Romania Photo of the Day by Dreamstime: Peleș Castle in autumn colors

The Romania Photo of the Day created in partnership with stock photo provider Dreamstime aims to highlight the best of Romania. From stunning landscapes and popular tourist destinations and landmarks to people, traditions, and food, this series helps you discover Romania one photo at a time. This week, we put the focus on beautiful Romanian landscapes in autumn colors.

One of the most beautiful castles in Europe, and the most impressive in Romania, the royal Peleș Castle sits at the foot of the Bucegi Mountains, in the town of Sinaia. (Photo source - click on the number to get to the photo 130524997 | Calin Stan | Dreamstime.com)

"I have never seen a castle like this before. Wood, marble, glass, interwoven, intertwined, fabulous, ingenious, imaginative. In between towers that scratch the sky like swords," said Henri Blowitz, the Paris correspondent of The Times, after seeing it on the Orient Express Paris to Istanbul maiden voyage in 1883, according to romaniatourism.com.

The castle covers an area of approximately 3200 square meters, housing nearly 200 beautifully designed rooms, and is surrounded by forest.

According to peles.ro, the Peleș Castle was built at the initiative of the first King of Romania, Carol I, to serve as his summer residence, invested with political, cultural, and symbolic functions. The foundation stone laying ceremony of the residence took place in a festive setting in August 1875.

In the first phase of the castle’s construction, the work was entrusted to the German architect Johannes Schultz (1879 - 1883). Schultz's two-story Swiss chalet-style building was decorated on the outside in the German Fachwerk style.

In 1890, French architect Émile André Lecomte du Noüy, a disciple of the famous French architect Violet Le Duc, took over.

Four years later, in in 1894, Czech architect Karel Liman was appointed to supervise the work. Under his supervision, the rest of the construction took place, including Queen Elisabeth’s chapel, the Concert Hall, the castle’s central tower, the Great and Small Salons, the Suite of the Crown Princes Ferdinand and Maria, the Theater Hall (equipped for film projections), the Hall of Honor, the terrace with busts of Roman emperors and the Council Hall.