Velenje Castle, Velenje, Slovenia

By form and function, PeleÅŸ is a palace, but it is consistently called a castle. Its architectural style is a romantically inspired blend Neo-Renaissance and Gothic Revival similar to Schloss Neuschwanstein inBavaria. A Saxon influence can be observed in the interior courtyard facades, which have allegorical hand-painted murals and ornate fachwerk similar to that seen in northern European alpine architecture. Interior decoration is mostly Baroque influenced, with heavy carved woods and exquisite fabrics.

PeleÅŸ Castle has a 3,200-square-metre (34,000 sq ft) floor plan with over 170 rooms, many with dedicated themes from world cultures (in a similar fashion as other Romanian palaces, like Cotroceni Palace). Themes vary by function (offices, libraries, armories, art galleries) or by style (Florentine, Turkish, Moorish, French, Imperial); all the rooms are extremely lavishly furnished and decorated to the slightest detail. There are 30 bathrooms. The establishment hosts one of the finest collections of art in Eastern and Central Europe, consisting of statues, paintings, furniture, arms and armor, gold, silver, stained glass, ivory, fine china, tapestries, and rugs.

The collection of arms and armor has over 4,000 pieces, divided between Eastern and Western war pieces and ceremonial or hunting pieces, spreading over four centuries of history. Oriental rugs come from many sources: Bukhara, Mosul, Isparta, Saruk, and Smirna. The porcelain is from Sèvres andMeissen; the leather is from Córdoba. Perhaps the most acclaimed items are the hand-painted stained glass vitralios, which are mostly Swiss.

A towering statue of King Carol I by Raffaello Romanelli overlooks the main entrance. Many other statues are present on the seven Italian neo-Renaissance terrace gardens, mostly of Carrara marble executed by the Italian sculptor Romanelli. The gardens also host fountains, urns, stairways, guarding lions, marble paths, and other decorative pieces.

PeleÅŸ Castle shelters a painting collection of almost 2,000 pieces.

References:

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User Reviews

Flippa W (2 years ago)
We visited not knowing what to expect and were delighted. The professional young woman who acted as our guide for the locked exhibits spoke excellent English and explained what we were looking at. We learned a lot about Slovenian culture and history. The Mastadon bones were "wow". Yet another wonderful Slovenian experience, everyone was so helpful.

John McGinley (2 years ago)
The Castle is very well worth visiting. We visited as a family with young kids. Very surprised by the amount of varied and interesting exhibitions. In particular the knowledgeable staff and guides working there who have an encyclopaedic level of knowledge of local and Slovenian history they are happy to share and answer all questions. When in Velenje, definitely worth a visit to this surprising castle.

sara skorjanc (2 years ago)
A nice autumn picnic place to enjoy the nature. For that you don’t need a ticket. Fun in winter too❄️?

Nikola Stojiljković (2 years ago)
A castle turned into a museum, with exhibits covering the history of Šaleška valley since medieval times until end of 1980s, including works of various Slovenian artists. Two hours of quality time for a symbolic price.

Eleftherios Kouvaritakis (5 years ago)
Nice view over the city. Leafy surrounding.

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