Every year nearly half a million people travel to central Romania in order to visit “Dracula’s Castle”, formally known as Bran Castle. Originally built as a heavily fortified military stronghold during the 14th century, Bran Castle is most known today for its role in the classic novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Stoker had never visited Romania, and there is little evidence which suggests that he had knowledge of Bran Castle, but some researchers believe he did. Information found on the Bran Castle website claims Stoker based his description of Dracula’s castle off of a picture of Bran Castle, which he reportedly observed in the book Transylvania: Its Product and Its People by Charles Boner (3). Whether Stoker knew it or not his description of Dracula’s castle bears an uncanny resemblance to Bran Castle, including tall, gray walls and a dense forest surrounding it; the ominous aesthetic of the castle is appropriate for the infamous Count Dracula.
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Built at the request of King Louis I of Hungary, Bran Castle initially served as a powerful fortress located along the dangerous border which separated Transylvania and Wallachia. Structurally, the fortress was constructed to withstand enemy attacks and ensure the protection of soldiers during battle. According to author Frances Cary, Bran Castle is equipped with two watchtowers, underground prisons, and hidden passageways littered through the interior; some passageways were so well hidden that they went undiscovered until the 20th century. One of the most interesting aspects of the medieval fortress were the waterwells. The waterwells were primarily used to extinguish fires caused during battles, but they had a secret function as well; the wells also acted as a hideout for soldiers, in the event that the fortress was being overrun (1). The layout of the fortress is incredibly unique, and made for an effective defense.
Bran Castle has undergone many restorations and served as a fortress for centuries, but eventually the building fell into disrepair during the 19th century. Following the union of Transylvania and Romania, King Ferdinand I and Queen Marie received the castle as a token of gratitude from the city. During the 1920’s, Queen Marie converted the now-abandoned building into a summer home, and lived there until her death in 1938 (2). After the Queen’s death, her daughter Ileana was forced to leave the city by the incoming communist regime, which seized control of Bran Castle; the castle was later converted into a museum during the 1960’s. According to its website, Bran Castle was officially returned to the family of Queen Marie in 2009 (3). Today, Bran Castle remains an operating museum in Romania, which offers tours of the historic construction. For those of us who are not traveling to Romania anytime soon, a virtual, inside look is available here:
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Sources:
1. Cary, Frances. "Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)- What You Should Know About Castle in Transylvania, Romenia." Earth & World, n.p., 25 December 2009, https://earthnworld.com/bran-castle/
2. Lewis, Robert. "Bran Castle." Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 23 June 2017. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bran-Castle/
3. "Historical Timeline." Bran Castle, n.p., 2013, http://bran-castle.com/historical-timeline.html
4. "Dracula Castle Transylvania... inside tour." Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 2011. https://youtu.be/lD-i3Xnfy9Q
5. "Bran Castle (Dracula's Castle)." Trip Advisor, n.p., 2020. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g608956-d318167-Reviews-Bran_Castle_Dracula_s_Castle-Bran_Brasov_County_Central_Romania_Transylvania.html
I originally thought I was going to write a post focusing on the castles associated with Dracula, and Bran Castle was one of those I looked at. I appreciate being able to read about those points in such a well-constructed way as you've laid out here, and there was still plenty new for me to discover. I did come across rumors that the Communist Party in Romania, when developing relations with the West, advertised Bran as "Dracula's Castle." Did you come across anything about that in your research? I never got a conclusive answer myself.
ReplyDeleteThere were a few sources I read, (sources 2 and 3 if you wish to read further) that the Communist Party opened up Bran's Castle, sometime in the 50's, as a museum. I'm not certain if they specifically advertised it as "Dracula's Castle" at that time, but it seems likely to me that they would have, as a way to separate Bran Castle from every other dusty castle in Eastern Europe (apparently there are a lot).
DeleteI really like the approach you took with your blog and all of the different aspects you covered on this topic. It's crazy to think that so many people visit this castle every year! I had obviously heard of Dracula before this class, but I was only really familiar with the more modern pop culture version of Dracula as a character. I knew nothing about where the idea of Dracula even came from. What I'm trying to say is that it's crazy that Dracula is such an engaging book, and there is so much interesting history connected with it, yet I knew next to nothing about all of this! It was really neat that you included the video to reinforce what you were saying. I would have to think that Stoker had seen Bran castle before in order for the castle he describes in the novel to be so similar.
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