Pelișor Castle

Pelișor Castle stands on the Peleș estate in Sinaia, Prahova County, a short distance from Peleș Castle. It was built between 1899 and 1902 at the wish of King Carol I, as a gift for the heirs to the throne, Ferdinand and Marie, and from 1903 it became their summer residence. The chief architect was Karel Liman, who followed the king's wishes for the exterior: Fachwerk elements combined with Romanian features, such as the two towers roofed with coloured tiles, similar to the spires of Bukovina churches. The couple's children grew up here, among them the future King Carol II. The interior decoration was conceived by Princess, later Queen, Marie in two stages, 1902-1903 and 1925-1928, with much of the furniture and decoration made by the Viennese decorator Bernhard Ludwig. The chosen style is "Art 1900" (Art Nouveau), combined with Romanian, Celtic and Byzantine elements. The Hall of Honour has oak panelling and a stained-glass skylight. King Ferdinand's study keeps a walnut desk with three carved panels showing the Peleș, Pelișor and Foișor castles. The queen's apartment includes the chapel, lined with Ruschița marble, Queen Marie's study, with Brâncoveanu-style columns and a Romanian-style fireplace, and the Golden Bedroom, with gilded limewood furniture made in 1909 at the Sinaia School of Arts and Crafts to the queen's drawings. The Golden Room has gilded stucco walls decorated with thistle leaves. The Art Nouveau decorative art collection includes works by Émile Gallé, the Daum brothers, Josef Hoffmann and Louis Comfort Tiffany, alongside works by Queen Marie herself, including a painted parchment manuscript she gave Ferdinand in 1906. In the communist period the building was used as a retreat for writers and artists. The castle opened to the public as a museum in February 1993 and is part of the Peleș National Museum. In 2007 the Peleș estate, including Pelișor, was returned to King Michael I, and the state continues to run it. Pelișor Castle is a class A historic monument, LMI code PH-II-m-A-16696.02.