Castle Dracula (Bran Castle)

Castle Dracula - The castle where Dracula was purported to reside is also known as Bran Castle, and is located in the Carpathian Mountains. In fact, you can even visit the castle known as Dracula’s castle for your next vacation.

When most people think of Dracula they think of a fictional blood thirsty vampire that is only found in books. They do not know that there is an actual castle where Dracula was supposed to have lived in that exists today in Romania.

While it has since been accepted that Dracula’s castle from Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” may have been based loosely on the Bran Castle, there is no evidence at all that Dracula did in fact exist. However, the Romanian tourism industry has taken the fable and turned it into a money making venture by luring tourists to Dracula’s castle each year.

The true inhabitant of Dracula’s castle may not have been Count Dracula himself, but it was someone with a blood thirsty history that is just as if not even more horrific. Prince Vlad Tepes, also known as the Impaler or Vlad Dracula, visited the castle and was imprisoned there in the 1450s.

Prince Vlad Tepes was an overly zealous totalitarian leader who used corporal punishment. He did so in an effort to protect his stronghold at Bran Castle. His vicious temperament led to his impalement of his enemies. He would display the bodies of the impaled victims around the castle as a threat to any other enemies during the expansion of the Ottoman Empire.

It is believed that Vlad Dracula impaled or otherwise murdered tens of thousands of people; some reports are as high as 100,000. He was equally as harsh against anyone who went up against him, and would impale a local just as quickly. Other reports say that Vlad Dracula torched entire villages killing men, women and children in his wake. While the intentions of Vlad Tepes may have been to protect Bran Castle, it is evident that his taste for blood and desire to torture his victims shows a more sadistic side than merely someone who is ruling a land with an iron fist.

Castle Dracula and the associated Vlad Dracula are evident in the writings of Stoker in “Dracula” with his descriptions of the layout of Bran Castle and the surrounding village. But it wasn’t until the 1980s that the Romanian tourism industry took advantage of the connection by advertising the castle as the home of Dracula. And with few exceptions, such as the lack of a cellar, the castle does compare to the one described in “Dracula” by Stoker.

castle dracula bran castle Today the Castle Dracula is up for sale at a feverish price of $100 million by the Hapsburg family. Meanwhile tourists are welcome to tour the castle inside and out, and the tour guides tend to play up the Dracula related history.

Bran Castle is currently opened to tourists as a museum with pieces and furnishings from Queen Marie of Romania. And just as with the book, “Dracula,” a traditional peasant village sits in the basin around the castle.

There are several tour companies that offer a range of tour packages for those interested in visiting Dracula’s Castle, including reputable Viator.com as well as luxury train travel aboard the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express.

If you are planning a trip to Dracula’s Castle, one of the best times of the year is at Halloween. For the holiday, the castle goes into full gothic vampire mode. You can spend two days in Transylvania, and while you are not able to spend the night in Bran Castle, you will be invited to a party at the castle on the night of Halloween.

For the event, remember to bring your Halloween costume and an appetite. Great food and coffin shaped cake are served to guests, as well as several spiced and spiked tonics to help stir the senses. Experience a witch hunt and trial, as well as a visit by Count Dracula himself. Imagine being able to party in an authentic historically documented castle. For the event to occur on Halloween in the place where so many people lost their lives due to the horrific crimes that were committed by Vlad Dracula just adds to the intrigue by tenfold.

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