The journey begins, as usual, in ground zero, the capital city of Romania, Bucharest. The tour should continue north, towards the city of Ploiesti. Go round the city and continue towards the Carpathian Mountains. The landscape changes fast and the mountains become magnificent. Soon you will enter the Prahova Valley defile. After about 2 hours of driving (if you rent a car) or 1 hour and a half- 2 hours by train, you will arrive in Sinaia, also known as the Royal City, due to its castles and the years spent here by the Romanian Royal Families. The city is beautiful. It has many traditional and also newer houses built on the north side of the river, on the slopes of Bucegi Mountains. Sinaia is also one of the best ski resorts in Romania. It has many slopes starting from 2000 meters in altitude. It is one of the best freeride ski spots in Romania.

Once in Sinaia visit the Peles and Pelisor Castles.

Peles Castle was built between 1866 and 1914, at the request of King Carol I, by architects Johannes Schultz and Karel Liman, and decorated by famous JD Heymann from Hamburg, August Bembe from Mainz and Bernhard Ludwig from Vienna. Peles Castle is the most famous royal residence in Romania and the first fully electrified castle in Europe, equipped with an interior elevator and centralized heating, incredible things for that period. The castle has 160 rooms, many entrances and staircases. The cost for this imposing construction was estimated at 16 mil Romanian lei in gold (approx. US$ 120 million today), and between 300-400 people from all over Europe assisted with the actual construction works, as Queen Elizabeth stated in her journal.

Pelişor Castle is a small castle built in the interior park of Peles Castle on the Prahova Valley between 1899-1903 by Czech architect Karel Liman, and decorated by the Viennese artist Ludwig Bernhardt. Since 1903, the castle became the summer residence of the successors to the throne: King Ferdinand and Queen Marie. Pelişor Castle has 99 rooms and a valuable collection of decorative art belonging to the Art-Nouveau, including works by artists such as E. Galle, Daum brothers, J. Hoffmann, LC Tiffany Gurschner etc.

The two castles take about 2 hours to visit. After the lunch break and a walk in the large green court of the castles, get back on the road. The trip continues to Bran. Pass through Busteni, a beautiful town at the foothills of the mountains. Seen from Busteni, the Bucegi Mountains with their steep slopes look gorgeous. Also, from here one can see the Caraiman Cross (Heroes’ Cross on Caraiman Peak), with a height of 36 meters (118 ft), built between 1926 and 1928 at the initiative of Marie of Edinburgh and King Ferdinand of Romania in memoriam of the Romanian soldiers who died during World War I. This monument is the tallest summit cross in the world situated at such an altitude (2,291 meters), being recognized by Guinness World Records in 2014. Kalinderu ski and snowboarding slopes are also visible in the proximity.

Near Predeal the road takes the left exit and passes Paraul Rece and Rasnov before arriving at Bran. This settlement is the place where we can find Dracula’s Castle. Bran Castle (Törzburg in German), also known as Dracula Castle, is a landmark of Romania. The medieval atmosphere could be seen and felt everywhere. There are plenty of elements that bring it to life and there are also many tourists that inspire happiness. The most amazing thing here is the castle that dominates the surroundings from the high rock on which it is situated. It makes you feel the old times’ spirit and the stories with Dracula will immediately come to mind. Read more about the Bran Castle in this article.

The journey continues to Rasnov where you will visit the medieval citadel. Rasnov Citadel is a settlement built on a large rock near the mountains, with its tall walls offering protection in the past. Inside are some houses and auxiliary constructions that used to serve population needs. The citadel was built in 1215 as a fortified settlement by the Teutonic Knights. It was only conquered once, around 1600. It offered protection to its citizens for more than 8 centuries. Furthermore, it is a nice place, well-preserved, where the old times are kept alive.

Now it is time to go back to Bucharest, after a day full of history and amazing sightseeing, following the same route as the one chosen in the morning.

Legends about Dracula

During the conflict with Mehmed II, Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) employed various harassment tactics. One notable strategy involved creating a horrifying tableau depicting Turkish soldiers impaled in a forest near Targoviste. Aware of the deep fear Muslims had regarding impalement, Vlad orchestrated this scene to instill terror and drastically reduce their morale. Legends depict gruesome images of slain Turkish soldiers, soaked in blood, evoking fear and dread. While this may have influenced the Dracula vampire folklore, it’s crucial to note that there is no concrete evidence linking Vlad to vampiric tales.

Vlad Dracul succeeded in imposing a society based on honor, law and order. The legends are saying that if you were to leave a box full of gold at a crossroads in those times, nobody would have had the courage to steal it. There was also an anecdote saying that if you had any money, you would have to be afraid not to steal your own money. Very often, the punishment was death by impaling. Vlad the Impaler believed in the active role of every citizen in the social life of the community, therefore he didn’t tolerate beggars and thieves. After inviting all of them to a big feast, he locked all the doors of the big saloon where lunch was served and burned the building with all the beggars and thieves trapped inside. Another dreadful act and a scene as you can see in vampire movies, with a lot of people killed and with fearful ending.

Tepes was very cruel to the noblemen of that period; they were his biggest enemies. The chronicles say that in 1459, on Easter, he invited all the landowners to the royal feast, where he killed the elders and forced the others to walk more than 100 kilometers on foot to the Arges River to build the Poenari Fortress (also called the Fortress of Dracula). There is also a metaphor that says that the landowners were the vampires that suck the blood of the people – the landowners exploited unfairly the masses to obtain benefits. To do justice for the people, he became Impaler for every landowner vampire.

Dracula places

Read more about them in the articles dedicated to places connected to him.

Dracula Fortress

The Bran Castle – The Castle of Dracula

The Royal Courts from Bucharest and Curtea de Arges.

Places where is said that Dracula is buried. If there really exist vampires, these must be the places where they could be found.

Comana Monastery

Located near Bucharest, it was built in 1461 following Vlad the Impaler’s orders. It is said that this monastery is the place where he was buried.

The Snagov Monastery

Situated near Bucharest, in the northern part of the lake with the same name was established by Mircea I of Wallachia, and it was first mentioned in 1408. This Monastery was restored by Vlad the Impaler. Some voices say that Vlad’s grave is situated in this monastery, rather than Comana.

Photographs Copyright:

Elena Avram

Petr Kraumann

bran-castle.com

wikipedia.org