Știrbey Palace, Buftea
Palatul Știrbei
oraș Buftea, Ilfov · Str. Știrbei Vodă 36
total estate land in the 2022 liquidation auction (about 24 ha)
built area of the palace as listed in the auction (suprafață construită)
Closed to the public after the 2006 restitution; current access is not documented
Summary
A mid-19th-century Tudor-style palace at Buftea near Bucharest, begun by Prince Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei in 1850 as a fortified tower-house. The Peace of Buftea was negotiated here in 1918. Restituted to the Știrbey heirs in 2006, sold twice, and since 2022 owned by Dream Film Production Company, which is restoring it as an events venue.
Legal status
Taken into state/Communist Party ownership in 1957; restituted to the Știrbey heirs in 2006 after a ECtHR ruling; sold 2007; sold at insolvency auction 2022. The state did not exercise pre-emption. ↗
History
Prince Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei began the building in 1850 as a culă with two escape tunnels; his son Alexandru B. Știrbei finished it in broad lines around 1863-1864. Joseph Hartl is credited as architect, with Michel Sanjouand supervising construction, and later floors and Tudor-style remodelling were added by the descendants. In 1917 the German army requisitioned it and Field Marshal Mackensen lived there; the Treaty of Buftea (Pacea de la Buftea) was signed in March 1918. In 1957 the palace and park passed to the state and the Communist Party Central Committee, and it later served as a geriatrics institute, a guesthouse and a state protocol complex. The European Court of Human Rights ruled for the Știrbey heirs and the estate was returned in 2006; the Ministry of Culture declined to use its pre-emption right at an asking price of 8 million euro. The heirs sold it in 2007 to Bucharest Arena (9 million euro reported). According to G4Media, the 24 ha estate was sold at an insolvency auction in 2022 to Dream Film Production Company for 8.05 million euro plus VAT, and restoration works began.
Transactions & prices
| Date | Type | Amount | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Restitution | — | Estate returned to the Știrbey heirs after an ECtHR ruling ↗ |
| 2006 | Pre-emption notice | €8,000,000 | Heirs asked 8 million EUR; the Ministry of Culture declined to buy ↗ |
| 2007 | Sale | €9,000,000 | Sold by the heirs to Bucharest Arena (price as stated by Romanian Wikipedia) ↗ |
| 2022-07 | Auction | €8,050,000 | Insolvency auction run by the liquidator; 8.05 million EUR plus VAT (start price 7.95 million); buyer Dream Film Production Company; reported by G4Media on 5 July 2022 ↗ |
Listed components
- Palat — mijl. sec. XIX (IF-II-m-A-15257.01)
- Capelă — mijl. sec. XIX (IF-II-m-A-15257.02)
- Parc — mijl. sec. XIX (IF-II-m-A-15257.03)
- Turn de apă — înc. sec. XX (IF-II-m-A-15257.04)
- Pavilion de Poartă — sf. sec. XIX (IF-II-m-A-15257.05)
Sources & links
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