Situated in the natural area of the Trotus Valley, the Ghica Castle of Dofteana is part of the buildings owned by the Ghica family together with the Comanesti domain. The Dofteana Castle is built in the romantic style of the last decades of the 19th century with the precise utility as a hunting manor. The domain was well-known in the period for the hunting parties and trophies, the fauna being assured by the vicinity of the Mt. Nemira and Trotus river.
In 1887 Neculai N. Ghika built a one story administrative residence on the domain, which was improperly called “the dovecote”. Shortly after, the owner brought an italian architect, building materials and craftsmen from abroad, in order to build a grand mansion. The castle, once completed was used as as a summer-holiday residence by the Ghika family.
During the Second World War, between 1941-1944, the castle was used as the general headquarters of the German Army - the Wehrmacht. After the Romanians switched sides against the Nazi Germany, the castle was devastated by the Soviet army similar to the other mansions of Comănești and Dărmănești.
The nationalisation of the domain happened in two stages: first in 1945, shortly after the end of the war through the Agrarian Reform, and second when the entire property passed on to the state. Thus, in another era, under a new regime, the ex-hunting castle of Emil Ghika, the heir of Neculai Ghika, became once at a time: MTB hospital, orphanage, child rheumatology sanatorium.
Even though, initially, out of the 33 chambers of the building some had been sealed shut with furniture and other assets of the family, with time, these goods vanished and the rooms opened up for current use. Some of the goods were taken and used to transform another nationalised property of the Ghika family, the Palace of Comănești, into an ethnographic museum.
After 1989 the heirs didn’t reclaim their property, thus the domain remained until late in the 2000s in the property of the local council. Due to the high maintenance costs of the domain, impossible to be sustained from public funding especially for a small village, the Local Council decided to publicly auction the property. After a few auctions with no buyer, the price dropped significantly and eventually the domain was sold.
The current owner has established a guest house in the administrative building, at the same time starting minor rehabilitation works on the main building. Landscape works have also been carried out on the park. During the works, the roof of the castle caught fire. Due to this event and the repairs necessary, the rest of the planned interventions were cancelled.
