SINAIA  , a

town of Rumania, about 12 M . S. of the Hungarian frontier at Predeal, on the railway from Ploesci to Kronstadt in Transylvania . Pop . (1900), 2210 . Sinaia resembles a large model village, widely scattered among the pine forests of the lower Carpathians, and along the banks of the Prahova, a swift alpine stream . The monastery of Sinaia, founded by Prince Michael Cantacuzino in 1695, was the residence of the royal family until the present chateau was built . It consists of two courts surrounded by low buildings . In the centre of each court is a small church built in the Byzantine style . The monks possess a library, in which are kept valuable jewels belonging to the Cantacuzene family . Castle Peles or Pelesh, the modern palace, named after the hill on which it stands, is of a mixed style of architecture . The interior is fitted with magnificent wood carvings and stained glass windows illustrating the principal scenes of " Carmen Sylva's " writings . Until 185o Sinaia consisted of little more than the monastery and a group of huts .

In 1864, however, the monastic

estate was assigned to the Board of Civil Hospitals, by which a hospital and baths were opened and the mineral springs developed . Sinaia soon became the favourite summer resort of Bucharest society, and rapidly developed in all its equipment .