Romenian montain

King Carol I of Romania (1839–1914), under whose reign the country gained its independence, first visited the site of the future castle in 1866 and fell in love with the magnificent mountain scenery. In 1872 the Crown purchased 1,300 square kilometres (500 sq mi) of land near the Piatra Arsă River. The estate was named the Royal Estate of Sinaia. The monarchy commissioned the construction of a royal hunting preserve and summer retreat on the property, and the foundation was laid for Peleș Castle on 22 August 1873. Several auxiliary buildings were built simultaneously with the castle: the guards' chambers, the Economat Building, the Foişor hunting lodge, the royal stables, and a power plant. Peleș became the world's first castle fully powered by locally produced electricity.

The first three design plans submitted for Peleș were copies of other palaces in Western Europe, and King Carol I rejected them all as lacking originality and being too costly. German architect Johannes Schultz (1876–1883) won the project by presenting a more original plan, something that appealed to the King's taste: a grand palatial alpine villa combining different features of classic European styles, mostly following Italian elegance and German aesthetics along Renaissance lines. Later additions were made between 1893 and 1914 by the Czech architect Karel Liman, who designed the towers, including the main central tower, which is 66 metres (217 ft) in height. The Sipot Villa, which served as Liman's headquarters during the construction, was built later on. Liman would supervise the building of the nearby Pelişor Chateau (1889–1903, the future residence of King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie of Romania), as well as of King Ferdinand's villa in the Royal Sheepfold Meadow.

The cost of the work on the castle undertaken between 1875 and 1914 was estimated to be 16,000,000 Romanian lei in gold (approx. $US 120 million today). Between three and four hundred men worked on the construction. 

After King Michael I's forced abdication in 1947, the Communist regime seized all royal property, including the Peleș Estate. The castle was opened as a tourist attraction for a short time. It also served as a recreation and resting place for Romanian cultural personalities. The castle was declared a museum in 1953.Nicolae Ceauşescu closed the entire estate between 1975–1990, during the last years of the Communist regime. The area was declared a "State Protocol Interest Area", and the only persons permitted on the property were maintenance and military personnel.

Ceauşescu did not like the castle very much and rarely visited. In 1980s some of the timber was infested with the Serpula lacrymans. After the December 1989 Revolution, Peleş and Pelişor Castle were re-established as heritage sites and opened to the public. Today, Foişor Castle serves as a presidential residence. The Economat Building and the Guard's Chambers Building are now hotels and restaurants. Some of the other buildings on the Peleş Estate were converted to tourist villas and some are now "state protocol buildings". In 2006, the Romanian Government announced the restitution of the castle to former monarch Michael I. Negotiations soon began between the former King and the Government of Romania, and have not concluded yet. The Castle is on lease from the Royal Family to the Romanian state. Peleş Castle receives between a quarter to almost half million visitors annually

• Biserica Neagră ("The Black Church"), a celebrated Gothic site - the building dates from 1477, when it replaced an older church (demolished around 1385). Its acquired the name after being blackened by smoke from the 1689 great fire.
• Casa Sfatului ("The mayor's former office building"). The administration for Brașov was here for more than 500 years.
• Biserica Sf. Nicolae (St. Nicholas Church), dating back to the 14th century.
• The First Romanian School, a museum with the first Romanian printing press among many other firsts.
• The Rope Street, the narrowest street in Romania.
• Şchei, the historically Bulgarian but then Romanian neighborhood outside of the old walled city.
• Catherine's Gate, the only original city gate to have survived from medieval times.
• Şchei Gate, next to Catherine's Gate, built in 1827.
• The Orthodox church of the Dormition of the Theotokos, built in 1896.
• Muzeul Prima Carte Românească, a museum exhibiting the first book printed in the Romanian language.
• Tâmpa, a small mountain in the middle of the city (900m above sea level), a sightseeing spot near the old city center