Bran Castle (aka Dracula's Castle)

[Le Clerk]

The pictures below are made in May 2009, immediatelly after the reopening of the castle, which was restituted to the inheritor of the Romanian monarchic family - Dominique de Habsburg. The furniture inside the castle was changed: the Habsburg family brought their own furniture, so everything inside is new!!

Some introductory aerial photos which are not mine:










The castle from the outside:


























The gardens and the lake outside the castle:












Inside the Castle's courtyard:



































Inside the castle:



























































































[IMG]















Some other pics from the area:

A villa where I resided for a night:

[Bogdan BMB]

Misto pozele! Mi-ai facut dor de zona aia, poate trag si eu un w-e prin vacantza.

[nebunul]

de poze

Originally Posted by Le Clerk

Inside the castle:

Inside ... care castel ma?! Numai gagici prinzi (din greseala ) in poze

[Le Clerk]

Doing some rock climbing and descending, riding the steel cord in between 2 mountain peaks, and riding some horses in the area:

[Le Clerk]

Originally Posted by nebunul

de poze

Inside ... care castel ma?! Numai gagici prinzi (din greseala ) in poze

Focusul era pe florile alea rosii.

[BG_PATRIOT]

Beautiful castle and beautiful pictures Thanks Le Clerk

This castle is definitively a must for any tourist visiting Romania

[Le Clerk]

I am glad you liked it. It's a nice tourist destination, as is the whole area. And prices are reasonable.

[bgp]

What do you mean by "everything inside is new"?! Why didn't they keep the old furniture? Where is it now?

[nebunul]

http://brasov.time4news.ro/administr...mii-medievale/

[moshu']

. Sa traiesti Le Clerk !

[Le Clerk]

Originally Posted by bgp

What do you mean by "everything inside is new"?! Why didn't they keep the old furniture? Where is it now?

Originally Posted by nebunul

http://brasov.time4news.ro/administr...mii-medievale/

That's right. The original furniture lies in the Bran Medieval Customs building (which can also be visited) owned by the Ministry of Culture, while the new furniture is not original, but looks baroque and gives a good flavour to the castle.

[Eletrix]

Beautiful photos and beautiful castle.
I read that the residence of Dracula is attributed to different castles....
So, it's this the true Dracula's castle??

Where is this castle exactly? Can you post a map?
GRAZIE!

[Claudiopolis]

Originally Posted by Eletrix

Where is this castle exactly? Can you post a map?
GRAZIE!

[Eletrix]

thank u Claudio!

[Claudiopolis]

No, thank You!

E sempre un piacere vedere un Italiano come te interessarsi del mio paese!
Grazie!

[Eletrix]

Originally Posted by Claudiopolis

No, thank You!

E sempre un piacere vedere un Italiano come te interessarsi del mio paese!
Grazie!

Beh, la romania è un paese che mi incuriosisce molto.

Piccolo OT: sto pianificando un viaggio ad agosto Budapest > Cluj N > Sibiu> Bucuresti. E' ancora un viaggio/concept ma credo che lo farò, insieme ad un mio amico. Magari chiedo a voi amici romeni qualche informazione (soprattutto sui trasporti, il sito delle ferrovie romene non è molto chiaro) per inserire nel mio tour le cose più interessanti dal punto di vista culturale, gastronomico, naturalistico. Grazie

PS: complimenti per il tuo italiano!

[Le Clerk]

Here you have the link to Romanian train schedule in English. You can see what trains you can get for a certain distance. Ciao!

[Eletrix]

thank u Le Clerk!

We return In Topic: Dracula's Castle!

[Le Clerk]

Bucharest Herald
02/06/2009

Habsburgs want to turn Bran castle into tourism center

After the state withdrew most of the collections that belonged to Bran castle and the culture minister announced that the original items are no longer found in the castle, the building was officially returned to the Habsburg family on Monday. The new owners want to attract as many tourists as possible relying on the castle’s legend and the traditions that were not made use of over the years, but also on modern elements that would offer tourists as many leisure possibilities as possible.

Bran castle was reopened on Monday in the presence of its new owners, Archduke Dominic of Habsburg and his sisters, Maria Magdalena Holzhausen and Elisabeth Sandhofer.

On the occasion, Dominic of Habsburg voiced his wish that the museum will soon attract as many investors in the Bran area as possible and that it would become a real tourism center. The strategy to attract tourists includes several plans, such as setting up a projection hall inside the castle, to screen images about the history of the castle and the royal family, but also a room of royal families’ costumes and a living room.

“We want tourists to come and return to Bran castle, not to visit it in a rush, but to spend several days here, at Bran,” a representative of the royal house, Lia Doru Trandafir, said.

Inside the Round Tower of the castle, a luxury apartment will be set up for those who want to spend a night at Bran castle.

The new owners are also planning to restore Queen Maria’s Tea House, within the Bran domain, and to open it to the public. In one of the castle’s rooms, a “Bram Stoker” quarter was set up, presenting the legend of Vlad Tepes and the myth of Dracula.

After the Culture Ministry pulled out most of the items from Bran castle, theses were replaced with items and furniture that belonged to the Habsburg family, the most precious of them being the crown, scepter and a silver dagger that belonged to King Ferdinand, a portrait of Princess Ileana, with her autograph, a blanket that was used on Queen Maria’s bed, along with some pieces of furniture and a guest book that belonged to Queen Maria and that presents the complete history of Bran’s important visitors.

A day before, Culture Minister Theodor Paleologu, present at the inauguration of the Bran Medieval Customs Museum, which belongs to the Bran National Museum, warned that the customs museum contains only the original items that belonged to the castle.

“The authentic Bran museum is in fact at the Medieval Customs. It must be said and repeated. The decision to move the collections from the castle was made because it was not possible to keep them there any longer, but they were completed with items that could not be exhibited before because of the castle’s microclimate conditions. Everything exhibited at the Medieval Customs is a collection that takes over what was exhibited in the castle plus a series of other items that could not be exhibited before, such as paintings, rugs and bawls,” the culture minister explained.

[Le Clerk]

Bran Castle Oil Painting by Len Platt