuzino boyar-related Wallachian branch. The complex is in full coordination with ample exterior decorations, terraces and walls of support, ramps and stairs with railings of stone that besides functionality makes perfect integration of this complexity in the mountain area. The castle is surrounded by waterfalls, caves and fountains. In addition, the complex is located in an area scientifically proven as being an important energetic pole and studies stand for it.

Photos from here, here, here.

Mikes Castle, Zăbala

Zăbala (Hungarian: Zabola) is a village in Covasna County, Transylvania, Romania, located at 7 km from Covasna. It was attested in 1567 and it formed part of the Székely Land region of the historical Transylvania province. Until 1918, the village belonged to the Háromszék (Three Chairs) County of the Kingdom of Hungary. After the Treaty of Trianon of 1920, it became part of Romania. The commune has a Székely Hungarian majority (76.55%). Zăbala is renowned for the beautiful castle of Mikes counts, which gathers specific architecture of the mansions of Covasna County and folk architecture elements.

The Mikes Castle dates back to the 16th century. It was built on the remaining of an early fortified building which is suspected to be burned down in the liberation war of Transylvania. Under Communism the Castle and the estate was a children home, hospital, school. Especially in the last 20 years the buildings and the park were neglected. The castle was returned to the descendants of Count Mikes, Gregor and Alexander Roy Chowghury, which transformed it into a great tourism location. As a first step in bringing the estate back to life archaeological research has been initiated. Research is also being undertaken in the archives.

On the first floor all the ceilings were covered (currently painted over) with Frescoes from 1867 when the building was extended and redecorated. The Castle is connected through a 50m long tunnel with a large villa built around 1900 for hosting the offices of the Estate and rooms for the guests of the family as well as a large kitchen. Next to the building there was a small church. Mid 19th Century the church was demolished. Count Mikes Benedek provided a plot in the center of the village were he used the material to build a new Catholic church. The family crypt behind the castle has been destroyed in 1948 and demolished in the 1960s.

The 34 ha park, with lakes and ponds, at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains offers a splendid view both to the mountains and the Háromszék Highland. The park was first designed to have its current shape at the beginning of the 18th century, and was then adapted and modified by each following generation. The current shape was created by the renowned French garden designer Achille Duchene. The estate owns forests, agricultural land and buildings spread over the county and other parts of Transylvania.

Infos and photos from www.zabola.com and other minor sources.

Wass-Banffy Castle, Gilău

Gilău (Hungarian: Gyalu, Saxon German: Gelu, German: Gelau, Julmarkt, Jalmarkt) is a commune in Cluj County, Romania, located at 15 km west of Cluj. In the south of the village are remains of a Roman military camp (castrum) and a Roman civilian settlement. It was the first castrum in Transylvania where archaeologists have clearly identified the sequence between the camp of earth and wood and the stone camp that followed (dimensions: 138 x 221 m). Etymologically, it was hypothesized that such the name Gilău derived from Gelu. According to the anonymous chronicler of King Bela IV, prince Gelu died at the confluence of Căpuş Creek with Someşul Mic River on Gilău village territory, while withdrawing from the Hungarian hordes of Tuhutum to his citadel Dăbâca (ad castrum suum).

Wass-Banffy Castle in Gilău is a historical monument of Cluj County, being surrounded by a natural park of approximately 11 hectares. Initially a fortress, it was built after the year 1439, by order of Bishop Lepes and in the 1500s, was transformed into a castle in the Renaissance style, by Bishop Gerb László. Between 1599-1601, the castle belonged to Michael the Brave. As a result of a fire, the castle was damaged and after that was rebuilt and restored several times. In the last decades, the castle was used by the Gilău High-school.

Images from www.Rumaenienburgen.com.

Iulia Hasdeu Castle

The Iulia Hasdeu Castle is a folly house built in the form of small castle by historian and politician Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu in the city of Câmpina, Prahova County, Romania.

The only descendant of Hasdeu family was Iulia, a prodigy child, born on 14th November 1869 and dead eighteen years later, on 17th September 1888 from an unmerciful tuberculosis. At the age of 11 she graduated at "St. Sava" Gymnasium and the Music Academy of Bucharest (piano and canto). As a pupil of the "Sévigné" College of Paris, where she continued her secondary school studies, Iulia aroused her teacher's admiration for her brilliant intelligence. She took private lessons in drawing, painting, piano playing and canto. She continuously wrote poems, prose and theater plays. At 16, she attended the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy at "La Sorbonne" in Paris. Meanwhile, Iulia attended courses at the School of Higher Studies in Paris. Her literary creation was to appear posthumously, under her father's careful watch, at "Hachette" Paris, in three volumes.

