Savarsin Castle is a large Country house situated in Savarsin Park, a 6.5 hectare private land owned by former King Michael I of Romania in Savarsin, Arad County, Transylvania, Romania.
It is King Michael's official country residence in Romania where the statutes defining the role and powers of the Royal Family are signed.
Savarsin formerly known as Forray Castle was owned by various Hungarian Magyar Noble families for three centuries during the territory owned by the Kingdom of Hungary until the size of the Romanian United Principalities had expanded. In mid-18th century, at the center of the estate on which the current Royal Castle lies, there was a building raised in western baroque style (dating from 1680), that belonged to the Edelspacher de Gyorok noble family. After having been set on fire in November 1784 by the peasants in the uprise led by Horia, Closca and Crisan, and needed being restored from the foundations, the castle had various owners, till 1858 when it became the possession of Leopold Nadasdy, the one who re-built it in its present form in 1860.
In 1941, following an exchange of properties, the Castle becomes the property of Mocioni — Starcea family, who prepared the Castle for "Crown weekends"; in 1943, the Castle became the property of King Michael I, who was the king of Romania at that time and bought the Castle from the Crown property as a gift for his mother Princess Helen of Greece and Denmark; The Castle was confiscated by the communist authorities during the exile of the Romanian Royal Family due to the forced abdication of King Michael in 1947. After the communist-era nationalization, Savarsin Castle successively was a hospital of internal diseases, a tuberculosis sanatorium and nervous disorders sanatorium and in 1967 communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu decided to turn it into a Guest House — a residence for heads of state.
In 2000 the High Court of Cassation and Justice declared that the entire property and land is to be restored to King Michael I. Yet, on certain occasions, the Royal Estate gates open wide and the beautiful building can be seen from a closer distance. Traditionally, the Royal Family spends the Winter Holidays at Savarsin, on which occasion many groups come to sing carols to the former sovereign. The carol singers come from the nearby villages, but also from other communities in Arad county as well as from the counties of Alba, Hunedoara and Timis. Also, on Christmas Day, the family members use to take part in the religious service at the Orthodox church in Savarsin.
