Promo

Exhibition presentation

In 2012, the PeleÈ™ National Museum initiated the exhibition program entitled "Queen Maria's Dream Houses". The first manifestation of this program was dedicated to Bran Castle, and in May - September of 2013, it continues with an exhibition that attempts to reconstruct the atmosphere of the palace in Balchik, a city in the Quadrilatero, territory acquired by Romania following the Second Balkan War, in 1913, and which returned to Bulgaria, in 1940, during the Second World War.

Queen Maria's "last and most exotic" palace was built and decorated entirely according to her own artistic taste, in the small "white city" located on the "Silver Coast" of the Black Sea, approximately 120 km from Constanta, in a dream region, the brightest green spot on the arid coast of Dobrogea, a romantic oasis and a perfect setting for an architectural fantasy.

The Queen had discovered the beauty of the place thanks to the painter Alexandru Satmari, in 1924, when she visited the place for the second time, together with her son, Prince Nicolae. Queen Maria's castle, called Tehna Juvah ("The Quiet Nest"), was built between 1925 and 1927, according to the plans of the Romanian architect of Turkish origin, Emil Guneş (Günes) on the land purchased, in 1924, from the banker Jean Chrissoveloni. Later, the estate was expanded by purchasing more land from the locals, reaching, in 1938, an area of over 24 hectares.

The works at Balchik were carried out by the Italian firms Fabro Agostino (public works contractor) and Giovanni Tomasini (mosaic, cement and asphalt works), under the direct supervision of the Queen's private secretary, Gaetan Denize. After his sudden death in 1928, the duties fell to Eugen Zwiedineck, Queen Maria's aide and private secretary.

The temporary exhibition "Queen Maria's Dream Houses - Balchik Castle" presents to the visiting public the atmosphere and the attempt to reconstruct some of the interiors of "Tenha Juvah". Period photographs are exhibited, taken by both Queen Maria and the Guggenberger Mairovits workshops in Sibiu and Julietta in Bucharest, with the gardens of the estate and the interiors where she lived in the last years of her life.

The queen's bedroom, decorated with oriental elements, will reveal the fascinating personality of the one who would be called the "artist queen". Along with traditional fabrics, bookshelves, candles, icons, Persian vases and flower pots, the memory of the one who was the "last romantic" will persist in this intimate space.

The display of decorative art pieces in the Balchik Living Room – the Tuscan table prepared for family reunions, a precious dresser, on which are the dishes necessary for serving the meal, a small sideboard for storing silverware, candlesticks and other decorative objects – will recreate the atmosphere of royal meals of old.

A touch of originality will be found in Prince Nicolae's salon, where, alongside a fireplace, so similar to those found in Romanian huts, but of Mexican typology, Queen Maria harmonized local pieces - fabrics, pillows, rugs but also precious, Western objects, oriental weapons, as well as Romanian paintings. There is also no shortage of Turkish pieces - ceramic and brass vessels, always loaded with flowers.

One of the last constructions on the royal estate of Balchik was the Stella Maris chapel, a place of contemplation and refuge. Along with old photographs, Orthodox icons, crucifixes and other objects of worship are exhibited. Queen Maria's testamentary wish was that after her death, her heart would be kept in this place. The gilded silver box, inlaid with precious stones, received as a wedding gift in 1893, "from the Romanian Ladies", housing the heart, will be exhibited by the courtesy of the National Museum of History of Romania, during the exhibition in a special hall, charged with sacredness.

Exhibition video

Exhibition opening

Visiting the Exhibition

The exhibition was visited during:
May 18 – August 18, 2013