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Nevermore Academy from Tim Burton’s ‘Wednesday’ is a real place – and you can visit

Wednesday Addams’s school is pretty mysterious and spooky IRL, too

Phil de Semlyen
Written by
Phil de Semlyen
Global film editor
Wednesday
Photograph: Netflix
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Tim Burton’s new spinoff of The Addams Family, Wednesday, is going great guns on Netflix, setting viewing records across the planet. With 340 million hours racked up in its first week alone, there are a fair few people probably wondering where its ooky, spooky gothic setting was filmed. 

Well, the answer is Bușteni in Romania – and specifically Cantacuzino Castle, a century-old perched amid the forest-carpeted hills and valleys of the country’s Bucegi Mountains. 

Wednesday
Photograph: ShutterstockCantacuzino Castle is the setting for ‘Wednesday’s Nevermore Academy

In the show, which stars Jenna Ortega as 16-year-old Wednesday Addams, the castle stands in for Nevermore Academy. A kind of emo Hogwarts, it’s here that Wednesday is enrolled by her parents, Morticia and Gomez Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzmán), in order to learn to control her psychic powers.

The castle, which was built in 1911 by Romanian politician Prince Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, is open to the public, along with its neighbouring parkland, a wonderland of grottos and fountains. 

Via the magic of CGI, the castle is transformed into the gothic pile on screen. 

Wednesday
Photograph: NetflixCatherine Zeta-Jones and the cast of ‘Wednesday’ outside Cantacuzino Castle

Don’t expect creepy Addams-y interiors within. Some of those were shot in Bucharest’s Monteoru House, two hours drive to the south. Instead, you’ll find painted ceilings, aristocratic heraldry, white stone fireplaces and elegant stucco marble. There’s even a very smart restaurant, Canta Cuisine, serving rich, French-inspired food. Uncle Fester would approve.

Netflix Romania has a handy video explainer on how the Romanian locations were transformed into Addams-land for the show.

Head here to check out the castle’s official website for visitor info. All eight episodes of Wednesday are streaming on Netflix now.

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