Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-28
S|NA|A IS SUMMER
RUMAN|AN CAPITAL
Valley of Carpathians Be.
came Popular Less Than
I so Years Ago.

Sinaia. whose historic Castle Pelesh
has been recently set aside by the
Rumanian government as n country
residence for the boy king. is a beauti-
ful resort in the pine clad Carpathian
Mountains and favorite Summer
gathering place of Balkan aristocracy
and is the subject Of the following
h,Illetin from the National Geograp hic
Society:
Winding drives lead to snow white
Villas and modern hotels set against a
background Of forest and mountain.
From their balconies and windows
views of narrow valley and Ar clad
hill are unsurpassed. Gay, cypsylike
Rumanian music floats from band
stands, smart crowds gather in open
air restaurants, and far into the night
the gaming rooms Of the casino are
crowded by the fashionable world Of
southeastern Europe.
Resort of Recent Origin.
This delightful valley in the Car
pathians became popular less than so
wears ago. when ii was chosen as q
refuge from the torrid Summers Of
Bucharest by young Prince Charles of
HohenZollern Sigmaringen, newly
chosen King of Rumania, and his
wife, Elizabeth of Neuwied. known
10 the literary world by her pen name
of Carmen sylvia.
when the royal couple first visited
this mountain faStneSs there was no
Summer palace built and they stopped
for weeks at a time at the Orthodox
Greek Monastery near Sinaia built by
Prince Michael CantacuZene in the
fifteenth century. The walls of the
monastery apartment set aside for
royal use are said to be still covered
with carcature sketches of we'll known
court ladies. drawn by the queen.
so charmed were the new mon.
archs with the invigorating air and
wild scenery Of Sinaia that they set
about the crea ton there of Sum.
n1er court. King Charles supervised
the erection of Castle Pelesh, the royal
residence. on whose building, landscap-
ing and furnishing the lavish millions.
Pelesh is in the white stome-a d-plas-
ter, half-timbere, many-gabled Ger
man style, like a resort hotel in the
Bavarian Alps than a castle in the
English sense of the word. 1t is per-
haps more adequately described by
the French term, chateau.
The building, however, is in har-
mony with it's background of ever
greens and mountain peaks, and
beauty. Its many rooms contain price
less art treasures from Europe and
the Orient collected by King Charles
throughout a long lifetime and added
to by his successors, Ferdinand and
Marie. The throne room and reception
halls are of Aladdinlike splendor.
Court Life Simple.
'In spite of this gorgeous back
I,.c
formal at Sinaia than in Bucharest. 1t
has been the custom of both Carmen
Sylvia and Queen Marie to wear native
peasant costume while in residence
there.
at was at Sinaia that the royal fam
lily first heard the booming Of the guns
on the Hungarian frontier after Ru.
mania's entry into the World War.
The Transylvania frontier is few
miles away through the Carpathian
passes.
Since the war Sinaia has become
more popular than ever, not only
among native aristocracy, but with Wis
itors from all eastern Europe. Ru-
mania combines strains of Latin gal
ETY. and gypsy romance which seem
to meet in Sipaia. Rich owners of
landed estates have been hard hit by
agrarian reforms, but many seem still
able to maintain magnificent white viii
las at the Summer capital, and their
number is constantly being added to by
those newly rich from postwar de-
velopment.
Features of Resort.
ION Sinaia's tree-shaded promenades
are seen costumes fresh from the Rue
de Ia Paix. Gay youths in flannels play
tennis with girls in embroidered
biouses, their hair held in place by
colorful gypsy scarfs. Inviting bride
paths lead through the forest to noun
tain retreats of solemn grandeur. AT
the casino the wheel of fortunes spins
and each evening in the adjoining
ballroom music plays far into the
night.
This remote Carpathian Valley. in
the shadow of the old Cantacuzene
monastery, has seen during the last
half century the surprising growth OF
one Of Europe's gayest Summer CAPT
tails. High upon the hillside above, en-
powered in gardens, lies the royal
residence Of Pelesh, built by the Ger
man monarch of Latin country and
redolent with the memory Of an English
Queen. Now its gorgeousness is the
property of a boy Of 81
Four Of every Ave automobiles pur-
LII