Bran Castle

Tuesday, August 21

Today we went to Bran Castle.  The castle is in the city of Bran, which is about 15 miles South West of Brasov.  It took 45 minutes to get there using the public bus system.  Our understanding was that a one way ticket was 7 Lei.  The trip to the castle cost 8 and it cost 7.5 to get back.  We strongly suspect graft and corruption.😉

(Majestic Bran Castle)

Bran Castle is one of the most popular sights to see in all of Transylvania mainly because of its association with Dracula.  Here’s a little background regarding the real life Dracula – he was never a vampire.  This is the short version of the story…

There was a real life historical figure in the late 1400s named Vlad III who was also known as Vlad Țepeș, Vlad the Impaler and Vlad Dracul.  In 1431 Vlad’s father was decorated by Sigismund of Luxembourg, King of Hungary with the Order of the Dragon, Superior Class.  This was a Medieval knightly order aimed at defending the cross and destroying its enemies.  It’s symbol was a dragon.  In many languages the word for dragon is Dracul.  In Romanian, however, Dracul is translated as devil.  Vlad’s father proudly carried his dragon banner wherever he went but many locals believed him to be in league with the devil.  Vlad inherited the title from his father.

Vlad was also know as The Impaler because he tortured and executed his enemies in a pretty gruesome manner.  People would be hoisted onto a sharpened pole piercing them through the anus and chest cavity.  It was a horrible and painful way to die.  In 1462 Vlad’s army was in retreat from the invading Ottomans.  Vlad attempted to discourage the invaders by impaling 20,000 turks along the Ottoman path of march.  The Ottoman’s were horrified and fled.  They didn’t wish to fall prey to such a madman.

Bram Stoker never visited Romania but combined several myths and stories to create his novel.  He used Vlad’s reputation, stories about blood sucking South American vampire bats and the myth of the Romanian Strigoi, who have many characteristics that we have come to associate with vampires (and werewolves) to create his novel.

Vlad was ruler of Wallachia at three different times in 1448, 1456-1462 and 1476.  At one time he was imprisoned in Bran Castle; it was never his castle.  He is thought to have been assassinated  around 1476 by agents of the Ottoman Empire.  He is well known and beloved in Romania for defending Romania from the Ottomans and would likely never have been widely known if it hadn’t been for Bram Stoker’s book.

Construction on the castle began in 1211 and was completed in 1388.  Ownership changed many times but for hundreds of years it was an important border crossing point whose main function was collecting taxes.  In 1920, after the fall of the Habsburg Empire, the castle was given to Queen Maria of Romania who used it as a summer residence until her death in 1938 when it was inherited by her daughter the Princess Ileana.  In 1993 the castle was restored and opened as a museum and finally in 2009 ownership of the castle transferred back to the descendants of the Royal family: Archduke Dominic, Archduchess Maria Magdalena and Archduchess Elisabeth.

(View from the Parapets)

Today the castle resembles its configuration from the 20th century.  The rooms are arranged as they would have been when Queen Maria was in residence with her family.  Most of the furniture on display was donated by the Royal family.

(The King’s Dining Room)

The interior of the castle is a labyrinth of whitewashed, plastered narrow corridors and steep steps that were overflowing with eager tourists.  There was lots of pushing and shoving and tempers flared more than once (and this was on a Tuesday).  The rooms are smaller than one would expect, which is likely because in Medieval times it was difficult to heat large rooms.  Every room contained a plaque explaining its function and was decorated with personal mementos of the Royal family.

The path through the castle ends in a very pretty little courtyard where there is an old well and access to the chapel.  The castle overlooks a garden that was designed by Queen Maria and includes a tea house which now serves as a public restaurant.

Tickets cost about $10 per person.  We also purchased the audio guides at $1.25 per person.  The audio guides really didn’t add much to our experience.

After visiting the castle and garden we were on the lookout for a place to have lunch.  There were quite a few restaurants near the castle but they were filled to capacity with hungry tourists.  We decided to walk a couple of blocks away and managed to find a lovely little restaurant that was attached to a small hotel.  We relaxed in the calm atmosphere of the shaded patio and enjoyed the fresh air (no one was smoking).  This was one of the best meals we’ve had in a while.

For an appetizer we ordered the Transylvanian Cheese Pie.  It’s two very thin pancakes stuffed with a mixture of sheep and goat cheeses with a liberal amount of dill that was baked until crisp.  Deborah had a tomato salad and I had a hamburger with fries.  Everything was freshly prepared with local ingredients and was absolutely delicious.

 

(Transylvanian Cheese Pie)

For dessert we shared a Romanian speciality: Papanasi.  It’s a light, eggy, sweetened dough that is first fried and then baked and covered with sour cream and fruit sauce.  Sometimes they are stuffed with jam, too, but this one wasn’t.  We should have ordered two!   Total cost: around $19.00.

(Papanasi for Dessert)

Distance walked: 8.1 miles