Bran: Welcome to One of the Most Visited Castles in Romania!

Bran Castle (Törzburg in German) is located near the village of the same name Bran, 30 km from Brasov and 160 km from Bucharest, on the historical border between Transylvania and Wallachia.

This jewel of medieval architecture has been enthroned on a 60 m high limestone rock for seven centuries. A mysterious mixture of real historical facts and fictional stories brings visitors from all over the world to this magical place. And to whom do we owe it? To Dracula!

First a Bit of History

The first mention of a wooden fortress in this place dates back to 1211, when the area was acquired by the Order of Teutonic Knights. The simple building was destroyed by the Mongols. In 1377, the Hungarian king Louis I granted the city of Brasov (in those days a Saxon trading city, called Kronstadt in German) the privilege of building a castle that would serve as a defensive fortress for the eastern borders of Transylvania. The city of Brasov covered the construction costs, for which it received various customs privileges. Local craftsmen built the castle exclusively from river stones. The castle played an important strategic role in the defence against the Ottomans. The main task was to block the enemy invasion at the gates of the fortress until help arrived from Rasnov and Brasov. The castle served as an important transit point between East and West, a toll station and also a place of quarantine of an epidemic in Europe.

During its long existence, the castle changed its appearance several times, adapting to its function. Today’s appearance is from 1553. The castle has an irregular shape and several towers of different sizes. There is a nice view of their red roofs from the castle gallery.

In 1407, Sigismund of Luxembourg temporarily donated the castle to Prince Mircea the Old of Wallachia – a neighbouring kingdom threatened by the Ottoman Turks. Mircea was the grandfather of Vlad III, and here begins a completely different story…

Who Was Vlad III?

Mircea’s illegitimate son Vlad II was in the service of German Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg, the founder of the religious Order of the Dragon, whose mission was to protect the Christian faith. The symbol of the order was a cross with a dragon. From this, Vlad II got the surname Dracul (Dragon), which was also passed on to his descendants. His second-born son Vlad III was born in 1431. He spent four years of his childhood as a vassal at the court of the Ottoman Pasha, later gaining experience with his uncle in Moldavia and at the court in Budapest. During his six-year reign on the throne of the Principality of Wallachia, he had his seat in the town of Targovishte. Vlad III was alternately an opponent and then an ally of other important historical figures – Stephen the Great, Matthias Corvinus or Mehmed II. In Latin documents, he signed himself as Wladislaus Dragwlya (= Dracula). However, his nickname Tepes (the Impaler) was more commonly used, after his favourite method of torture and execution, which he allegedly adopted during his imprisonment with the Turks – impaling victims.

News of his cruelty sowed fear and horror and quickly spread throughout the world, even though there were no mass media or social networks yet. After his death, pamphlets describing horror stories began to appear in Germany. And some woodcuts also illustrated these stories. Vlad’s nickname Dracula thus became a symbol of evil and cruelty. According to one legend, Vlad Tepes left a golden cup by a well in the forest so that anyone could drink. For fear of severe punishment, no one dared to steal this precious object… The number of victims of this ruler is estimated at 40-100 thousand.

Dracula and Bran

I do not enjoy horror stories, so I do not read or watch them. Maybe that is why I did not get chills when I visited Bran Castle and I was not even scared by the creaking stairs. But I can imagine that some fans of vampire stories experience a visit to Bran Castle differently because otherwise, it probably would not be among the most visited destinations in Romania. It is said that Vlad Tepes-Dracula lived in the castle or was imprisoned there. However, he never actually visited the castle! The legend of Dracula’s mysterious castle in the Carpathians arose because Bran Castle is the only castle in Transylvania that corresponds in almost every detail to the description of the Irish writer Bram Stoker in his novel about the ancestor of all vampires. Vlad III is considered the prototype of his novel character. Stoker probably learned about the hitherto little-known Wallachian prince from the Hungarian orientalist and traveler Ármin Vámbéry whom he met in London. Vámbéry also appeared in Stoker’s novel – as Professor Abraham Van Helsing, who mentions his friend Arminius from Budapest University.

