Dracula’s Castle and King Carol I’s Palace

Hello Dracula

It is overcast and crisp this morning as we drive to Bran Castle in the village of Bran.

We pass small villages, agricultural areas, horses with buggy and another fortress on the often windy road.

The castle was built by the Teutonic nights around 1338 AD. The castle is the fictional home of Dracula but in reality Vlad probably didn’t even stay in the castle. Bram Stoker saw a sketch that his friend did of the castle and used it in his story.

Our guide Marius said that in the weeks before Halloween, the castle was packed.

The real Vlad Dracula was in a movement to protect Christianity…the order of Dracul (the order of the dragon). He fought the Ottoman Turks to keep Wallachia independent. Because he had a much smaller army than the Turks, he had to use psychological warfare and he would impale his enemies in a way that did not immediately kill them (they could stay alive up to 48 hours). The invading army would have to go through areas seeing the impaled bodies of their own soldiers.

The real Dracula was every bit as interesting as the fictional character. Click here to read more about Vlad Tepes.

But like thousands of others, I go to Bran Castle to immerse myself in it’s ambiance.

We get into the castle just before a big tour group. The castle is still decorated for Halloween but it also has a lot of information and articles on its most famous actual occupant, Queen Mary.

Brasov

Our next stop is the town of Brasov. There was a fire here in 1689 that destroyed a third of the city. One of the main churches became known as the Black Church.

The Black Church is huge. It’s not really all black, just mostly around the lower levels where the fire was most intense. 

The church was also damaged by German bombs in WW2. The stone of the repaired areas is much lighter than the original stones. Reconstruction is an ongoing project.

The church was built as a Catholic church in the 1300s but was  given to the Lutherans in the 1500s.

We next head to Rope Street which is the third narrowest street in Europe. It was created after the big fire so that firemen could use it as a shortcut to get to other areas of the city more quickly. 

We eat at a cozy restaurant on the main square. I have a delicious sour mushroom soup. Afterwards we wander around the town, enjoying the beautiful  architecture.

Click here for a short video of the square.

Peles Palace

About an hour drive away from Brasov is the Palace of Peles. This was the palace of Carol I, the first King of Romania and Queen Elizabeth (a different Liz from Queen Liz 2)

The king began building the palace in 1873. This was the first palace with central heating.

There is a really interesting collection of armoury, beautiful crystal chandeliers and all kinds of treasures.

The grounds are also lovely. There are a few wedding parties having their pictures done.

There is a smaller palace on the grounds which was built by Prince Ferdinand after the WW1 for his wife Princess Mary.

As we leave, we pass through the city of Sinaia, on our way back to our airport hotel in Bucharest.