Dracula’s Castle History

Bran Castle is a slender stronghold with tile roofs erected in the 14th century, located not far from the city of Brasov in Romania. It commands the green hills on the edge of the Little Carpathians, a subrange of the great chain arcing across Romania.

The Bran castle was built in the 14th century, as a stronghold to protect the villagers and landowners of the plains beyond the Bucegi Mountains, although it is most famous for being the location of the famous vampire, Dracula.

It is the perfect setting for a vampire lord. Tall, turreted, red-roofed, with a massive guard tower, it has thick walls with narrow openings for archers and cannons, iron grates over the portals, and secret passageways.

The Bran castle had to be mended and refurbished over centuries of struggle with the Ottoman Empire. Once the two spacious inner courtyards had been flower gardens, and the white-washed walls of the high-ceilinged rooms had been covered with brilliant-hued carpets from the northern reaches of Moldavia.

There is much confusion regarding the myth of Dracula and why Bran Castle is known in pop culture as Dracula’s Castle. Bram Stoker never mentioned Bran as Dracula’s castle, but the castle fits perfectly into Stoker’s description as it stands on a rocky outcrop in the mountains. It is believed that Vlad the Impaler spent some time in Bran Castle, and some say he was even imprisoned there, but there is no evidence to sustain this.

Dracula’s Myth

Although there is no clear evidence that links Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) to Bran Castle, much of the myth surrounding Prince Vlad is true.

Dracula ruled this extraordinarily beautiful place for a couple of decades in the 15th century. Even for those rather bloodthirsty times, he was a savage and unforgiving man, though he was certainly not a vampire.

His nickname, Dracula, means “son of the dragon,” after his father who was a Knight of the Dragon, a great royal distinction in the 15th century and before. His real name was Vlad, again after his father, and it was an unpleasant habit of his that earned his name in Romanian history: Vlad the Impaler.

His favorite method of executing enemies was to have them impaled. A victim would be held spread-eagle while a long stake or limbless, the sharpened tree was plunged through his body.

Then the poor soul was left to die – a grisly process that sometimes took days. Vlad had numerous disagreements with the prosperous burghers of nearby towns, who occasionally challenged his right to rule. Most famously, he wreaked vengeance on the towns of Sibiu and Brasov.

A traveler reported to the court in Vienna once that the hills surrounding Brasov seemed to be forested with stakes bearing rotting corpses. He went on to tell that Dracula had ordered his men to set his table for lunch among the dead and dying.

Visit Bran Castle

Bran Castle lies off a wide, well-marked highway. As you approach, turns in the road reveal the castle’s impregnable towers. Leaving the parking lot you struggle up a boulder-paved road, grabbing the handrail for support.

On the left, gloomy pine woods fall away to a valley where the moat had been. Panting, you reach the massive gate; inside the courtyard, you climb another steep, rough path to the entrance.

A ticket for an adult costs only around $6, while students and people over 65 can get a discounted ticket. Permission for shooting costs another $6.

Bran Castle Location

Bran Castle is located about 30 km from Brasov, Romania. Get help with directions using the map provided below.

Bran Castle Map

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Hunedoara Castle (also known as Hunyad Castle, Huniazilor Castle, and Corvinestilor Castle) is a Gothic-Renaissance castle overlooking the town of Hunedoara in southwest Transylvania, Romania.

Hunyad Castle History

The earliest documentary evidence of the comet of Hunyad Castle is from 1276, and its earliest known administrator is mentioned in 1295; the first castle also dates from the second half of the 13th century, but little remains of this period, although its original plan was established by István Möller, who restored the castle in the early 20th century. As usual in Hungary at that period, it ran along the edge of a long cliff.

In 1409 King Sigismund of Luxembourg gave the castle to Vajk, the leader of the Romanian settlement, and his son John. The present building was commissioned by John Hunyadi, the imperial regent of Hungary, who built it in two stages. With its magnificent shape and careful detailing, this building gives an idea of the lost splendor of the castle of Buda, the royal capital.

In the 1430s an outer ring with towers was built parallel to the old wall, preserving the basic form of the original plan. A rock-cut moat surrounds the inner castle, which was built in the second phase (1440s–1450s).

On the west side of the massive courtyard, the two-story Knights’ Hall wing was built. Each story has two aisles, with rib vaults supported by a single row of octagonal piers. The Gothic inscription on the capital in the lower hall gives the name of the patron and the year 1452.

The upper hall is reached by a spiral stair. Its entrance has a pointed arch with a surround decorated with pinnacles and a tympanum containing the finely carved arms of the Hunyadi family (a raven with a ring in its beak).

Opening onto the hall to the west is a vaulted passage with four polygonal bay windows, which give the west façade a particularly rich appearance. The fine castle chapel in the east range has a vault boss also decorated with the Hunyadi arms. The parapet of its west gallery has the arms of John Hunyadi’s wife’s family, the Szilágyi.

Connected to the south end of the castle is an enclosed passage supported by massive piers, which leads to the place of ultimate refuge, called the Nebojsa (Hungarian: ‘Have no fear’).

The north range, the Golden House, was extended in the third quarter of the 15th century by King Matthias Corvinus, son of John Hunyadi. His brick building is easily distinguishable from the earlier stone buildings.

A two-story arcade opens onto the courtyard, its upper story ornamented with a narrative wall painting, probably representing the legendary genealogy of John Hunyadi.

In the 17th century, the castle passed into the possession of the Transylvanian princes and, especially under Gabriel Bethlen (1613–1629), was embellished with new extensions and various alterations.

The upper story of the Knights’ Hall was divided into three rooms by removing the vaulting and piers, and beneath the new flat roof were painted pictures of famous men. Prince Bethlen also divided the chapel with a vault.

Later the Hunedoara Castle gradually fell into partial ruin; after a serious fire in 1854 restoration work continued until 1914. The restorations undertaken in the 1960s included the return of the chapel and the upper Knights’ Hall to their original state.

Hunyad Castle Location

Hunedoara Castle Address: Strada Curtea Corvineștilor 1-3, Hunedoara 331141, Romania. Get help with directions using the map provided below.

Hunyad Castle Map

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