The imaginary figure of the immortal count from Transylvania, thirsty for innocent blood, was given to the world by Stoker in 1897. Since then, Dracula has become one of the most cinematic fictional characters, appearing in over 400 films. The first one was the German black-and-white silent film Nosferatu from 1922 – it is interesting that in the scenes from Transylvania, there are no shots of Bran, but of Orava Castle in Slovakia, my homeland!

The character of Dracula still fascinates people all over the world, but there is also interest in Vlad III. The University of Giessen collects all available sources about him and publishes them in the multi-volume publication Corpus Draculianum.

Bran Today

In 1920, the Brasov City Council symbolically offered Bran Castle to Queen Mary. Would you take a castle haunted by vampires even if it was given to you for free? Apparently, things were not as terrible with that Dracula in the castle, since Bran became the favourite summer residence of the Romanian queen. And her daughter Ileana even said she saw angels here as a child! It resembles a bell that you must ring when you come here!

Queen Mary had the castle improved and reconstructed according to the designs of Czech architect Karel Liman, who worked in the service of the Romanian royal court. Liman added the 3rd and 4th floors, replaced open fireplaces with beautiful tiled stoves, installed a telephone and an elevator, and later also electric lighting.

The castle was inherited by Ileana, who married Archduke Anton from the Habsburg family. After the war, the royal family was forced to leave Romania, a museum was opened in the castle. In 2006, the castle was returned to the heirs.

Today, you can visit some of the 57 rooms – with or without an audio guide (like me), moving in the direction of funny signposts. Information is in Romanian and English.

In King Ferdinand’s bedroom, in addition to period furniture, his crown, silver dagger and sceptre are on display.

In other rooms, you will find a collection of historical weapons and various personal items used by Queen Mary.

There is also a torture chamber, where a torture chair, covered with spikes all over, is on display, as well as the Iron Maiden, which we know from the story of Elisabeth Báthory.

Of course, there’s also a room dedicated to Vlad III, as well as author Bram Stoker and Dracula too – do not worry, there is a bunch of garlic hanging there for your safety.

You might also be interested in the rooms dedicated to stories about ghosts and various supernatural beings from Romanian folklore.

One of the most beautiful rooms is the music lounge in the attic of the fortress with an open fireplace, reminiscent of traditional Romanian architecture…

…and also the dining room, where behind the oven, the favourite place of the royal children, the parents of today’s owners of the castle, is hidden.

There is an old well in the courtyard, now only a decoration and a place for selfies, but in the past, there was a secret chamber under the surface where you could hide in the event of an attack on the castle.

There is a park with a village museum under the castle, but it started to rain, so we quickly walked through the many stalls selling various junk and kitsch with a portrait of Dracula.

Hot coffee and a cake in a small cafe by the main road were a good choice. And as a souvenir, a gingerbread with a picture of the castle.

The rain intensified and twilight fell on the land. The hour of ghosts and vampires was approaching… 🙂

Practical information:

Opening hours:

October – March: 9:00 -16:00 (last admission) from Tuesday to Sunday and 12:00 – 16:00 (last admission) on Mondays

April – September: 9:00 – 18:00 (last admission) from Tuesday to Sunday and 12:00 – 18:00 (last admission) on Mondays.

More information: Bran Castle

Where to stay: If you want to take a break from the bustle of cities and reset your head, I definitely recommend accommodation in the nearby village of Fundata, which is the highest-located village in Romania. You can find different types of accommodation here – hotels, guesthouses, traditional houses, a converted barn, a log cabin, small inns, a hobbit house, a tree house, etc. You can find more information about this picturesque corner of Romania in my article: https://travelpotpourri.net/2023/10/18/fundata-7-reasons-why-you-should-visit-the-highest-located-village-in-romania/