Cantacuzino Castle

Cantacuzino Castle is situated in Bușteni, Romania, in the Zamora district, on the street bearing the same name. The building has a great architectural, historical, documentary and artistic value.

The building, whose construction was completed in 1911, was conducted by the architect Grigore Cerchez (1850-1927), a prominent figure of the Neo-Romanian style, at the request of Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, who was nicknamed "Nababul" (“The Nabob”).

The castle was placed on the site of an old hunting lodge that the prince's family had used as a halt during their pilgrimages to Brașov.

The construction works lasted for five years, and the furnishing lasted another year and a half. At the inauguration in 1911, the castle impressed not only by its style and beauty, but also by its modern facilities in relation to those times, benefitting from electricity, sewerage system and drinking water.

Until 1930, the castle served as the summer residence of the family of Prince Grigore Cantacuzino. The castle belonged to the Cantacuzino family until its nationalization in 1948, then became a sanatorium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The castle underwent restoration work and today it is open to the public.

Cantacuzino Castle is sometimes nicknamed "Zamora" Castle due to its location. However, it is said that the name Zamora came from a hound that belonged to the members of the Cantacuzino family. They shouted "Za 'Mura!" to signal the hound to bring them the prey.

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 tile.

The construction is of the pavilion type, having the shape of a quadrilateral with the southern side open. The entire castle consists of 4 bodies. The central pavilion has a floor area of 1,200.30 m2 (12,919.9 sq ft) and 3,148.02 m2 (33,885.0 sq ft) in total (basement, ground floor and first floor). The service pavilion has ground floor and first floor, covering an area of 403.80 m2 (4,346.5 sq ft). The administrative villa has one single level, of 114.41 m2 (1,231.5 sq ft). The fourth building is the chapel.

Text adapted from “Cantacuzino Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cantacuzino Castle ranks #1,118 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #10 of the 115 mapped in Romania. Founded 1911 — one of 177 atlas entries founded in the 20th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 6,642 times in the last 60 days, more than 88% of the atlas. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Brașov, 27 km away. See how Romania compares in the castle statistics.

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