Heading out on another wonderful road trip with Max, little did I realise there would be soooo many things to see and soooo many photos as a result!
To be, or not to be……. 🙂
First stop… Petit Trianon Palace – no, not in Versailles – this one is in Romania!
The Cantacuzino family started building in 1911 – it was to be a gift for Princess Alice, Gheorge Cantacuzino’s niece, and was set to become an architectural jewel of Romania, with more than a hundred bedrooms, multiple ballrooms, 150ha of parks boasting rare species of plants and trees, hunting and horse riding grounds.
Unfortunately, it was never finished. After Gheorghe Cantacuzino’s death in 1913, construction stopped, Princess Alice moved abroad, and decorative objects were stolen over the years.
During WWI, German troops ransacked the building and left it without its copper roof, terracotta stoves and furnishings. In 1944, the Soviets took some of the columns. Afterward, little by little locals and thieves stole brick by brick, ornate decorations, which they often used in their backyards. Then, the devastating earthquake of 1977 brought part of the building crashing to the ground.
The man who showed up as we and a small number of others were looking at the ruins, said that soon it will be demolished and most likely a shopping mall erected in its place…
…and so we contine on our trip…
