Bran Castle – Count Dracula’s Lair

You can not visit Romania and not visit the castle of Bran, which is the hallmark of tourism in this country. Indeed, the castle of the XIV century in the village of Bran, as if created for the filming of a film about Count Dracula - narrow and dizzying corridors of the castle, dark rooms, creaking wooden stairs, labyrinths ...

The true Dracula, Vlad the Tsepes (Colossator), was the prince of Wallachia, who led the Romanian resistance against the Turkish invasion in the fifteenth century. Although it was not built by the Tepes, according to some information that has survived since the Middle Ages, the prince is actually related to Bran Castle.

Bran Castle was built to protect the Bran Rooker Road Corridor, an important commercial road between Wallachia and Transylvania that connected Western Europe with Eastern Europe and North with South. The location of the castle was not chosen by chance. From this rock, which was cleared of the forest, a clear panorama of the border opens. The new castle becomes a part of the Hungarian crown.

Although it was originally built for defensive purposes, the main role of Bran Castle was commercial. It operated as a customs post on the border between Transylvania and Wallachia. This customs was of European importance, and merchants who passed through it paid a tax of 3% of the value of the goods.

In the fortress of Bran there was a military garrison consisting of 24 soldiers. They brought reports on the situation on the border to the office in Brasov (a distance of 30 km).

In the XIX century, the military importance of the castle disappears, due to the acquisition of other methods of combat and modernization of weapons. At the same time, customs moved to another locality, and so the economic importance of Bran Castle was lost.

In December 1920, the Brasovites gave the castle to Queen Maria as a token of gratitude for her participation in the unification of the Romanian provinces in 1918. Since that year, the castle has become the private property of the royal family. Bran is the summer residence of the second Queen of Romania, Maria. Between 1920 and 1927, the castle was renovated under the direction of Czech architect Karel Liman. The castle is turned into a charming residence, surrounded by a park, alleys and paths, with a lake, wells and terraces.

Of particular interest in the castle are: The old chapel, the secret staircase, the music salon of Queen Mary, the powder tower, the apartments of King Ferdinand, the well in the courtyard.