Bran Castle ( ; ), situated
near Bran
and in the
immediate vicinity of BraÅŸov
, 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.
History
In 1212 the
Teutonic Knights built
the wooden castle of
Dietrichstein as a fortified position
in the
Burzenland at the entrance to a
mountain valley through which traders had travelled for more than a
millennium, although it was destroyed in 1242 by the
Mongols. The first documented
mentioning of Bran Castle is the act issued by
Louis I of Hungary on November 19, 1377,
giving the
Saxons of Kronstadt
(BraÅŸov) the privilege to build the stone citadel on their own
expense and labor force; the settlement of Bran began to develop
nearby. The castle was first used in 1378 in defence against the
Ottoman Empire, and later became a
customs post on the
mountain pass
between
Transylvania and
Wallachia. The castle briefly belonged to
Mircea the Elder of Wallachia. Vlad Tepes
also used Bran Castle as headquarters for his incursions into
Transylvania.
From 1920 the castle became a royal residence within the
Kingdom of Romania. It was the principal
home of
Queen Kestine Marie, and
is decorated largely with artifacts from her time, including
traditional furniture and tapestries that she collected to
highlight Romanian crafts and skills. The castle was inherited by
her daughter,
Princess
Ileana, and was later seized by the
communist regime after the expulsion of
the
royal family in
1948.
In 2005, the Romanian government passed a special law allowing
restitution claims on properties such as Bran, which was seized by
the
Communist government of
Romania in 1948.
In 2006, the Romanian government awarded
ownership to HI&RH
Prince Dominic of Tuscany, Archduke of Austria, known
professionally as Dominic von Habsburg, an architect in New York State
and the son and heir of Princess
Ileana.
In 2007, Prince Dominic put the castle up for sale for a price of
£40 million (
$78 million). On July 2, 2007, Michael
Gardner, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Baytree Capital,
the New York investment firm which has been retained to create a
plan for the castle and to sell it, predicted it would sell for
more than $135 million, but added that Prince Dominic will only
sell it to a buyer "who will treat the property and its history
with appropriate respect."
In September 2007 an investigation committee of the
Romanian Parliament stated that the
retrocession of the castle to Prince Dominic was illegal, as it
broke the Romanian law on property and succession. However, in
October 2007 the
Constitutional Court of
Romania rejected the parliament's petition on the matter. In
addition, an investigation commission of the Romanian government
issued a decision in December 2007 reaffirming the validity and
legality of the restitution procedures used and confirming that the
restitution was made in full compliance with the law.
On January 26 2009 it was revealed that the family had decided not
to sell the castle, but instead turn it into a museum dedicated to
the legend and history of Dracula.
Photographs
Image:Bran_Castle1v2.jpg|
View of the courtyardImage:Castle_bran_01.jpg|
View from the main
walkwayImage:Castle_bran_07.jpg|
View from the upstairs balcony
See also
References
- Son stakes Dracula castle claim, BBC News, May 26, 2006
(accessed on January 9, 2007)
- "N.Y. heir to get Dracula's digs",
New York Daily News, May 24, 2006
(accessed on January 9, 2007)
- "Vlad the unique selling point",
The Daily Telegraph, January 6,
2007
- Alexandru Alexe, "Heir puts 'Dracula's Castle' for sale",
Associated Press, July 2, 2007.
- Camera Deputatilor: Castelul Bran a fost retrocedat
ilegal - Realitatea TV - Politică
- Adevarul
- Mediafax
- http://www.ccr.ro/CCRDocFiles/Dosar%201369_2007.doc
- Poziţia MCC faţă de Raportul Subcomisiei de anchetă
parlamentară privind cercetarea legalităţii retrocedării Castelului
Bran şi a procedurii de scoatere la vânzare a acestuia
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