Fancy a EUR 9 Million Romanian Castle? Stirbey Castle Is for Sale

The Stirbey estate in Buftea, evaluated at around EUR 9 million which was managed by the Bucharest Arena company and went bankrupt at the end of 2019, is for sale again through a public auction. It has a starting price of EUR 7.9 million.

The Stirbey estate, located 25 kilometres from Bucharest in Buftea, covers an area of 240,000 square meters in a park with secular trees, and is one of the largest event locations in the Bucharest area, with eight event locations and a restaurant with a terrace. The Stirbey Palace, built-in 1864, the Water Tower designed by Anghel Saligny, and the Stirbey Chapel, built-in 1859, are all important tourist attractions within the domain.

Stirbey estate – a short history

Stirbey Palace, part of the national cultural and historical heritage, is over a century and a half old, being built in the middle of the 19th century.

The 30th Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Romania in 1927, Barbu Stirbey’s father, Alexandru Barbu Stirbei built the palace between 1863 and 1864: the two years are inscribed on two facades, along with the initials A.B.S. and the family crest. The palace was inspired by a Swiss villa, and the romantic atmosphere is provided by the palace’s combination of architectural styles: neo-Gothic and Rundbogenstil.

The Stirbey domain was frequented by prominent figures from Romanian political and cultural life, including Ioan Slavici, Vasile Alecsandri, Lascăr Catargiu, P.P. Carp, Titu Maiorescu, General Ion Argetoianu, and Carol Davila.

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The estate was once a beloved place by the royal family of Romania. Queen Maria took refuge here because Bucharest had been occupied by the German army in 1917. Also here was negotiated the peace treaty with the Central Powers (Peace of Buftea), signed on March 5/18, 1918, by which Romania lost (temporarily) Dobrogea.

The palace was expropriated in 1946 and then passed to the government and the Communist Central Committee in 1953. During that time, the palace housed a branch of the ‘Ana Aslan’ Geriatric Institute, as well as a wine warehouse and a party venue for Nicu Ceausescu, the son of the last Romanian communist leader.

Unfortunately, the palace suffered greatly following the 1990s. The monumental wooden staircase appears to be the only original element of the old palace, which has been converted into a restaurant.

Tourist attractions in the Stirbei domain

Besides its historical importance, the special architectural beauty and a fairytale atmosphere that transposes you in time, the Stirbei Domain has many tourist attractions, among which are:

Holy Trinity Chapel

The domain’s park is vast and hides (at the end of a pine-tree alley) the Holy Trinity Chapel, which is painted on the inside in a style similar to Tăttărescu’s. Only the Virgin Mary and Child from the original painting have been preserved on the altar walls. Baron Theophil von Hansen, an Austrian architect of Danish origin, designed the chapel between 1871 and 1890. An Austrian monograph from 1893, in which Hansen is one of the authors, includes an engraving of the Stirbey chapel in Buftea as proof.

The chapel and the pine alley leading to it have been used for filming (including by Buftea Studios), with actors such as Jean Marais, Belmondo, Roger Moore, and Nicole Kidman paying visits. In 1992, Francis Ford Coppola shot several scenes from his film “Dracula” in the chapel. Nowadays, the chapel can host religious ceremonies (marriage and baptism) both inside and outside. The chapel is also a historic site.

Water Tour

The Water Tower (also known as the Water Castle) was designed by Anghel Saligny in 1920 to ensure the water supply of the Tirbey estate and the adjacent factories, the cannery, the cotton mill, and the die. The tower is octagonal in shape and constructed of reinforced concrete. Its architecture is imposing industrial-utilitarian with a classicizing air. During the SummerWell festival, a zip line is installed on the top floor and used.

The offered domain, located in Buftea, includes both the palace (built area of ​​2,168 sqm) and the related land (239,934 sqm) and a multifunctional hall (2,021 sqm). For those who want to buy a palace, a Romanian piece of history, here is the opportunity to have a field of storytelling in Bucharest.