Snagov Palace (Romanian: Palatul Snagov) is a former royal palace on the shore of Lake Snagov, about 40 km north-east of Bucharest, in Ilfov County, Romania. The palace is suited in the opposite of the commune Snagov and in the neighbourhood of the Snagov monastery.
Snagov Palace was built in the early thirties of the 20th Century by Henrieta Delavrancea-Gibory for prince Nicholas of Romania, brother of king Carol II [1]. It was built on the grounds of the royal hunting lodge Scroviste, witch dated from the 19th Century. The new palace was constructed in the Romanian Brâncovenesc style and completed in 1932.
The palace has a formal garden with fountains, which was landscaped by the Austrian landscape architect Rebhun. In the garden there is a former guesthouse in Romanian Arts and Crafts-style, built in the beginning of the 20th Century [2].
Prince Nicholas hardly used the palace due to a conflict with the king about his morganatic marriage and his expel from Romania in 1937. After his leave the palace was meant to use by politicians, artists and writers, but was hardly used. After 1940 it was occasionally used by the Romanian dictator Ion Antonescu as a summer-residence.
During the communist era in Romania (1945-1989) Snagov Palace was occasionally used as a residence by the leader of the Communist party Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej. His successor Nicolae Ceauşescu rebuilt the palace in the eighties after plans of professor Nicholas Vladescu, which took seven years, as a residence for himself and his wife Elena and for government meetings and state visits.
During the early days of the Romanian Revolution of 1989 Ceauşescu and his wife and a small company fled on 22. December from the headquarters of the Communist party (CC building) by helicopter to Snagov Palace, where they stayed for a brief moment. From his presidential suite Ceauşescu discussed by phone with several civilian and militairy authorities the confused situation in the country. Afterwards he depart from the palace by helicoper in the direction of Piteşti, where he and his wife eventually were captured and brought to Târgovişte[3]. It is questioned if Ceauşescu took any values from the palace when he left for the last time.
After the revolution the palace was not claimed by the royal family. Nowadays the palace is to be hired for representing purposes, as conferences, official banquets and wedding-party's.
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