Deeply affected by his daughter's death, an event that dramatically shook and changed his life, Hasdeu started in 1893 to build a castle on a small piece of land in Câmpina. He claimed that his belated daughter provided the plans for building the castle during sessions of spiritualism (which took much of Hasdeu's imagination and time after Iulia's death). The building was completed in 1896. The castle is built based on the magic numbers 3 and 7, having, for example 3 towers, 3 underground rooms and steps formed of 7 steps each.

The ceiling of the main tower

The main entrance to the castle is a huge door made of stone, supposedly fixed on a diamond bearing. On the outside of this door is written the sign of Hasdeu's family and two texts: first is "pro fide and patria"(for God and country) and second is "e pour si move" ("nevertheless it moves") which encourages visitors to press this door of stone, which is easily opened and permits entrance to the castle. The door was sided by two stone thrones, on which there were carved Iulia’s main seven reincarnations, the twelve laws and the Pythagorean symbols (the pentagram and the seven circles). On each throne there was a woman sphinx, guardian of the entrance. Above the door there was the Eye of the World, and on the crenels one could read a date: July 2, the day when B.P. Hasdeu used to symbolically celebrate his two Iulias: his wife and his daughter.

The lateral doors had grids that symbolized the Sun; therefore they were painted in yellow and green-shaded blue. The exterior covers were provided with stained glass painted in the same shades, and above them there were two symbols: the cross in vertical position and beneath it the crescent in horizontal position. The windows of the Castle also had grids and stained glass intersected by a cross, and in the interior, on both sides, there were parallel mirrors. The role of the parallel mirrors is symbolic: with their help, all that get through there is infinitely re-created.

The ghosts' table

Inside, the monument is decorated with a fresco and marble, in various colors. In the tower from the left of the edifice there are the guest hall and the living room, both rooms being decorated with capital columns. In the living room there are the family portraits, painted on the wall, surrounded by laurel crowns. In the tower from the right, there are: the scholar’s office, the dining room and the room for the spiritualist sessions.

Chairs made for ghosts

The mural painting of the first two halls has flowers as main element, and they are the most lighted rooms during the day, because the Castle is orientated towards North, the right tower towards East and the left tower towards West. The room for the spiritualist sessions was obscure and on the walls there were painted symbols: an angel’s head, a triangle, a butterfly (as noticed in a photo of the original mural painting) and, most probably, other undiscovered symbols. Nowadays, the mural painting of this room hasn’t been restored.

A spiritualist manuscript and some ectoplasm photos will satisfy the curiosity of the visitor who asks himself how Hasdeu talked to his dead daughter. Through direct automatic writing, using cultured mediums, B.P.Hasdeu was receiving answers to questions related not only to Iulia's spirit, but also to his father's, Alexander, and to his grandfather's, Tadeu.

Sometimes, the written communications were reinforced by photographic sessions, the scientist being a pioneer of spiritualist photography in Romania. Since 1994 the Iulia Hasdeu Castle has been housing the "B.P.Hasdeu” Memorial Museum which displays furniture, personal belongings of Hasdeu family, photos and original documents, manuscripts, Hasdeu's reviews, many pictures made by Nicolae Grigorescu and Sava Henţia.

The study room of B.P. Hasdeu

From "B.P.Hasdeu" Memorial Museum, The Alexis Project. Photos by Adrian Gheorghe.

Wesselényi Castle in Jibou

Jibou (German: Siben, Hungarian: Zsibó) is a town in Sălaj County, Transylvania, Romania. First attested in 1205 as Chybur, Jibou was known as Villa in 1219 and Oppidum in 1564, latin names that prove the importance of the locality in the area in Middle Ages.

Barons Wesselényi owned large domains in the area and they built here a castle in 1584, from which exist today only remains of the foundation. The present day castle was built between 1779-1810, and is one of the largest baroque buildings in Transylvania. The castle was built on two levels, on an elongated rectangular plan, with the center and ends more prominent. Two pavilions, side-symmetric, defines a reception court towards the gardens. A beautiful mansion (curia), a barn and stables were already built in 1755.

