CULTURAL TOURS IN ROMANIA CHOICE N°2: PELES CASTLE SATURDAY, 29 SEPTEMBER 2018 During the 26th ENCATC Congress "Beyond EYCH2018. What is the cultural horizon? Opening up perspectives to face ongoing transformations", participants have the option to attend 1 of 3 Cultural Tours. Peleș Castle (Romanian: Castelul Peleș) is a Neo- The cost of the work on the castle undertaken Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near between 1875 and 1914 was estimated to be Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing 16,000,000 Romanian lei in gold (approx. US$ 120 medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, million today). Between three and four hundred men built between 1873 and 1914. Its inauguration was held worked on the construction. Queen Elisabeth of the in 1883. It was constructed for King Carol I. Romanians, during the construction phase, wrote in her journal: The complex is northwest of the town of Sinaia, which is 48 kilometres from Braşov and 124 kilometres from Italians were masons, Romanians were building Bucharest. Nestled in the southeastern Carpathian terraces, the Gypsies were coolies. Albanians and Mountains, the complex is composed of three Greeks worked in stone, Germans and Hungarians monuments: Peleș Castle, Pelișor Castle, and the Foișor were carpenters. Turks were burning brick. Engineers Hunting Lodge. were Polish and the stone carvers were Czech. The Frenchmen were drawing, the Englishmen were The King commissioned the construction of a royal measuring, and so was then when you could see hunting preserve and summer retreat on the property, hundreds of national costumes and fourteen and the foundation was laid for Peleș Castle on 22 languages in which they spoke, sang, cursed and August 1873. Several auxiliary buildings were built quarreled in all dialects and tones, a joyful mix of men, simultaneously with the castle: the guards' chambers, horses, cart oxen and domestic buffaloes. the Economat Building, the Foișor hunting lodge, the royal stables, and a power plant. Peleș became the By form and function, Peleş is a palace, but it is world's first castle fully powered by locally produced consistently called a castle. Its architectural style is a electricity. romantically inspired blend Neo-Renaissance and www.encatc.org 2018 ENCATC CONGRESS Gothic Revival similar to Schloss Neuschwanstein in SCHEDULE: Departure from hotel(s) to the Castle (with Bavaria. A Saxon influence can be observed in the a short city tour). Visiting the Palace and gardens. interior courtyard facades, which have allegorical Departure from the Castle to the hotel(s). The hand-painted murals and ornate fachwerk similar to minibus/bus can stop at Henri Coanda International that seen in northern European alpine architecture. Airport before reaching Bucharest. All participants Interior decoration is mostly Baroque influenced, with interested can join this tour and after finishing it they heavy carved woods and exquisite fabrics. can go directly to the airport. Peleş Castle has a 3,200-square-metre (34,000 sq ft) INFO: This tour includes a break for coffee or lunch floor plan with over 170 rooms, many with dedicated (not included in the price). Peles Castle has a themes from world cultures (in a similar fashion as restaurant (www.caferegalpeles.ro) on the domain. other Romanian palaces, like Cotroceni Palace). For an extended visit of the Castle, there is an Themes vary by function (offices, libraries, armories, optional fee of 7 EUR/person art galleries) or by style (Florentine, Turkish, Moorish, French, Imperial); all the rooms are extremely lavishly furnished and decorated to the slightest detail. There DISTANCE are 30 bathrooms. The establishment hosts one of 130 km the finest collections of art in Eastern 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 armor has over 4,000 pieces, divided between Eastern and Western war pieces and ceremonial or hunting pieces, spreading over four centuries of history. Oriental rugs come from many sources: Bukhara, Mosul, Isparta, Saruk, and Smirna. The porcelain is from Sèvres and Meissen; the leather is from Córdoba. Perhaps the most acclaimed items are the hand-painted stained glass vitralios, which are mostly Swiss. A towering statue of King Carol I by Raffaello Romanelli overlooks the main entrance. Many other statues are present on the seven Italian neo-Renaissance terrace gardens, mostly of Carrara marble executed by the Italian sculptor Romanelli. The gardens also host fountains, urns, stairways, guarding lions, marble paths, and other decorative pieces. Peleș Castle shelters a painting collection of almost 2,000 pieces. TODAY THE CASTLE HOSTS THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF PELES. SITE: http://peles.ro VIDEO:https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=UN7sPMz_zlg PRICE: 51 EUR MINIMUM NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: 10 DEPARTURE @ 8 AM Estimated time of the tour: 7.5 hours The price includes transportation by minibus/bus REGISTER with AC, entrance ticket at the Castle, English HERE! speaking guide. www.encatc.org 2018 ENCATC CONGRESS .