Bran Castle in Transylvania is famous for spawning the original Vampire legend of Dracula. Perched precariously on a rock high above a valley near Brasov in Romania, Bran Castle is open for business, cashing in on its nefarious reputation as Dracula's former abode.
Here are 7 amazing facts about bran castle in Transylvania.
1. The author of
Dracula never actually visited the Transylvania Castle
Irish author Bram Stoker invented Dracula as we know him today.
The count-turned-villain was the main character of Stoker’s 1897 Gothic horror
novel, set in a vast (and creepy) castle perched high above a valley. Beneath
the stone fortress, a river flowed past. Whether fact or fiction, its
resemblance to Bran Castle is uncanny, notwithstanding the fact that Stoker
never actually visited the castle. In fact, he never even set foot in Romania!
2. Vlad
the Impaler, Count Dracula
Stoker did look to history for some inspiration, however.
Although Dracula is said to be entirely fictional, Stoker modeled the predator
after a real-life villain, Vlad III Dracula, otherwise known as Vlad the
Impaler or Vlad Dracula. And this blood-thirsty ruler of Wallachia did actually
stay at Bran Castle, albeit only for a few months as a prisoner of the
Hungarian army in the 15th century.
3. The
locals believed in vampires
Romanian locals believed that strigoi roamed
the area after dark. These spirits rose from the dead and fed on their victims’
blood. Sound familiar? As the story goes, the strigoi were
actually ‘normal’ people during the day. Come nightfall, however, their souls
left their sleeping bodies to torment their neighbors.
4. Real-life
inhabitants of Bran Castle
Who or what roams the
castle after dark is anyone’s guess. And in this case, the truth really
is stranger than fiction. In 1920, the country’s beloved Queen Marie of Romania
received the castle as a gift. Queen Marie was the granddaughter of Queen
Victoria and Romania’s last queen consort. From 1920 to 1934, she lovingly
restored and transformed the property into the royal family’s summer
residence.
After Queen Marie’s death,
her daughter Princess Ileana inherited the castle. Queen Marie’s final wish was
that her heart be taken to Balchik Castle near the Black Sea and
interred. But, her heart wandered for some time. Wars ensued and the
territory changed hands. At first, Queen Marie’s heart was moved to Bran
Castle. When communism swept the country, custodians moved her heart once
again. At last, her heart found its resting place at Pelisor Castle in
Romania’s Sinaia region.
5. A hospital for the sick and wounded
During World War II, Princess Ileana put the extensive property
to good use. The Princess was a qualified nurse and used the castle as a
hospital to treat wounded soldiers.
6. There
is a secret passage
Surely it’s not a castle
unless it has a secret passage? And Bran Castle certainly doesn’t disappoint
with a secret passage connecting the first and third floors.
Initially, no one knew the passage even existed. When Queen
Marie decided the castle’s 57 rooms needed a refurb, so renovators moved an old
fireplace. And hey presto, they unearthed a secret passage!
7. Bran
Castle Transylvania is a modern-day Romanian landmark
The castle’s most famous
resident may be a figment of the imagination (we hope), but the Dracula legend
certainly has done wonders for Romania’s tourism.
Not only is Bran Castle a treasured national monument,
but it was also the country’s first private museum, displaying art, artifacts,
weapons and costumes from its long history.
Feed your imagination with a visit to Bran Castle in
Transylvania. Shrouded in dark myths, its thick fortress walls have seen dark
days and the love of a queen. Walking through its cobblestone courtyards is a
walk through centuries of history, from its founding by the Teutonic knights in
the 13th century
to its 20th-century
introduction as a tourism hotspot.
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