luxury property for sale Bățanii Mici, Romania

When you hear ”Saxon house” the first thing that comes to your mind might be Prince Charles and his property in Viscri. An important unit of the local heritage, the Saxon houses are much more than that. More than 200 villages and many cities in Transylvania bear the mark of the Germanic civilization. And the Saxon house in Codlea, built between 1905-1907, makes no exception. The high gates, which shield the property from any indiscretion, allow for an impressive house to meet the curious eyes with its large windows, wooden beams and poles in sight, with the air of a miniature fortress. With a usable area of 450 sqm, the property is completely restored and the current owner paid a special attention to the preservation of the original architectural details. The oak carpentry has been refurbished, but for a better thermal comfort, another row of laminated wood windows has been added. The wooden doors and door frames are also modern additions, high quality replicas of the original elements. Two rows of parallel beams pass, at a height of 3.5 meters, the ceiling of the house. The attic, an open space of 130 sqm, has its own bathroom and is protected by a recently rebuilt roof with double-glazed tiles. The garage with automated access and separate central heating on each level are just some discreet elements of modernity in a context that preserves the charm of a traditional Saxon dwelling. And the property benefits from a real bonus: in the same yard there is a completely separate house with an area of more than 200 sqm, disposed on two levels. Built in 1973, this home is fully modernized and equipped. The land on which the property is located is also impressive. Spread over an area of 1826 square meters, it is composed of two distinct parts: a pretty cobbled courtyard, confined by ornamental plants, and a terraced garden with fruit trees. The areas are separated by massive walls that enhance the appearance of the typical fortified Saxon properties. In addition, the location, a keyword on the real estate market, is a special one. The property is in the downtown of Codlea, 15 kilometers away from Brasov and only 5 kilometers from the future Ghimbav airport. From the yard of the Saxon House you can admire the Postăvaru massif, and the proximity of the DN1 national road makes it an excellent choice for those who appreciate mobility.

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.

Sinaia is the Romanian city with the largest number of buildings classified as historical monuments per inhabitant. Not incidentally, the way the city looks today is the result of the work and signature of some of the most important Romanian architects: Ion Mincu, Toma Socolescu, Paul Smărăndescu, Duiliu Marcu or Grigore Cerchez, to name just a few of them. The Anastasie Simu House, or the Retezat Villa, as it is now known, is designed and built in the German Renaissance style of the early twentieth century by Czech architect Karel Liman. He was a good friend of King Carol I, for whom he designed the Pelișor Castle and the Honor Lobby of the Peleș Castle, all of them having in common elements specific for this artistic style. Chief Architect of the Royal House of Romania between 1894-1929, Karel Liman was born in the Czech Republic in 1855, in a family of carpenters. Inheriting the passion for woodworking from his father and grandfather, Liman follows the courses of the Fine Arts Faculty in Prague and then the Bauakademie in Munich. Established in Vienna around 1880, Liman gains experience through the collaboration with the Fellner&Hellmer Architecture Workshop in the capital of Habsburgs. He contributed to the projection plans of the Albert Rothschild Palace in Vienna, conducted under the guidance of architect Gabriel-Hippolyte Destailleur and of the Hunting House of Prince Christian de Hohenlohe-Ohringen in Javorina, Slovakia. Recommended by Destailleur to André Lecomte du Noüy, a French architect also established in Romania, Liman is employed by the Architecture Service of the Ministry of Cults and Public Instruction at the Commission for Historical Monuments in Romania, where he participated at the restoration of churches „Saint Nicholas” and „The Three Hierarchs” in Iași and the Episcopal Church in Curtea de Argeș. In the service of the Royal House, besides Pelişor Castle and the complex project for the rearrangement of Peleş, Liman also signs other projects such as the „Princess's Nest” (1894), the extension of the Cotroceni Palace, the house of Prince Carol in Bucharest, King Ferdinand’s cottage in Lăpuşna, the rearrangement of the Bran Castle and several other buildings in Sinaia: The Economat Villa, The Guard House, The Royal Stables or The Retezat Villa. After the architect's death, the house was bought by academician Anastasie Simu (1854-1935), a P.h.D in Political and Administrative Sciences, a great art lover and passionate collector, the first Romanian to build a private museum in Bucharest in 1910. In 1927, Simu donated to the Romanian state over 1.200 works: paintings, graphics, sculptures and decorative arts gathered over the years. A part of the collection is exhibited today at the National Art Museum of Romania, and another at The Simu Collection at Bucharest Pinacoteca. The architecture of the house, typical for the German Renaissance, impresses both on the outside and on the inside. The façade is predominantly of stone, dotted with corner bossages and vividly colored ceramic decorations. The interior is exuberant, highlighting the richness of wooden decorations, the coffered painted ceilings, and especially the beautiful stained glass, perfectly preserved to this day. The location in Sinaia is an ideal one, being close enough to the city centre so that it can be reached by a few minutes’ walk, but at the same time, isolated enough to offer privacy and detachment for a mountain holiday. The villa is renovated and functional, currently offering accommodation in 8 rooms, 2 apartments and 1 studio, rated with 8.8/10 on one of the most important online booking platforms. The future destination remains commercial, a hotel/boarding house or it can become a permanent personal residence or a holiday one with a lot of charm and full of history.

In a gentle valley, between Copșa Mare and Sighișoara, there is a Saxon settlement created by worthy people who built decent houses, nicely aligned with the main street. Proud, with a pitched roof and stuck together by opaque gates firmly fixed in the masonry, they can be seen from above like those Dutch ceramic houses brought as souvenirs from some Nordic holiday. Between these houses there is a beautifully renovated compound, a handful of buildings surrounding an inner courtyard with short grass and slight bumps reminiscent of childhood weed. The tile roof in a myriad of shades - brick, chocolate, orange, scarlet - is proof of the attention paid to the use of building materials specific to the area, patiently identified and carefully installed to the delight of the eye and the soul. On the street, the façade has a restrained color scheme, but the houses in the courtyard have whitewashed walls to let the sky be reflected in the shutters; however, the houses are modestly elegant, as befits Saxon dwellings. The interior is bright and the cellar, composed of rooms that communicate with each other, takes your breath away - vaulted, made of brick, it is more than generous and full of potential. The property consists of three distinct residential buildings situated on a 3756 sqm plot of land. The main house, built in 1884 and recently completely renovated with great taste and a passion for authenticity, has a footprint of 344 sqm and a total floor area of 527 sqm. The ground floor is fully furnished and equipped with careful attention to preserving and enhancing the building's character. The cellar is spectacular and invites the imagination to consider various uses: a noble wine cellar, a spa area reminiscent of top hotels, or a special relaxation zone. The second building has a footprint of 356 sqm, is entirely on the ground floor, and is currently a blank canvas, allowing the future owner the opportunity to transform it according to their preferences and the intended use of the property. Additionally, there is a separate annex building of 43 sqm currently used as a laundry facility. The area lends itself to rural tourism, as the fortified churches of Copșa Mare, Biertan and Mediaș (whose picturesque center combines Gothic with Renaissance, Neoclassical, Baroque and Secession styles), the tuberoses of Hoghilag (festival in August), Via Transilvanica, the famous Viscri and the beautiful fortress Rupea as well as the medieval fortress Sighișoara and the Bethlen Criș castle are just some of the sights that attract more and more tourists to the area.