Peleș Castle is a Neo-Renaissance/Gothic castle, located in the Royal Domain of Sinaia in the vicinity of Romania’s Carpathian Mountains.
Completed in 1883 by King Carol I of Romania, Peleș became the world’s first castle fully powered by locally produced electricity.
The Orient Express used to stop at Sinaia, so that tourists could easily see this castle – which boasts an interesting collection of variegated influences inside and outside of its walls.
Romania’s Minister of Culture Raluca Turcan announced on Facebook that she is preparing the inclusion of Peleș and Pelișor castles in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
According to the source, „The royal residences in Sinaia impress with their beauty and architectural significance, representing a reference point for Eastern Europe. Their exceptional value deserves to be recognized by UNESCO through inclusion in the World Heritage List (…) We will also initiate collaborations with other institutions with direct or indirect attributions on the Royal Estate of Sinaia in order to ensure the quality standards required for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Originally personal property of the Royal Family, Peleș Castle was nationalized when King Michael I was forced to abdicate and into exile by the Socialist Republic of Romania in 1947. In 1997, the castle was returned to the Royal Family in a long judicial case that was finally concluded in 2007. Michael I subsequently said the castle should continue to house the Peleș National Museum, as well as being occasionally used for public royal ceremonies, which remains the case today.
