Called the Royal Palace from Mamaia in the days of the monarchy, the building was part of the property of Princess Elena, the mother of King Michael. There the young king has spent part of his childhood summers.
Once with the return in the country of Carol II and taking over the throne from his son, Carol’s relationship with Elena worsened so that Elena was fnally forced to leave Romania. She gave up the Royal Palace from Mamaia and other properties from Romania in exchange of the purchase by the Romanian state on her name of Sparta Villa from Florence.
The palace had a quite irregular shape, resembling more with a mansion with several buildings and was situated in the middle of a park of 34.968 sq m, surrounded by a fringe. The construction had an area of 1200 square meters and was built in two and a half years. The pre-project sketches and the palace plans were executed by the architect Mario Stoppa, who signed on 4 April 1924 an agreement with the General Paul Angelescu, by which received a fee of 4% of the actual amount of the works. The construction works were carried out by the contractor Carlo Actis, under the direct management and supervision of the architect Constantin D. Dobrescu, starting from 1st December 1923 and being completed during the summer of 1926. The construction materials were provided by renowned companies during that era: the contractor Constantin Kirilescu (for the foundation stone), the company “Dobrudjan Reconstruction” and the factories Petculescu Ferdinand Koska & Co. and others, being purchased by tender. The palace was equipped with all the technical achievements of that time, air conditioner with fans – provided, the chandeliers from the company “Siemens Schukert Werke”, central and electrical heating conducted by the workshop Ilie Popescu & Gh.Cretu. The Italian entrepreneur Antonio Moraldo occupied with asphalting the palace terraces and Carlo Actis designed the fountain, walkways and the lake from the park. On 2 December 1927, after the death of King Ferdinand, the palace, consisting of: basement (16 rooms, bathroom, laundry, coffee room, garage), ground floor (12 rooms, buffet, wardrobe, 3 terraces, 8 bathrooms, WC) and attic (7 rooms and bathroom) was donated by Queen Marie and four of her children (Nicholas, Ileana, Elizabeth and Mărioara), to Princess Elena, the mother of King Michael. The new owner ordered the transformation of the Royal Park by installing water pipes, the change of roads and lawns. Has established since 22 January 1928 a new regulation setting out the precise tasks of each employee. After 1930, the palace will have entered the possession of King Carol II, who used it as a summer residence. Queen Marie has kept 2780 sqm in the park, where she ordered the construction of a modern villa, “Ştirbey Villa”, equipped with French elevator, brand “G.Houplain Paris”, for 4 people, with its own power plant and a centrifugal pump that used to feed the water tower. On 6 June 1932, by order of Carol II, the Queen’s villa was handed over to Seaplane Flotilla from Mamaia, the sovereign moving to Balchik.