The first phase of construction is dated between 1778-1785. Between 1785-1789, when Baron Miklós Wesselényi was imprisoned, the works were stopped. The stoves were made by craftsmen from Sibiu. The hunting scenes were painted in 1805 by Franz Neuhauser, and the interiors were finished in 1807. After the death of Miklós Wesselényi, in 1810, the castle was almost finished and furnished. His widow, Ilona Cserei, continued the works, completed by the end of 1830. Béla József, specialist in Transylvanian Baroque, affirms that the constructor of the castle was Zahanum Brauman, who built also the Bánffy Palace in Cluj.

After the nationalization from 1948, the castle was used as a local school, high school and boarding house, and is now used by pioneers. The domain was claimed by the heirs of the baron.

The castle was surrounded by a large garden, but during the decades this garden was neglected and abandoned. In 1968 professor Vasile Fati founded near the castle a botanical garden for educational purposes. The garden design was inspired by the old garden surrounding the Wesselényi castle, with beautiful parterres. It has a surface of about 25 hectares and hosts more than 5.000 taxa from all around the world. It is still in expansion and recently it was finished the Japanese Garden. The botanical garden is organized in an innovative way. It is divided in ornamental, geographical, systematic, ecologic and genetic, economical sectors. The garden hosts also two spherical green houses (dome globes), projected in the ’80 by Cluj University and represent an important example of the architectural avantgarde of the last decades of the 20th century.

Căpâlnaş Castle

Căpâlnaş (spelled also Căpălnaş, Hungarian: Kápolnás), is a village belonging to Birchiş commune, Arad County, Banat, Romania. The village was first mentioned in 1369, as Capolna. Another documentary attestation dates from 1569. In 1965, here were excavated the remains of a medieval fortress with a watchtower.

The Mocioni Castle in Căpâlnaş is the most beautiful in Arad County by the perfect harmony of proportions and simple but elegant decoration of the facade. It was designed by Viennese architect Otto Wagner who raised the castle between 1876-1879. Otto Wagner was inspired by Little Trianon at Versailles, but he did not made a facsimile of the famous model.

The Viennese architect used for the facade grooved columns, which ends with richly decorated capitals. The central stairway climbs into large folds (aesthetic closer rather to Rococo style) to a terrace located in the middle of the main facade. The ascending stairs focuses on the vertical lines of the building. In the upper register of the palace, the main design element is the cornice, artistic enlaced. The access on the terrace is made by three doors, which communicates with the ground floor lounge, where a ladder climb upstairs. The 8 hectares park offers the best conditions for rest and recreation. In front of the terrace there is a fountain in the middle of which is to be found - as in the French castles - the statue of a deer.

The Mocioni family has a rich history. In 1747, Constantine Mocioni, an Aromanian Orthodox priest, left Macedonia and settled in Hungary. The five sons were tradesmen in Budapest, gathering an impressive fortune. Two of them, Andrei and Mihai, were ennobled by Emperor Joseph II and are the ancestors of the two branches of the family: the Mocioni and de Foeni. The history of Căpâlnaş is linked with the evolution of the Mocioni branch of the family, that had initially domains in Tokay, Hungary. Mihai Mocioni's two sons were ennobled by Austrian Emperor Francisc I. Another Mihai (1811-1890) married on 2 February 1836, with his cousin, Ecaterina, from de Foeni branch, unifying the two families. Meanwhile, Ioan Mocioni de Foeni, Ecaterina's father, purchased in 1853 from Counts Alfred, Janos, Gyorgy and Camilo Zichy, 6000 acres of land in Căpâlnaş, for an amount of 260 thousand florins.

Ecaterina and Mihai Mocioni decided to establish here, and they built the French style palace that will be inherited by the last two sons, Alexandru and Eugen. The last owners of the castle were Eugen's children: Petru, Ionel and Ecaterina. Ecaterina married Count Teleki Jeno. In 1948 the castle and estates were nationalized, and later was transformed in a neuro-psychiatric hospital.

Photos from Consiliul Judeţean Arad.

Bulci Castle

Bulci is a village in Bata commune, Arad county, Banat, Romania. Older names: Bulch, Bulchu, Bulciu, Bulcz, Bulţ, Bulţi, Bulczy, Bols, Bolş Bwlch, Wulch, Vulci.

