A horror legends castle is actually very pretty

Dracula was a vampire character written by Bram Stoker which at no time mentioned the building in this photograph. The building in this photograph is Bran Castle in Romania which is treated as if it was the castle from the horror story.

The Teutonic Knights built a fortress here in 1211 which changed hands on many occasions throughout the centuries. Vlad the Impaler (Vlad Tepes), whom many believe Stoker based Dracula on, passed through Bran in early 1459 to attack nearby Brasov. There is no evidence he stayed in Bran Castle.

The story behind this photograph

There are lot of legends involving Dracular, vampires and past kings throuhout Romania. I was in Transylvania and visited quite a few places including Vlads actual birthplace in the beautiful township of Sighișoara. However in Bran where the castle is there’s nothing but tourism for Dracula.

Bran Castle actually looks more like a château these days than an eerie castle.  It’s a museum filled with CCTV cameras, old desks, beds and memorabilia from royalty that lived there over the years. Anyone seeking evidence of Dracula or even Vlad Tepes will be disappointed.

So where did Vlad Tepes stay? Where is the real castle Dracula? According to the Dutch author Hans Corneel de Roos, Stoker envsaged Dracula’s castle on what is actually an empty mountain top, Mount Izvorul Călimanului in Romania. So yes, there is no physical Castle Dracual despite many castle laying claim to being his castle. These castles base their claims on the fact that Vlad the Impaler stayed in them.The closed claim to a Castle Dracula near Bran is in nearby Rasnov where there is a formidable castle standing on a hill. It is likely Vlad Tepes stayed in one of these castles during his attacks on the town Brasov. Some srewd tourism type got the idea to promote Bran Castle as Dracula’s castle and it just stuck.

You can read more here about my travels in search of Dracula and about Rasnov being a contender as Castle Dracula.

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