Even if someone did not read Bram Stoker, then everyone knows about his famous hero - Count Dracula. But not everyone knows that in Romania there is Dracula's castle, and anyone can get there.
A bit about Count Dracula
Many believe that Dracula is a fictional character. This is not entirely true. Perhaps there is a lot of fantasy in the book-film Dracula, but there was also a real person who became the prototype of the aforementioned hero. His name was Vlad Tepes, and it is about him that will be discussed later.
Vlad the Third (in other words, Tepes) was a Romanian prince who lived in the fifteenth century. He inherited the nickname of Dracula from his father, and at first it was written and pronounced without the letter "a". From Romanian, “dracula” is translated as “devil” (by analogy, “dragon”), and this nickname accurately reflects the essence of both Vlad Tepes and his father. By the way, the nickname Tepes appeared in the real Count Dracula after death. It is translated into Russian as a "collazator."
Vlad the Third was born in Transylvania, approximately in 1430. The exact date of his birth was never established. Researchers believe that in childhood, the future Count of Dracula was a very ordinary child. However, some event subsequently occurred that affected the psyche and the emerging character of Vlad the teenager. It is believed that this event was the terrible death of his father and older brother (one was chopped off, the other was buried alive), which happened in 1446. Presumably, Tepes was then about 16 years old.
He became the ruler of Wallachia, inheriting the throne by seniority (this region was located between Transylvania, the present part of Romania, and the then Ottoman Empire). In his native country, he became famous as an excellent military strategist and reformer of church politics. Moreover, he was extremely cruel and merciless; there is evidence of his killing more than a hundred thousand people, but it is not known for certain whether the number of his victims was precisely that. The favorite method of execution of Vlad Tepes was impaling, which reflects his nickname. People who died by such a death were hanging pale on stakes because they had time to bleed. It was because of this that Dracula was called a vampire, and not at all because he drank the blood of his victims (at least there is no reliable evidence for this). Such a gloomy, graveyard setting Tepes did not just like, but delighted him, aroused him, as well as the fact that the dead bodies on the stakes around his castle served as an excellent way to scare off enemies.
The exact cause and date of death of Vlad the Third is unknown. It is believed that this happened approximately in 1475-1476.
Castle of Count Dracula, Bran
It is not entirely true to call the castle of Dracula a majestically beautiful structure located in the town of Bran in Romania. However, we will touch upon this issue a bit later, but for now I would like to at least briefly tell what the castle itself is.
It was built at the very beginning of the fourteenth century (although some sources report that it happened a century earlier) on the trade route between Transylvania and Wallachia. The locals did this with their own hands and at their own expense, for which they were exempted as a thank-you from paying taxes for several generations in advance. The castle was alternately owned by the Hungarians, then the Turks, then the Wallachians. It served as a defensive fortification, taking an advantageous position for this - it was erected on a high hill, from where an excellent view was opened in all directions, and it was simply impossible to go unnoticed. But the castle itself is visible from afar - its towers and the unusual trapezoidal shape of the entire structure immediately catch the eye.
And where is Dracula?
At the words "Count Dracula's castle" there is a feeling that this building ever belonged to a bloody ruler. However, there is no exact information confirming - however, as well as refuting - this fact. According to some reports, in his youth, the future Vlad Tepes spent some time in the dungeons of this castle, being held captive by the Ottomans.
According to other information, Vlad the Third, who had already become a cruel ruler, spent the night there during his campaigns, and also hunted in the territory surrounding the castle.
Neither version is completely confirmed, so it is doubtful that Bran is called Dracula's castle for any of these reasons. It is more likely that Bram Stoker, a man who “glorified” Dracula as a book hero, played his role here. In his work, the writer described the castle of Dracula, and this description is very consistent with the appearance of the Romanian castle Bran.
Bran Castle inside
What is the interior view of Dracula's castle? This is a mysterious and endless maze of rooms and corridors, intricately intertwined. There are many secret doors and passages in the castle, and in the courtyard, according to legend, there is an entrance to the dungeons (supposedly the only one) with which the whole hill is paved with where Bran stands. Reviews of tourists are full of messages that this entrance is at the bottom of the well; check, however, is this true, no one can do it - one has to take the word of the guides who approve of this.