Since the Roman period there was a Roman camp and a castrum belonging to the Legion XIII Gemina. Bricks bearing the inscription of the legion, were used to build a medieval monastery of the Benedictine monks, dating back at least the 13th century, one of the oldest and richest in the Banat. In 1241, many monasteries in Banat were destroyed by Tatar invasions. Attracted by the grandeur of the abbey and church, Tatars attacked them and terrible battles were fought here. Monastery of Bulci was destroyed by the Tatars, and was rebuilt by Bishop Bulcsú, from whose name comes the name of the village. In 14th century monastery became an important cultural center where working clerk, from which was kept a codex containing the texts of the Roman historian Titus Livius. Later in the 16th century (1551-1552), Bulci monastery was subject to the Turkish attacks in Transylvania, and the village was almost entirely destroyed. Who escaped with their lives fled to other cities of the Mureş Valley, living over one hundred years away from their village, but still keeping their Catholic faith. In 1749, the monk Berecky Hiarion founded again Bulci village, seeking the descendants of those who left the village during the Turks and rebuilding the old church. In the mid 18th century Bulci belonged to the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.

The first known owners were the Varadi family (early 13th century). In the 15th century, the domain belonged to Goroy Jobt, and had approx. 1500 inhabitants. In 1664 it was owned by Janka family. In 1717, Bata had only eight houses. In 1798 it was rented by Kormelycs Karol. The castle in Bulci was built in Neo-Classical style in the early 19th century by Baron Fechtig-Fechtenberg, the owner of the domain since 1838, but received the current form around 1860. The domain was bought in March 30, 1858 by Austrian Baron Anton Mocioni (or Mocsonyi) de Foen. Subsequently, it was inherited by his son Zeno (1842-1905), who payed as a compensation to his brother Victor (who has spent his life abroad) an annual rent of 10 000 gold florins. The next owner was Baron Antoniu Marius Mocioni de Foen, MP, minister and grand master of hunting of the Royal House of Romania. The castle experienced an intense social life, so King Carol II often came here for hunting. The domain was inherited by the adoptive son of the Baron, Ionel Mocioni-Stârcea, secretary of the King. After 1940, here have been arranged rooms for Queen Mother Elena and King Michael I. Castle of Bulci was nationalized and transformed in 1949 into the seat of an agricultural association. Subsequently, here was arranged a TB preventorium. The castle was claimed by Michael Stârcea, nephew of Ionel Mocioni-Stârcea.

Located in a huge park, on the bank of Mureş River, Bulci castle is one of the most impressive buildings of its kind. On the facades of the building are two terraces with family's coats of arms carved in relief, which survived to destruction after the Second World War. Central body has a beautiful room of weapons, with a magnificent fireplace, and the park was a greenhouse. Besides the castle, Antoniu Mocioni built a church and a school for children in the village.

Peleş Castle

Peleş Castle is considered by many one of the most beautiful castles in all Europe. It is a Neo-Renaissance castle placed in an idyllic setting in the Carpathian Mountains, in Sinaia (44 km from Braşov and 122 km from Bucharest), in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia.

King Carol I of the Romanians (1839–1914) first visited the region and future site of the castle in 1866, when he fell in love with the rugged but magnificent mountain scenery. So, in 1872, a total of approx. 1,300 acres (5.3 km2), was purchased by the King and Piatra Arsă region becomes The Royal Domain of Sinaia, destined to be a royal hunting preserve and summer retreat for the monarch. The building of the castle began on August 22, 1873 under the direct order of the Viennese architect Wilhelm Doderer and was continued in 1876 by his assistant, Johann Schultz de Lemberg. Because of the the Independence War, between 1877-1879 the works were abandoned. That's why the castle was inaugurated only on October 7, 1883. Several other buildings, annexed to the castle, were built simultaneously: the Guard's Chambers, the Economat Building, the 'Foişor' Hunting Chateau (with 42 rooms, designed in the Swiss style), the Royal Stables. The power plant was also constructed then, and Peleş became world's first castle fully operated by electric power. The 'Şipot' Villa was constructed later. To the initial castle the Czech architect Karel Liman added, during 1896-1914, Pelişor, a small castle with 70 rooms.

