Prince Charles’ house in Viscri, Transylvania, has been reintroduced in the touristic circuit for several days and it’s ready for rent.
The house that Prince Charles bought in Viscri is on the UNESCO heritage list. It has been restored while preserving its Transylvanian Saxon traditional particularities. The house serves as a three-star pension, has five rooms that can be rented from EUR 40 up to EUR 85 per night. The most expensive room can be rented ro EUR 85 and is one of the prince’s most cherrished rooms. The two-bed room and the master bedroom can be rented for EUR 60 per night.
The house in Viscri is also the headquarters of the Prince of Wales Foundation, also serving as training centre for traditional crafts and rural skills, to help secure a livelihood in Romania’s villages. The foundation holds weaving workshops and traditional restoration sessions, as well as agriculture classes. Each part of the building has been re-capitalized.
“The shelter was turned into a conference room, there is also a café. We organize many lessons in this area,” said Aura Woodward, executive manager of Prince of Wales Foundation, as quoted by Digi 24.
The house is open for tourists only when classes are not held.
“We hope that a visit to Prince of Wales’ house in Viscri can also be an inspiration for people who own such houses and can save them by rehabilitation,” Aura Woodward added.
The revamping works lasted 18 months, while first bookings for this summer have been already made.
Viscri is one of the most beautiful Saxon villages in Transylvania, designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
The construction of the fortified church in the village center began in 1100 A.D., a fact confirmed by the tombstone inscription in the cemetery that surrounds the church. In 1185, Saxons colonized the area settling in the south-east of Transylvania. The Viscri settlement was officially named in 1400 – it was given the Latin title of Alba Ecclesia, or “White Church.”
The church gave the village its name – as it was one of the most impressive in all Transylvania. The first towers were added around 1525. In the 18th century, a defensive wall and a covered passageway were built. An altar was added in 19th century with a painting as its centerpiece – “The Blessing of the Children,” by Rupean painter J. Paukratz.
Inside the church museum you can admire woven and embroidered textiles, pottery, and handmade agricultural tools, as well as traditional clothing and furniture. From the fortification’s towers you can admire the village scenery, with its hills and meadows, as well as the authentic hand-tiled roofs of the houses and barns.
Many of the traditional buildings have been salvaged and restored since 1999. The Mihai Eminescu Trust has more than 300 projects in the area – including paving the roads, providing school transportation for the children, and supporting local entrepreneurial development.