Many castles and palaces have been built and wrecked to the ground along the long course of our country`s history. Some of them are still standing – thus the incentive to write this column about top castles to visit in Romania; this way, you may write them on your list of places to go on your next holiday.
Bran Castle
Bran Castle is one of the most renowned castles in Romania – if not the most notorious – also known as “Dracula`s Castle”. It is among the most precious vestiges of the old Transylvania. The castle has witnessed centuries of history and has given rise to countless stories and legends.
Legend has it that the infamous Dracula used to live in Bran Castle – thus its association with the character, and not with the historical figure, Vlad Tepes. There is no evidence whatsoever that the castle was inhabited by the ruler of Wallachia or by its fictitious alter-ego.
The Castle, nonetheless, has profited from the association to become perhaps the most famous castle in the country; even without the legend, however, the building remains an authentic vestige, located in the Rucar-Bran pass, 30 km away from the city of Brasov. Due to its setting, at the edge of a high cliff, the castle has an increased visibility over the area.
“Dracula`s Castle” used to be a simple quadrilateral fort, its tower having been built only later. The building has its present image today because in 1920, it was donated to Queen Mary of Romania, who restored it and turned it into a true castle; she then left it to her daughter, Princess Ileana.
During the communist regime, the castle entered the patrimony of the Romanian state and was restored in 1987 and turned into a museum. A few years ago, it was returned to its rightful heirs.
Today, Bran Castle belongs to the descendants of Princess Ileana, who refurbished the place with pieces from their private collection, so the visitors could admire the exhibits that evoke the royal atmosphere of the castle.