Between three and four hundred men worked consistently on it. Queen Elisabeth of the Romanians, during the construction phase, wrote in her journal: "Italians were masons, Romanians were building terraces, the Gypsies were coolies. Albanians and Greeks worked in stone, Germans and Hungarians were carpenters. Turks were burning brick. Engineers were Polish and the stone carvers were Czech. The Frenchmen were drawing, the Englishmen were measuring, and so was then when you could see hundreds of national costumes and fourteen languages in which they spoke, sang, cursed and quarreled on all dialects and tones, a joyful mix of men, horses, cart oxen and domestic buffaloes".

The castle was built in wood, stone, bricks and marble and comprises more than 160 rooms. The representative style used is German Renaissance, but one can easily discover elements belonging to the Italian Renaissance, Gothic, German Baroque and French Rococo style. Peles is surrounded by seven terraces decorated with statues (sculptured by the Italian Romanelli), stone-made-wells, ornamental vases in Carrara marble. The architects used an abundance of wooden decoration, both for the exterior and for the interior of the castle, which confers a very special quality to the building. Quite outstanding are the Big Armory Room, the Small Armory Room, the Florentine Room, the Reception Room (where paintings and wooden sculptures depicting 16 castles of the Hohenzollern are exhibited), the Moorish Room, the French Room, the Turkish Room, the Council Room, the Concert Room as well as the Imperial Suite.

Other exquisite attractions such as the statues, the ceramics, the gold and silver plates, the Meissen and Sèvres porcelain, the Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows, walls covered with Cordoba leather, ebony and ivory sculptures, as well as the extensive weapon collections are worth mentioning. It is also important to know that Peleş Castle shelters one of the most important and most valuable painting collections in Europe, almost 2.000 pieces.

Peleş Castle has 3200 sq. meters of floor plan, over 170 rooms, 30 bathrooms, many with dedicated themes from world cultures (in similar fashion with other Romanian palaces), themes that can vary by function (offices, libraries, armouries, art galleries) or by style (Florentine, Turkish, Moorish, French, Imperial) all extremely lavishly furnished and decorated to the slightest detail. The establishment hosts one of the finest collections of art in East and Central Europe, consisting of statues, paintings, furniture, arms and armor, gold, silver, stained glass, ivory, fine china, tapestries and rugs; the collection of arms and armour has over 4000 pieces, divided between Eastern and Western war, ceremonial or hunting spreading over four centuries in history. Oriental rugs come from the finest sources: Bukhara, Mosul, Isparta, Saruk and Smirna, porcelain from Sèvres and Meissen, leather from Córdoba but perhaps the most acclaimed are the hand painted stained glass, mostly Swiss.

Almost adjacent to Peleş Castle is Pelişor ("Little Peleş"). King Ferdinand, who succeeded Carol I, intended to use Peles Castle as a summer residence. Supposedly he found Peleş too big and overwhelming, so he commissioned the smaller, Art Nouveau style, Pelişor Castle. Pelişor's 70 rooms feature a unique collection of turn-of-the century Viennese furniture and Tiffany and Lalique glassware.

After King Michael's forced abdication in 1947, the Communist regime seized all royal property, including the whole Peleş Estate. The castle itself was opened as a tourist site for a short time. It also served as a recreation and resting place for Romanian cultural personalities. The castle was declared a museum in 1953. During the last years of the Communist regime, between 1975–1990, Nicolae Ceauşescu closed the entire estate. The only persons permitted on the former royal estate were maintenance and military personnel. The whole area was declared a State Protocol Interest Area.

After the December 1989 Revolution, Peleş and Pelişor Castle's were re-established as heritage sites, open to tourists. Today, the Foişor Castle serves - like in the past - as a presidential residence, unlike the rest of the estate. The Economat Building and the Guard's Chambers Building are now hotels, restaurants and terraces having been established as well. The rest of the Peleş Estate became either tourist villas or state protocol buildings. In 2006, the Romanian Government announced restitution of the castle to King Michael I of the Romanians, the former monarch. Soon after re-obtaining the property, negotiations began between the former King and the Government and Peleş once again became a national heritage site open to the public as a historic monument and museum. In exchange, the Romanian Government granted 30 million euros to The Royal House of Romania. The sum for the remaining villas and surrounding chalets and chateaus are still being negotiated but will eventually remain in possession of the state and touristic circuit after repurchasing (2007). Every year since opening, Peleş Castle received a half million visitors every year. Of the 168 rooms in the castle, only 35 are accessible to the public. While an important area is in the upper levels, this is off limits. Only the museum in the basement and the rooms on the first floor can be visited.

After Wikipedia, Braşov Travel Guide, and other sources.