Castelul Bran

Who doesn’t know the famous tale of Bram Stoker? The story of Dracula, slightly rooted in the history of voivode Vlad Țepeș (or Vlad III., Vlad Dracul, Vlad the Impaler), brings lot of tourists to the castle of Bran. Vlad III. was member of the Order of the Dragon, giving him the byname Dracul. He probably never visited Bran castle, but as everybody is searching for traces of the story in Transylvania, the castle owners use this as good marketing. Within the castle you can find a small exhibition about vampires and other fictional creatures known in Romania.

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The castle was historically called Törzburg and is located in the mountains not far away from Kronstadt. It was built in the 13th century common order and was given in 1211 to the knights of the German Order. Directly at the border between Transylvania and Wallachia it was formerly an important border fortification. In 1920 it became the residence of queen Maria (the wife of Ferdinand I.). Today it is solely a museum.

“Wenn ihm der Vogel hat gemacht
Ein Nest darein sein Eyer bracht
So fleugt er nicht aus furcht darvon
Und thut ein andern sitzen laßen
Auf seine Eyer in dem Nest
Sondern sich drauff erwürgen lest”

– inscription on Castul Bran

When you’re standing in front of the castle you can read an inscription in ancient German. It translates roughly to: When the bird has created a nest and brought his eggs into it, he doesn’t fly away in fear. He doesn’t let someone else sit in his nest and on his eggs – he lets himself be strangled while sitting on it.

Castelul Bran
Bran / Törzburg
Romania