The medieval fortress of Bran, better known as the Dracula Castle, is located in a mountainous area near the ancient Transylvanian city of Brasov. Indeed, an impregnable castle, majestically towering on a rock above the gorge, perfectly suits the description of the generic nest of Dracula from the novel of the same name by Brem Stoker.
Today, Bran is the main historical attraction of Romania, annually about half a million tourists visit the fortress. In many ways, the castle owes to associations with the most popular bloodsucker of all times. The vampire brand here (as, indeed, in all Transylvania and Wallachia) is actively operated to attract tourists; The castle is equipped with a small museum of Count Dracula.
I want to Romania!
Breme Stoker in Romania never visited, so he created the image of a vampire castle on the basis of descriptions and images of Bran, the only well -preserved castle in Romania, gleaned from English books and periodicals of that time.
As for the prototype of Count Dracula, the cruel prince of Valachi Vlad Tepes, he had practically nothing to do with the castle. There is a version that he was held captive for several days in the dungeons of the castle, and some historians believe that Tepes stopped here once or two for the night during his military campaigns, but these assumptions were never proved.
Bran was built by order of the Romanian king at the end of the 14th century by the inhabitants of the city of Brasov on the eastern border of Transylvania, in the Valley of the Turku River, on the rock, from where an excellent review was opened in all directions. In those days, the castle had two functions – it served as a fortress and at the same time customs was located in it. It should be noted that Bran performed his defensive functions with varying success for almost 500 years, until the 19th century, until as a result of numerous redistributions of the territory of modern Romania the border with Wallachia was transferred to another place.
In 1918, when Transylvania became part of the united Romania, grateful residents of the city of Brashov presented the castle (who had come to this time to some desolation) to the Queen of Mary. Koroleva gave the order to repair the castle, and until the coming to the power of the Communists, he served as the summer residence of the Romanian royal family.
10 years ago, in accordance with the Laws on Restification, the castle was returned to the legal heir to the Romanian kings to Dominic Gabsburg. It should be noted that all this time he is trying to sell the castle, and probably sooner or later he will succeed. So, if you want to see the residence of the fictional Count of Dracula and plunge into the atmosphere of medieval eastern Europe, it makes sense to hurry. It may well happen that the new owner will close free access to the castle for tourists.
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