Vampires invented a great idea: they composed some Dracula, replicated this image, horrified people, and now they quietly drink the blood of fans of evil spirits. And do not even chase them - impressionable people in search of thrills come to the Romanian castle Bran. According to legend, here once lived Dracula, and for this bait every year come across tens of thousands of people.
Experts have not yet proven that vampires live in Bran. But in fact, not all of these myths appeared in an empty place. Especially the castle remains practically in its original form. At night, screams are heard near him, and in the morning there is a distinct smell of blood.
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How to get
The castle is located in the town of Bran - it is 30 kilometers from Brasov and 20 from Ryshnov. You can get here by bus from Brasov - flights depart every 30 minutes. You will spend less than half an hour on the way.
Flight search to Cluj-Napoca (nearest a / p to Transylvania) - $
Castle History
This castle is perhaps the most tourist place in Romania. At the end of the 14th century local people built it at their own expense. For this state, they were exempted from paying taxes for several centuries ahead.
Originally Bran, like other castles in Europe, served to protect the town. Its corridors and halls form a labyrinth. Apparently, in order for the uninvited guest to get lost in it. After all, their people know all the moves and loopholes.
Bran changed many owners, passed from one owner to another. After the proclamation of Great Romania, the castle was presented to Queen Mary as a token of love and devotion of the Romanians to this woman. So Bran became a royal residence. Today the castle is a kind of historical museum in the open air. Here you can see how the Romanians used to live. But Bran acquired the greatest fame thanks to Count Dracula.
And was Dracula
In fact, Dracula does not have anything to do with it at all. According to legend, the Romanian count Vlad Tepes was here a pass, perhaps he stopped a couple of times. On this story of his relationship with Bran ends.
Some inquisitive researchers claim that the earl was thrown into the castle's dungeons, as he fell out of favor with the Hungarian king Matthias Hunyadi. Dracula was in prison, thinking about his life, and in breaks he was tortured. Maybe that's why screams are still being heard right next to the castle?
But the human imagination is much stronger than historical references: if people decided that this castle is Dracula, then so be it. In the middle of the 20th century, fans of Bram Stoker were drawn to Romania. They were looking for the same castle, which is described in the writer's novel. They liked Bran - the castle was very similar to the description. That Count Dracula has found his residence.
Moreover, the American director Francis Coppola allocated money for the restoration of Bran, when he shot his version of "Dracula."
- Buy the traditional Transylvanian ceramics, masks and crafts made of wood - such souvenirs are sold in lots in shops near the castle. This is not just a souvenir - it's Bran's trademark.
- Trying local cheeses is another attraction of Romania. Cheeses are delicious enough to cause dizziness. Some varieties are "packed" in a tree bark.
- Get something vampire - let Dracula and the company are fiction, but in Brane are sold gloomy masks, false jaws, artificial blood and other attributes of blood lovers. By the way, good things for role-playing games.
- Lie down or sit in a coffin - not necessarily in his, you can use coffins in bars. In some cafes the shops are made in the form of coffins. You sit in your crypt and drink beer.
Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Brana
You can also visit Bran without a frenzied faith in vampires. Still, the castle is a valuable monument of medieval art in Romania. Looking at the walls, towering on the mountain, you can easily imagine how they could storm the knights - they flew arrows, poured tar and hot water. Residents defended their city, defended houses - an ordinary, but such an exciting history of the European Middle Ages.
On the territory of the castle there is a museum of history and medieval art, where Romanian and foreign furniture, collections of weapons, armor, many household items of the 14-15th centuries are collected. The castle itself is a tangle of labyrinths and secret passages, along which one can leave the building unnoticed. The main thing is not to get lost yourself.
The most interesting places for tourists: the old chapel, the secret staircase, the musical queen of Maria, the powder tower, the apartments of King Ferdinand, the well in the yard.
According to another legend, in the courtyard there is a well, which leads to the underground rooms of the castle. Maybe, just in time for those dungeons where Dracula was imprisoned. But more often wells are needed for tourists to throw a coin - they say, we'll come back here.
The castle works every day. From May to September usually from 9:00 to 18:00, from October to April - from 9:00 to 16:00. During the winter holidays, the schedule changes - most often from 9:00 to 17:00.
Tickets cost the following: adult - 25 Romanian lei, for pensioners (from 65 years old) - 15 lei, student - 10 lei, student - 5 lei. Photographing in the castle is paid - 20 lei.
| View from the castle |
| Dracula's Castle |
| Castle interiors |
| View from the castle |
| At the foot of the castle |
| Castle of Count Dracula |