Gara Sinaia

The city with two royal stations

Sinaia is considered one of the few cities in Europe to house two royal railway stations, a distinction that says everything about the resort's former status. With the building of Peleș Castle and Sinaia's transformation into the summer residence of the Royal House, the railway line through the Prahova Valley became the gateway through which crowned heads, dignitaries and high society arrived. This explains why, in a mountain town, the station was designed with a care usually reserved for great capitals.

From Carol I to Carol II

The first royal station was built in 1886, during the reign of King Carol I, to serve the needs of the ruling family staying in Sinaia. Later, King Carol II commissioned a new royal station, erected towards the end of the 1930s and completed around 1940, to the designs of the architect Duiliu Marcu, one of the most important creators of the era. The building, modern in line, clad in stone, with a generous arcade and interior decorations, was intended exclusively for royal arrivals and departures.

The platform that entered history

Sinaia Station also carries the memory of a tragic moment: on its platform, in December 1933, the Liberal prime minister Ion Gheorghe Duca was assassinated by a group of legionnaires, shortly after the movement was outlawed. It is one of the best-known political events ever to take place in a Romanian railway station, and the place has remained a landmark of national memory.

Railway elegance and the Orient Express

Beyond its history, Sinaia's station remains a symbol of the era when travelling by train was synonymous with refinement. The famous Orient Express stopped here, placing Sinaia on the map of the continent's luxury routes, alongside great European cities. The carefully crafted architecture and the mountain setting make a stop at the station an experience in itself, not just a simple stopover.

How to get there from Râșnov

For guests from the Râșnov–Bran–Brașov area, Sinaia lies on the opposite slope of the massifs, beyond Predeal, about an hour's drive along the DN1 road, via Brașov. It can also be reached conveniently by train, right at this station. Since the royal station itself has limited access, being still used today for official visits, check the schedule and fares on the official source before your visit.