Brâncovenesc Palace, Mogoșoaia, Ilfov

1. Martha Bibescu Alley and Library

We pass the property wall through the main gate and enter the main driveway. The parking lot is on the right side of the driveway. Slightly ahead, but still on the right side, is the Martha Bibescu Library. The library can be visited, but although it contains volumes of old books, it is not properly emphasized and presented, but rather can be considered a simple library, not a tourist attraction. It can be visited from November to April daily from 9am-5pm, the rest of the year from 10am-6pm. Admission is free.

2. Park and sports fields

Signs on the field help with orientation. Continue at the first junction to the right, towards the sports fields. We come out through an old stone gate into a park with paths, located on the shores of Lake Mogoșoaia, where there are also several sports fields. There is a wide variety of plants and birds around the castle. Here there are pines, plane trees, willows, willows, cypresses, walnuts, hawthorns, blackbirds, blackbirds, robins, granges and lilies. We return through another old side gate to the central part of the estate.

3. Gate Tower and Palace Courtyard

The Gate Tower frames the access gate from the main alley to the palace courtyard. The Gate Tower was built in 1702 by Constantin Brâncoveanu. I found the access to the tower closed. Normally this gives the best view of the palace and the whole domain. On either side of the Gate Tower are the Cuhnia or kitchen and the imposing Villa Elchingen. Opposite the Gate Tower is the jewel of the estate, the Brancovan Palace. To its right is the glacier. The courtyard is also home to an artwork entitled "Maternity".

4. Exhibition in the palace cellar

We head towards the Brâncovenesc Palace. In the basement is an exhibition with religious themes and frescoes from the Văcărești Monastery. There are various religious images such as the Nativity of Jesus, Jesus in Bethany, various saints, the Goddess Minerva statuary group and a model of the palace.

5. Liana & Dan Nasta Collection and the Venetian mosaic hallway

We enter the main route inside the palace through a grilled door framed by pillars and a beam carved in stone. We go upstairs. Here is the Liana & Dan Nasta collection, entitled "Peasant Tradition". Here we see bark (wall rugs), dowry chests, icons on glass, a wool embroidery. On one wall of the staircase there is a portrait of Constantin Brâncoveanu. The tour leads to the Venetian mosaic hallway, around which several themed rooms open. The Murano crystal mosaic with gold leaf was brought by Princess Martha Bibescu to decorate the reception area.

6. The Turkish-Persian Hall, the Hall of Bark and the Phanariot Hall

Turkish-Persian Hall. Under Ottoman suzerainty, in the 15th-19th centuries, the Romanian Lands took over from the Turks customs and objects that would appear in palaces and mansions, such as carpets, embroidery, brassware.

Bark room. In the case of palaces and manor houses, they are likened to Western European tapestries, and in the case of country houses, it is due to the skill of the weavers. We see Oltan, Monttan and Moldavian bark.

Phanariot Hall. After the beheading of the Brâncoveni, during the Phanariote reigns, the life of the royal courts was influenced by the Greco-Turkish model of life. On display are portraits, engravings, ceramics and furniture.

7. French Hall, Martha Bibescu Hall and Italian Hall

French Hall. After Tudor Vladimirescu's rebellion in 1821, the French influence took the place of the Phanariote one... The elite adopted the French language, culture and education. Here we find engravings and portraits of noblemen dressed in Parisian fashion.

The Martha Bibescu Hall is dedicated to the memory of Princess Martha Bibescu. Martha Bibescu wrote 40 works for which she received the Grand Prize for Literature awarded by the French Academy.

Italian Hall. The original Brancov Venetian style takes on two characteristic elements of Venetian architecture: the loggia and the gazebo. The hall is decorated with shawls, oil paintings, Florentine and Venetian furniture.

8. Orthodox Hall and Transylvanian Hall

The Orthodox room is dedicated to Constantin Brâncoveanu's vocation as a servant of the church and founder, there are icons on wood, frescoes, a seraphim, a felon.

The Transylvanian Hall houses exhibits by craftsmen of Transylvanian, Saxon, Hungarian and Romanian ethnic groups. An ensemble of pieces specific to the Saxon bourgeoisie harmonizes with a composition found in a Romanian peasant room and a portrait of a Hungarian noblewoman.

9. The Hall of the Princely Council and the Hall of the Princely Chancellery

The hall of the royal council was decorated by Nasta artists with pieces of furniture, a throne, a voivode's kneeler and the biseriic pews from Potlogi, erected by Constantin Brâncoveanu.

The chancellery hall was a business space. The coats of arms with Christian symbols complete the decor of the hall where the family coat of arms of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu is carried in textile.

10. Temporary exhibitions on the ground floor

We go down a narrow, spiral staircase to return to the ground floor where we look out through the closed door onto the labyrinth gardens and lake. The downstairs space is home to several creations with hands as their main theme, part of a temporary exhibition called "The Story of the Absurd.

11. Labyrinth gardens, lake, forest

The lakeside facade of the Brâncovenesc Palace is another good place to take pictures, especially since the labyrinth gardens are laid out in Italian style. There are hedges, trimmed in the shape of a small labyrinth, and the steps leading down to Lake Mogoșoaia are guarded by two stone lions. Lake Mogoșoaia, only 20 meters from the palace, adds to the charm of the landscape. To the left, as you look towards the lake, there are several alleys, the one on the lakeshore leads through the forest for a leisurely stroll that you can pause on benches to contemplate the landscape.

12. Bibescu family vault

In the middle of the aforementioned small forest is the family vault of Prince Nicolae Bibescu, to which another alley is laid out.

13. The ice and the glacier

The kitchen was the palace kitchen, the place where meals were prepared for the ruler and his family. It is located immediately in the dreata after the entrance under the Gate Tower, currently used as an exhibition space, which we found closed.

The glacier is on the same side as the kitchen, but closer to the palace. This was also closed.

14. St. George's Church

St. George's Church is the foundation of Prince Constantin Brâncoveanu and is dedicated to St. George. It is part of the palace complex, although it is located outside the walls. The church was completed in 1688. The painting was done in 1705. The church also contains the votive portrait of Prince Brâncoveanu, his wife and their children. In the church there is the tomb of Prince George-Valentin Bibescu, and next to the church there are several large stone crosses with old inscriptions.

15. Villa Elchingen, greenhouses, park, alleys

Villa Elchingen, located to the left of the Gate Tower, as you enter. it is a spectacular, monumental construction, Villa Elchingen, built by the Bibescu family as a guest house, but it was also closed at the time of my visit.In the 20th century, the villa was a creative home for writers.

Behind the villa are the greenhouses, now inactive. From there start the paths of the park and the forest, which lead to the lake, to the cave, to the palace, or to the village.