The interiors of Bran Castle are decorated with various antique items, including antique carved and forged furniture. Alone is the torture chamber, where all kinds of terrible instruments of torture are collected.
Bran now
After 1918, when Great Romania was proclaimed, the castle of Count Dracula became a royal residence. She is she now, his master is the grandson of the former queen. However, in spite of the castle’s affiliation to senior persons, anyone can get there, excursions to the Bran Castle are organized very stably.
How to get on an excursion
Those wishing to visit Bran Castle (reviews have done so indicate that there is something to see there, and therefore this place should be included in the list of mast visits) by an organized group, you need to book an excursion in advance, now there are many sites on the Internet that allow you to do this without difficulty. All excursions depart from the city of Brasov, which is located nearby.
The cost of such excursions depends on many factors, you need to find out from the company organization. Another option is to visit the castle yourself. Entrance to it for an adult is 40 ron (about 650 rubles for our money), for schoolchildren - 10 ron, or 160 rubles, for students - 25 ron (400 rubles) and for pensioners - 30 ron (480 rubles).
How to get there on your own
You can come (and see firsthand the legendary castle of Dracula) and on your own. How to get to Bran Castle yourself? This is not difficult. You must move along the E-60 if you are coming from Bucharest, and along the E-574 if from Brasov. Half an hour from the last to Bran Castle, two hours more from the first.
The exact address of the castle
We have already talked about where Bran Castle is located, but its exact location must also be mentioned. The address sounds like this: Bran, Strada General Traian Mosoiu, 24. It is about thirty kilometers from a town called Brasov.
Working hours
The days and hours of operation of Bran Castle are as follows: in the warm season (April-October) from 9 to 18 hours from Tuesday to Sunday, on Monday from 12 to 18. In the cold time (November-March) from 9 to 16 hours from Tuesday on Sunday, and on Monday - from noon also until four.
Tourists reviews
What do visitors to Bran Castle say? Reviews are usually enthusiastic. People are impressed by the appearance of the castle itself, imbued with the atmosphere of the era. They write that the castle is decorated in a vampire style and in general there is supported the legend about the ownership of the Dracula structure in ancient times, everything is somehow connected with it.
Crowds of tourists near Bran Castle (according to reviews, many do not like this fact) confirm that the place is really interesting and worthy of being called a cult.
Interesting Facts
- As noted above, it is believed that Bran Castle is a castle of Dracula only thanks to untwisted legends. However, they say that there is a "real" castle of Vlad Tepes. This is Poenari in Transylvania, built in the thirteenth century. Tepes lived in it for several years and, according to legend, seriously converted it. Now it is almost ruins.
- Vlad the Third, with all his hardness, was a deeply religious person.
- Bran Castle is considered the most expensive real estate in Romania. It is estimated at approximately 140 million dollars.
- In the town of Bran, they produce chic cheeses known throughout Romania.
- Legends say that Vlad Tepes put people on a stake right during a meal, to which he himself invited them. He ate his lunch or dinner, surrounded by bleeding bodies.
- Romanian Dracula had a peculiar sense of humor. Now he would be called "black." It concerned, as a rule, exclusively the murders committed by Vlad the Third and their victims.
- It is believed that Vlad the Third Impaler died on the battlefield in a battle with the Ottomans, that is, the Turks. However, different sources give different information: some report that his body was never found, others that they found him, put him to the ground, but later it allegedly disappeared.
- The current owner of the Bran castle, a descendant of Queen Mary, at first was going to sell it for a tidy amount, however, having figured out what kind of excitement this tourist building causes, he changed his mind. Instead, he decided to turn an empty castle into a kind of museum of Count Dracula.
Such is the information about Bran Castle and its merciless ruler from the fifteenth century. Regardless of whether you believe in the legends of Dracula or not, you should still visit Bran, at least for general development.