Sinaia

Sinaia, a town of Rumania, about 12 m. S. of the Hungarian frontier at Predeal, on the railway from Ploesci to Kronstadt in Transylvania. Pop. (1900), 2210. Sinaia resembles a large model village, widely scattered among the pine forests of the lower Carpathians, and along the banks of the Prahova, a swift alpine stream. The monastery of Sinaia, founded by Prince Michael Cantacuzino in 1695, was the residence of the royal family until the present chateau was built. It consists of two courts surrounded by low buildings. In the centre of each court is a small church built in the Byzantine style. The monks possess a library, in which are kept valuable jewels belonging to the Cantacuzene family. Castle Peles or Pelesh, the modern palace, named after the hill on which it stands, is of a mixed style of architecture. The interior is fitted with magnificent wood carvings and stained glass windows illustrating the principal scenes of "Carmen Sylva's" writings. Until 1850 Sinaia consisted of little more than the monastery and a group of huts. In 1864, however, the monastic estate was assigned to the Board of Civil Hospitals, by which a hospital and baths were opened and the mineral springs developed. Sinaia soon became the favourite summer resort of Bucharest society, and rapidly developed in all its equipment.