The perfect facade for Wednesday's Nevermore Academy

Written by Andrew I.
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Being Class of 1991 alumni themselves, Gomez (Luis Guzmán) and Morticia Addams (Catherine Zeta-Jones) decide to send their daughter Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) to Nevermore Academy after she's expelled from her 8th school in five years, apparently due to attempted murder charges.

Wednesday holding bags of piranhas before dropping them into the pool

Recalling the story of how she was expelled, we see our titular character drop bags of piranhas into the swimming pool with the water polo team because they'd been bullying her brother. If you want to take a swim at the same pool without piranhas on your trip to , look up the Bazinul Dinamo in Bucharest.

Although set in New England near the town of , the prominent 19th century European architecture of Romania lends itself perfectly to the shooting locations. Also being the land of Dracula, it's easy to see why Director Tim Burton and Production Designer Mark Scruton landed on this location. Although it seems like the perfect setting, the film team drastically altered the locations' appearance, including using special effects to transform the roofline into looking more like the Addams Family house.

Cantacuzino courtyard in real life
Cantacuzino courtyard as Nevermore Academy
We started in Toronto, we ended up in Romania...

Scruton said in an interview, "We started in Toronto, we ended up in Romania. We looked at a lot of different castles and palaces and environments to base it on. We ended up with Cantacuzino, which is the one you see in the show, and really there was not a lot of it left by the time we finished adding and enhancing and moving around with it. We used the location for about three or four days."

The interior shots of Nevermore Academy were filmed primarily at Palatul Monteoru, and some at Casa Niculescu-Dorobantu.

Cantacuzino Castle - Nevermore's facade

Cantacuzino Castle is located in the town of Bușteni in the Bucegi Mountains (part of the Southern Carpathian Mountains). Designed by architect Grigore Cerchez in the neo-Byzantine architectural style and considered one of the most beautiful castles in the country, it was built in the early 20th century by Grigore Cantacuzino, who died there a mere two years after the castle was completed. It remained the Cantacuzino family's summer home and residence until 1930, later nationalized in 1948, and is open to the public today for tours of the grounds and interior. The castle contains a museum that displays a collection of art and historical artifacts, as well as a library with a collection of rare books and documents. The castle is also used for events such as weddings and concerts.

Who was Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, the builder of Cantacuzino Castle?

Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino, the builder of Cantacuzino Castle

Gheorghe Grigore Cantacuzino was born into a wealthy and influential family, and went on to become a successful lawyer and politician - the richest man in Romania in the early 20th century, in fact. Cantacuzino served as a member of the Romanian parliament and held a number of government positions, including Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice. He was also a member of the Romanian Academy and a patron of the arts.

In addition to his political and public service career, Cantacuzino was involved in a number of business ventures, including banking, insurance, and real estate. He is best known as the owner and builder of Cantacuzino Castle, which was his summer residence and is now a popular tourist attraction in Romania.

Palatul Monteoru - Nevermore's interior

Palatul Monteoru interior

Palatul Monteoru, built in the late 1800s, is a historic house on Victory Avenue, a main street of downtown . Before the courts returned the estate to the family heirs, the house served as the headquarters of the Union of Writers of Romania. The owners announced their plans to transform the Monteoru House into a multicultural center in 2015.

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