7/31/2019 Dracula's Castle - a jewel in Romania's Crown

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By GINA NEAGU & ADRIANSTURDZAEpoch Times Staf

Bran Castle has earned itsreputation as one o the mostamous monuments o medievalarchitecture, known to tourists

across the world as DraculasCastle.Although Romania is ull o

old architecture and history,Bran Castle is one o the mostimportant, and arguably wellknown, examples. Its claim toame is the association with theinamous Count Dracula, themain character o Bram Stokersnovel 19th century novelDracula.

With its 17 rooms, BranCastle is also one o the mostexpensive properties in thecountry, with a real estate valueo around US$140 million.

An Embattled HistoryIt was built in 1212 by an

association o merchants romnearby Brasov, where its maintask was originally to pro-tect shipments that passedthrough the Rucar-Bran gorgethat traverses the Carpathianmountains.

In 1920, the City o Brasovdonated the castle to QueenMaria o Romania, as a sign ogratitude or her contributionto the country. She restored itand let the inheritance to herdaughter, Princess Ileana.

In 1948, however, the royalamily was expelled by Soviettroops, supported by the pro-Soviet Romanian governmentat the time. It then becameproperty o the government,and was opened to the publicin 1956, with one o its sectionstransormed into a museum omedieval art.

Years o ofcial negligencethen led the castle to near ruin,so between 1987 and 1993 it wasput through a massive restora-tion project.

Ater the RomanianRevolution in 1989, the com-

munist regime was abolished,and the Habsburg amilyBranCastles ormer ownersstartedlegal proceedings to regaintheir asset. Years o painstaking

eorts and a long legal battlelater, Dominic o Habsburg, thegrandson o Queen Maria, and

Princess Ileanas son, got theCastle back, almost six decadesater it was confscated rom theamily. They plan to transormit into a high-quality museum

open to the public.

The Dracula Connection

Bran Castle became amousater Bram Stoker wrote hisamous novel Dracula, in whichthe main character is CountDracula, also known as the

Vampire o Transylvania. Thetruth is that the character inStokers novel never existed,

neither in Romanian history orolklore.

Dracula, actually, is widelybelieved to have been inspiredby a dark personality oRomanian history, PrinceVlad Tepes. The Prince ruledVallachia, part o what is nowcalled Romania, during the15th century. Although neveraccused o sucking blood, hecertainly had a dark reputation.

During his childhood hewas held as a political hostageby the Ottoman Empire, andspent many o his early yearsin Istanbul prisons. Later inhis lie he became Prince oVallachia, with some supportrom Hungarian royalty. Hethen became well-known or theharsh punishments he exactedon Turkish troops. A commonpractice was to impale enemysoldiers and leave them to die

slowly. This is how he got theother name Vlad, the Impaler.Apparently, Vlad saw the cruelpunishments as revenge or themistreatment he received romTurks in h is childhood.

He also ruled Vallachia withan iron frst. Apart rom com-mitting atrocities upon his riseto power, petty thet was alsodealt with through ridiculouslyharsh punishments or crimi-nals. It is said that during hisreign nobody even dared to pickmoney up o the ground.

While the story o the Princegoes some way to explaining theorigin o the Dracula character,the connection with the castle isstill unclear. This is because, inthe end, there is none.

Bran Castle was namedDraculas Castle about threedecades ago by western tour-ists who came to Romania insearch o Dracula. They weresurprised by how the entranceo the Transylvanian mansionresembled the castle describedby Stoker in his novel, andthereore named it DraculasCastle. With the passing o ti me,it became a common belie thatStokers novel had some realconnection with the Castle but,or better or worse, it is not thecase.

Now, a Popular TouristDestination

These days, anyone journey-ing to Bran Castle with Stokersterriying descriptions in mindwill fnd the reality proves sur-prisingly dierent: the Castleitsel is an old, benign, andbeautiul example o medieval

architecture. Tourists come onlyto fnd it nestled in a tranquilmountain area with shepherdspasturing their herds, and wivesweaving beautiul handmadetextiles to adorn theirs homes.

While thril l-seekers may bedisappointed by all this, they

should be pleasantly surprisedby Romanian hospitality andcuisine, which are among thebest in Eastern Europe. Toursare available or those who wantto spend the day at Bran, andovernight stays in the area arealso possible.

Tourists also i nevitably learnabout Romanian olk legendsduring the stay. They mightfnd out, or example, that i agarlic clove is placed above thedoor entrance, the house willbe protected against evil spirits.Sae rom harm, tourists returnback to their homes with ondmemories, and the desire to visitDracula Castles and its beauti-ul surroundings again in theuture.

Bran Castle was namedDraculas Castleabout three decadesago by western touristswho came to Romaniain search of Dracula.

Draculas Castle a Jewel in Romanias Crown

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BRAN CASTLE: Dominic of Habsburg (right) climbs the hill to the

Bran Castle, known as Draculas Castle, shortly before the handoverceremony, about 124 miles north of Bucharest on May 26, 2006.Dominic of Habsburg is a descendant of the Habsburg dynasty whichruled Romania for a period starting in the late 17th century of morethan 60 years. DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/GEtty IMAGES

FAMOUS CASTLE: Tourists poking around the not-so-scary Bran Castle, known as Draculas Castle, less than 124 miles from Bucharest, Romania.DANIEL MIHAILESCU/GEtty IMAGES

PERIOD ARCHITECTURE: Bran Castle, built in 1212, is considered a magnicent example of medievalarchitecture. This photo from May 2006 shows Dominic of Habsburg (C) and members of his family posing fora picture in the courtyard. DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/GEtty IMAGES

STRIKING RESEMBLANCE? A storybook view of Bran Castle, thoughtto be the inspiration for the castle Bram Stoker describes in hisnovel Dracula. DANIEL MIHAILESCU/GEtty IMAGES

TravelB4 March 5 11, 2009The Epoch Times