It took fewer than 12 days for Tim Burton’s “Wednesday” to become Netflix’s 5th most-watched series ever, surpassing “Stranger Things” season 4 in its first-week engagement rates. The story of the (slightly) dead-inside, color-allergic, and out-of-the-ordinary Wednesday had viewers’ eyes glued to the screens, following the main’s character journey of self-discovery and truth in this mysterious 8-episode mini-series. But the success of the production would have been significantly altered in the absence of the mesmerizing, oddly fitting, and breathtaking scenery we can see in the series.
If you, too, were awestruck by the impressive backdrop, or if you wish to follow along Wednesday’s steps (and quite literally), then you’re in for some great news. Romania was the production’s central location; thanks to the series’ success, you can step inside the very same filming set. Buckle up and hold on tight, for your journey in Wednesday’s world starts right at the Nevermore academy.
All the Romanian Wednesday locations
The royal family’s hunting lodge
Built in 1911 in Bușteni, Prahova, on what used to be the Royal family’s hunting lodge, the specific Neo-Romanian style castle belonged to the Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino Prince. With the help of minimal special effects, the welcoming castle was turned into the dark and gothic Academy, the perfect place to host outcasts –werewolves, vampires, sirens, and gorgons – such as Wednesday herself.
Today, besides hosting a museum, two restaurants, an adventure park, and unique exhibitions, the site adds to its list of attractions the location of fiction Nevermore Academy. Do not let the romantic interior featuring Carrara marble stairs and Murano-painted glass fool you, for the interior of the Nevermore Academy was filmed somewhere else, still in Romania. More precisely, they were filmed 136 km away, in Bucharest, at the Monteoru House.
Monteoru House
This 1870s-built splendor is one of Romania’s most appreciated heritage buildings. In the series, the place is most notorious for hosting the boarding school and classes of the Nevermore Academy. The building is most appreciated in real life for its prestige, architecture, and complicated history. During communist times, the building was “donated” under armed pressure to the regime, and the property’s retrocession was finalized only in 2013. Today it hosts a restaurant and is recognized as a national historical monument.
Bucharest Dimitrie Brânzdă Botanical Garden
Speaking of classes, we drift close as we explore the location for the biology courses in the series. Filmed at the Bucharest Dimitrie Brânzdă Botanical Garden, the greenhouse looks like the perfect place to study fauna and flora. In fact, students from Art Universities or Medicine and Farmacy often conduct classes inside glass walls.
But besides the studious aspect, the place also looks like the perfect arena for an Alice in Borderland game. The slightly daunting atmosphere and multiple levels of the greenhouse make it the ideal place for hide and seek. In fact, this is also where German troops hid during the Second World War, which led to the bombardment of the site and destruction beyond repair.
Polytechnic University
Wednesday’s journey through Romania is far from being over. The very first seconds of the series debuted in the largest and oldest tertiary education institute in Romania, the Polytechnic University. Additional places include the Dinamo-Tolea Grințescu swimming pool, where Wednesday casually drops the piranha fish. The Olga Greceanu Mansion doubled for the Gate Mansion in the series, and even the Poe Cup was filmed at not one but two Romanian lakes.
Butfea Studios
But besides all of these historical and natural landmarks, the director and production team worked with Butfea Studios, Eastern Europe’s most prominent and longest-established film studios, to build a from scratch… city! We’re talking about no other but Jericho city. The filming of the series have taken place in the winter of 2021-2022, but the studios are still intact and open for visitors. For about 40 euros, you get to walk the same streets Wednesday did; you can even enter the shop where she bought her notorious prom black dress, and the price also covers the cost of a meal.
