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Location Information:
Bran
Castle (German: Törzburg; Hungarian:
Törcsvár), situated near Bran and in
the immediate vicinity of Braşov, is
a national monument and landmark in
Romania. The fortress is situated on
the border between Transylvania and
Wallachia, on DN73. Commonly known
as "Dracula's Castle" (although it
is one among several locations
linked to the Dracula legend,
including Poienari Castle and Hunyad
Castle), it is marketed as the home
of the titular character in Bram
Stoker's Dracula. There is, however,
no evidence that Stoker knew
anything about this castle. There is
evidence, however, that Vlad Tepes
actually did use the castle during
his raids into Transylvania.
The
castle is now a museum open to
tourists, displaying art and
furniture collected by Queen Marie.
Tourists can see the interior
individually or by a guided tour. At
the bottom of the hill is a small
open air museum park exhibiting
traditional Romanian peasant
structures (cottages, barns, etc.)
from across the country.
The Bran fortress was built on a
cliff between Magura and The Hill of
the Fortress, its position
conferring an outstanding view
towards both the hills of Moeciu and
the ones from the Land of Bârsa. The
building of the fortress was imposed
by strategic and economic reasons.
The strategic reasons underlined by
the expansion of the Ottoman Empire
which, by the end of the XIV
century, began threatening the
south-eastern borders of
Transylvania; the economic reasons,
given by the fact that the
commercial road, one of the most
important access ways connecting
Transylvania to Wallachia, crossed
this area. All these reasons
determined the Hungarian king Louis
I of Anjou to develop strengthening
works of the Bran pass.
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