“Romania 🇷🇴 ~Dracula’s Castle in Bran”
Coming around the corner on the roadway, knowing I would be seeing Dracula’s Castle, looming above the small town of Bran, was very exciting! I don’t normally visit countries more than one time, because there are so many countries I have not seen the first time! But, I am loving this re-visit, especially since it has been at least six years, and there are some changes and additions to places I had been. Plus, with more time, having a vehicle this trip, it is easier to get around and see some things I had not seen, before. In addition, this is Summer, and I was here in the winter, so seasonal changes are awesome!
I am also posting a few old photos, next to current photos, for fun
Dracula’s Castle is a must see, if you are ever in this area of Romania. Besides the air of mystery, and Vampire legends, surrounding the many movies which have been filmed here; using this Castle, it is in a setting that is just spectacular! The grounds are lovely, and its an easy uphill walk to the Castle, which sits high on a hill. The history is very interesting, and it is one of my all-time favourite Castle visits; twice now!
Daryl continues to be impressed with Romania
Narrow winding stairways lead through some 60 timbered rooms, many connected by underground passages, which house collections of furniture, weapons and armor, dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. The Castle overlooks the picturesque village of Bran, which offers an open-air Ethnographic Museum consisting of old local-style village houses complete with furniture, household objects and costumes.
Bran Castle was built between 1377 and 1388 atop a strategic site, overlooking a heavily trafficked mountain pass between Transylvania and Wallachia; the land over which Vlad the Impaler ruled in the 15th century. Also known as Vlad III Dracula, the ruler is widely believed to be the inspiration for Count Dracula, due to his historic bloodlust. He liked to torture people and would impale his enemies on the battlefield to deter his other enemies. During invasions, he was also known to use the scorched-earth policy, a military strategy that consists of destroying any possible resource that the enemy could use by poisoning water supplies and burning crops.
Although the famous Wallachian ruler might have passed several times near Bran, there is no historical document attesting that he ever visited it. His visits to Transylvania were usually related to the boyars of Brașov. After his first reign, when he was sent into exile, he wanted to settle in Brașov, but John Hunyadi forbade the locals to provide him with shelter.
The castle is owned by the descendants of Queen Marie, to whom it was given in 1920, as a token of appreciation for her efforts to unify Romania. After her death, Bran Castle was inherited by her daughter, Princess Ileana, who ran it as a hospital during World War II.
In 1948 the castle was seized by the Communist regime, but it was returned to Dominic von Habsburg, Princess Ileana’s son, in 2006.
Currently, Bran is open as a museum, largely devoted to Queen Marie of Romania. The castle is also a popular location for Halloween events, like the 2016 competition to win the chance to stay in the castle Halloween night, retracing the steps of Jonathan Harker from the opening pages of Bram Stoker’s novel.
Bram Stoker never visited central Europe, and there are other castles with more solid claims on Dracula’s legend, but underground passages, ancient weapons and armor; not to mention all the creepy sounds the medieval building makes, has the Bran Castle an experience worthy of the vampire’s name.
to me on this visit
The Castle was given to Prince Mircea from Sigismund of Luxembourg as an exchange of loyalty. After the Prince’s death in 1419, the castle was given to the princes of Transylvania. Ian de Hundedoara who defeated the Turks in Bran in 1441 and strengthened the rapport with the people from Brasov.
Besides playing an important military role in the history of Romania, Bran Castle also had a commercial purpose. Being placed at the border of two important regions, it provided safe passage from one location to another. Therefore, it improved the relations and economic development of both Wallachia and Transylvania.
Medieval belief held that members of Satan-possesed souls were actually lighter in weight than their physical appearance suggested, thus requiring a “putting on scales” to determine whether they were guilty or innocent of being evil or good.
First the accused was stripped of his or her clothing and searched for any possessions that would add extra weight. They were then seated on one side of the scales, while an amount judged to be in correct proportion to their appropriate weight was placed on the other. IF they were deemed lighter than the amount they were weighed against, they were tortured until compelled to confess, or else put to death. If they were equal to or heavier than the allotted weight, they went free, and in some cases, received an official document that protected them from future accusations.
The Time Tunnel, also known as Bran Castle’s child.
At the beginnings, the Time Tunnel that we know today, was a traditional well dug in stone at around 1377. Queen Marie is the one that decided that the well could be changed into an electric elevator. Even though the preparations for the project were started, after the royal family left the castle in 1948, the renovation were paused and the project fell into oblivion.
The new project was brought to light several years later and opened in 2017. The structure took plenty of specialists from different fields and the underground work was made with extreme difficulty as for the historical monument, geometry and other.
The Time Tunnel has been specially designed in accordance with the Castle’s theme. It executes the longest official elevator ride in Romania 103 feet from the start to the endpoint. It also contains a multimedia exhibition wth numerous complex technologies, computer servers, automation systems, power drives, electronic control, platforms, all for a complete show that is boosting the project’s complexity. For an amplified experience, the project also added animations, shaping, and three–dimensional simulations.
Queen Maria did not like the court life in Bucharest, and she used to ride unattended through the streets and throw roses at the citizens during carnivals. She appointed herself a colonel of the Red Hussars. However, her popularity started declining in 1919 when she announced at a peace conference in Paris that she should be the new face of Romania.
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Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More
Another wow. Enjoyed the read and the snaps also the comparison in the different seasons
Thank you, Judy. Im glad to hear you say the comparison photos were interesting to view. Im just so tickled to be here again and all.