A large cross adorning a broken abode in a Castle in Romania

It’s not something I would have expected to see from visiting a castle in Transylvania in Romania. The outer wall fortification was made up of houses which is not uncommon. In this case one had broken and on the outer wall hung this huge crucifix.

The story behind this photograph

Taken in 2007 during my overland journey I had visited Bran where the more famous of the Transylvanian castles is located. Like many I was a little disappointed at seeing the small tower that Vald the Impaler (the inspiration to Dracula) was once meant to have visited.

I went in search of something a little bigger. This was Castle Rasnov, a fortress located in Rasnov Romania. It was far more like the medieval castle I had envisaged.

Indeed it was to my imagination what the folklore of Bran castle in Brasov should have been. Surely given the choice Vlad the Impaler would have chosen to visit this castle rather than Brasov’s? Well, perhaps there was more to it than that.

Hung around this castle are all manner of torturous devices and medieval structures. A place well worth visiting if this is what you are looking for.

Hence the surprise at seeing this huge crucifix hanging from a wall and nearly the size of the entire house itself!

Perhaps folklore was still at work here. This large cross may well be a way of fending something off. Somehow, it added greatly to the experience.

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