The Enchanted Castle (Castelul Fermecat) is a picturesque, castle-like building in the Nicolae Romanescu Park in Craiova. Designed by French landscape architect Édouard Redont in the early 20th century, it was originally constructed to conceal the water reservoirs used to irrigate the park. Its medieval-inspired appearance, with stone walls, battlements, and small towers, was conceived as part of the romantic landscape of the surrounding gardens.
The castle was created during the development of the Nicolae Romanescu Park, which was inaugurated in 1903. Redont incorporated a variety of architectural features into his landscape design, including artificial rock formations, a suspension bridge, and picturesque buildings intended to complement the natural scenery. The water reservoirs were disguised as a romantic castle ruin, transforming a functional part of the park’s infrastructure into an ornamental attraction. The building is also known as the Gothic Ruin (Ruina Gotică), a reference to its imitation of medieval Gothic architecture.
The structure has an irregular composition, with rounded corner turrets, narrow arched windows, crenellated walls, and a pointed entrance arch. Its heavy stonework and deliberately medieval appearance give it the character of a small fortress, although it was never intended for residential or defensive purposes. The building stands among the trees near the park’s suspension bridge, with its towers and weathered stone façades forming one of the park’s most distinctive architectural features.
In 1968, the building was converted into a restaurant, and during the 1990s it also operated as a bar. After a period of deterioration, restoration work began following a change of ownership in 2009. The castle has subsequently been used for hospitality purposes, with a terrace outside, although its operation has varied over the years.
