Transilvania - tururi private si transport obiective turistice Brașov la Castelul Cantacuzino.

History

The castle building, whose construction works were completed in 1911[1], was built according to the plans of the architect Grigore Cerchez, a prominent figure of the Neo-Romanian movement, at the request of Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino (nicknamed "the Nabob"). The building was erected on the site of an old hunting lodge that the prince's family used as a stopover on their pilgrimages to Brașov. The construction works lasted five years, and the furnishing took another year and a half. At the inauguration in 1911, the castle impressed with its modern facilities compared to those times, benefiting from electricity, a sewage system and drinking water, as well as the beauty of the style. Until 1930, the castle served as the summer residence of the family of Prince Grigore Cantacuzino. The building belonged to the Cantacuzino family until its nationalization in 1948, when it became a sanatorium of the Ministry of the Interior.[2] It now houses a museum. "Zamora" Castle Cantacuzino Castle is sometimes nicknamed "Zamora" Castle due to its location. However, it is said that the name Zamora comes from a dog that belonged to the Cantacuzino family and that they used for hunting. They would call it "Za' Mura!" when it had to bring in prey. Structure of the castle The building was made of carved stone on the outside and brick on the inside, the foundation is made of concrete, and the roof is made of tiles. The construction is of the pavilion type, having the shape of a quadrilateral with an open southern side. The castle ensemble consists of 4 bodies. The central pavilion has a ground area of 1,200.3 m² and a total of 3,148.02 m² (basement, ground floor and first floor). The service pavilion has a ground floor and a first floor, for a total area of 403.80 m2. The administrative villa has a single level, of 114.41 m². The fourth building is the chapel. Interior of the castle

The atmosphere inside the castle has a pronounced romantic character, provided by the rich details and ornaments, such as: The Roman-type mosaic, on the first level; The murals made by Venetian artists; The Murano glass stained glass windows; The Italian glazed ceramics, in the main hall; The fireplaces made of Albești limestone, ornamented with polychrome mosaic and gold leaf; The oak ceilings, coffered and carved; The oak doors, carved; The oak staircase designed so as to rest only on the walls, without any other central support; The Carrara marble stairs; The handrails carved in stone, wrought iron or wood; The bronze hardware with ornaments, made in Paris; The painted coffers and decorative friezes. In addition to the numerous ornamental motifs present inside the building, the central pavilion houses a gallery of mural paintings, unique in Romania, made on Cordoba leather. The gallery contains twelve life-size portraits of the main members of the Cantacuzino family from the Wallachian branch. Also in the central pavilion, in the Ballroom, there is a collection of heraldry unique in Romania, representing 27 coats of arms of the boyar families related to the Cantacuzino family.

Castle Exterior

On the outside of the castle, above the main entrance, is the Cantacuzino family coat of arms, carved in stone. The main entrance from the park also has a large stone terrace, which offers a spectacular panorama of the Bucegi Mountains, along with the Heroes' Cross on Mount Caraiman. On the same side of the castle, on the first floor, is the beautiful loggia of the Cantacuzino castle, built in the Brancoveanu style, with stone columns with capitals and trilobed arches. In this loggia, Queen Maria of Romania, Princess Ileana and the first Patriarch of this country, Miron Cristea, were photographed, alongside the bride and groom George Cantacuzino, the grandson of the Nabob and one of the great archaeologists of Romania, and Zoe Grecianu, the daughter of some great boyars of the time, in 1928. In 1923, as a sign of homage to Prince Grigore Cantacuzino, above the entrance to the inner courtyard of the castle, the text was carved in stone: "I, Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, with my wife Ecaterina née Băleanu, built this castle in memory of our ancestors and for the shelter of our descendants." Also in the inner courtyard of the castle, on the eastern side, there is a hunting tower. The courtyard and the church The castle is surrounded by a courtyard that extends over an area of 3.5 ha. The garden at the base of the palace contains three fountains, two of which have artesian wells, and the main avenue of the park is bordered by aligned trees, respecting the style of parks in European capitals. Another distinctive element of the garden is represented by an anthropic grotto. In the period 1935-1936, a small church was built in the castle park from which is dedicated to Saint George the Conqueror. Queen Maria of Romania and Princess Ileana were invited to its consecration on September 13, 1936. The wooden edifice is located on the site of an old church brought by the ancestors of Prince Grigore Cantacuzino from Maramureș in the 18th century. In addition to the courtyard surrounding the castle, the Cantacuzino estate has another 970 ha of forest located on the Zamora slope. Cantacuzino Castle during the communist period During the period when the building served as a sanatorium, the walls were painted uniformly. After the restitution, a process of restoring the original paintings began.[3] Cantacuzino Castle today In the post-communist period, the castle was restitutioned to the direct heiress, Ioana Cantacuzino, the great-granddaughter of the Nabob. The castle is now privately owned and has been open to the public since 2010. Since then, it has received tens of thousands of visitors from the country and abroad every year. Tourists can visit the courtyard, which has been enriched with various sculptures by local and foreign artists. Tourists also have access to the interior of the castle, as part of daily guided tours. On the upper floor of the castle, since 2015, an art gallery has been opened, which periodically hosts exhibitions of works by famous artists. In addition to its traditional elements, since 2016, the castle courtyard hosts an adventure park for children and parents, as well as two terrace restaurants, opened in 2012 and 2020 respectively. In 2022, the castle was used as a setting for "Nevermore Academy" in the Tim Burton-produced series Wednesday, which was released on Netflix in 2022.[4]