6. Castles of legend – masterpieces of Romanian architecture
And speaking of great edifices, Romania is rich in castles that seem taken out of fairy tales. You could start with the Romanian landmark Peles, the first European castle entirely electrified and considered one of the most beautiful castles in Europe.
Built exactly a century ago in Sinaia, this architectural masterpiece reveals the most impressive Imperial Bedroom in the history of European aristocracy, illuminated by a unique chandelier made using Bohemian crystal.
There is also a legend saying that a huge golden thesaurus was discovered under the castle and remnants of this thesaurus may still exist in the surrounding woods.
You could also visit the People’s Palace in Bucharest (the Capital, also called the Little Paris), the second largest administrative building in the world after the Pentagon.
Also known as the Palace of the Parliament, this palace with 1000 rooms entered the World Records Academy three times: as the largest civilian administrative building use area in the world, the most expensive office building, also the heaviest in the world (actually 2% larger than the Pyramid of Keops).
From the 15th century, the Castle of Hunedoara comes with its own history: it houses the prison where the Count Dracula, the Impaler, was incarcerated before being taken to Hungary.
Beyond the historical truth, legends say that in that dark, small and cold cell, the famous count immortalized by Bram Stoker went crazy.
