luxury houses for sale Bacău County, Romania

Any old edifice properly restored brings joy and fulfillment, but the satisfaction is even greater when the building in question keeps the memory of the community alive and Rica Villa is such an emblem for Slanic-Moldova resort. Perched on a rock since the 1930s, it looks out over the city's central park with the benevolent pride of an ancestor who lived a long interesting life. On August 21-22, 1944, Marshal Ion Antonescu, commander of the Romanian army, was in Slanic-Moldova for talks with Hans Friessner, commander of the Southern Ukraine Army Group. The talks took place at Rica Villa, the German's headquarters, the topic of the day being the entry of Soviet troops into the front line *. Those from Slănic-Moldova have not forgotten this. The property has an imposing allure warmed up by its bright walls and size- it is a small and intimate castle with slender towers inhabited by tourists delighted to gaze over the resort’s park and its famous casino and further up to the mountains in the distance. The generous terraces on different levels attract tourists to lazy cafes during the day, while at night, richly illuminated, they transform the property into a focal point of the city. The architecture combines elements of Western medieval with neo-Romanian and allows for a reconversion of the current tourist unit into a private/ holiday home, if desired. The villa was built as a private residence in the 1930s and underwent an impeccable renovation in 2018. There are 5 apartments and 4 double rooms on two floors and an attic. This guarantees a comfortable stay for an extended family or many friends. Honoring their past, the rooms welcome their guests with the surprise of a classic carved solid wood furniture, with arched legs, satin upholstery and delicate inlays. The Arad-based furniture manufacturer is the same one previously chosen by Ceausescu’s family for their homes. The bathrooms are modern and comfortable and some of the walls bear the optimistic handwriting of motivational writing. Situated on the Slanic River, a tributary of the Trotus, Slanic-Moldova resort is located in a depression packed with fir and beech forests. This and the 530m altitude in the Nemira massif in the Eastern Carpathians make the town enjoy clean, ozonated air as well as beneficial natural springs. Over 20 sources of carbonated, chlorinated, sodium, hyper or hypotonic, sulphurous or oligomineral waters, the benefits of which have been discovered since the 19th century, are the subject of exceptional spa operations. Saline microclimate and mofeta gas complete the broad spectrum of health procedures that can be performed in the area. Winter sports add to the area’s charm - the most recent development in the area being the Nemira slope with a length of 1414m at 724m altitude (240m level difference), in other words a light slope with a high degree of attractiveness. Obviously, all of them place Slanic-Moldova on pole position as the flagship resort of Moldova. In addition, Bacau city is only 84 km away, which puts Rica Villa in the range of easily accessible holiday homes for the weekend. Area attractions: • the 2022-launched Nemira slope • mountain trails and hikes - Three hundred steps, Uzea Valley, Nemira Mare, etc. • Târgu Ocna salt mine • Măgura Ocnei monastery • Valea Uzului dam * Source: August 23, 1944. The end of the Romanian-German comrades-in-arms“ in the Yearbook of the Cluj-Napoca Institute of History, Cluj-Napoca, 2006, 45, pp. 179–224 Photo: Tudor Prisecaru

The year of construction isn’t precisely noted, most likely being somewhere between 1913-1914. Situated on a highland at 600 m altitude and integrated in the picturesque landscape, the Stirbey Palace was designed by architect Nicolae Ghika-Budești and built with Italian craftsmen. Architect Ghika-Budești was a promoter of old Romanian architecture, with a personal style, a synthesis between Wallachian and Moldavian architecture. Specific for his constructions are the use of face brick, enamelled ceramic, the insertion of neo-gothic frames at doors and windows, the tower of monasterial inspiration, the horseshoe bow, the saw teeth decoration and the geometric motifs. The Palace from Dărmănești, with a surface of 4500 sqm, is disposed on four levels – basement, ground floor and two other floors, with a semicircular terrace. The annexes occupy approximately 1500 sqm. Water basins were built near the palace, and the buildings had a water supply system that is still preserved, the oldest in Bacău County, where water is brought from the mountain from a distance of nearly 8 km. Following the early death of Prince George, who lost his life due to typhus during the First World War, Elisabeta will spend most of her time at Dărmănești with her two daughters, Sanda and Marina. „She used to arrive here in May, with her daughters, governesses, chauffeurs and maids; she had an entire team brought from abroad, which included butlers and chefs as well. Until September she received here visits from relatives and friends.” The Royal visitors at The Dărmănești Palace include Queen Elisabeth of Romania and Queen Marie of Romania, photographed in national costumes in the garden and inside the residence. Queen Marie invokes Elisabeta Știrbey in her notes: Elisabeta is a beautiful and mild woman, born Băleanu. She has good taste, she likes beautiful things and is a real country life loving woman. Queen Marie records some other details about the residence, with the occasion of her August 1926 visit: Dărmănești is everything I expected it to be. A house with a beautiful position and a splendid garden, designed with perfect taste and concept. It has something that I have never seen before which is fantastic, enormous flower beds, almost like fields of garden mistletoe, hundreds and hundreds of flowers in huge groups, absolutely gorgeous and also its home is full of flowers arranged in large vases, pots and cans. Nothing can be more spectacular [...] The house is also beautiful and well designed.” The rehabilitation and restoration started in 2014 and the process took three years and sought to restore and preserve as many original items as possible. The solid wood stairway was kept – every square inch was cleaned and restored. The original solid oak carpentry was saved as well. To meet the current comfort requirements, the glass was replaced with a double-glazed window, but the original oak wood frame was preserved. The total of over 1000 windows have been refurbished one by one. It was possible to preserve and restore the Italian-style steel shutters (unique elements in the country), which had the role of protection in case of a siege. These were cleaned and painted. The façade is the original one as well – the bricks were refurbished to preserve the particular style of architect Nicolae Ghika-Budești. The space was furnished with French and Florentine furniture, the paintings exhibited in the palace include valuable works of art from the 17th century, signed by Italian, Flemish and Romanian artists. Due to this great effort, we can today savour a unique piece of jewellery of the Romanian built heritage, ready to start a new journey as a 40 rooms hotel with events, cuisine and spa facilities or as a most exquisite private retreat.