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The story of The Count Dracula is known to more or less everyone across the Globe and a general curiosity which has survived through ages is regarding the castle of the Count Dracula. The Bran Castle located close to Bran and also to Brasov in Romania has gathered legends over ages to be the “Dracula Castle” along with some others in Poenari and Hunyad also in Romania. The other importance of the fortress of Bran Castle is that it is a national monument of Romania.

dracula’s castle – bran castle, transylvania

The exact location of the Bran Castle is on the border of Transylvania and Wallachia. Getting partially popular due to the character of Dracula from Bram Stoker’s book, there is no direct evidence that the author created the place keeping in mind this castle. The presumed creation of the Bran Castle dates back to 1377 after which it is known that the fortress was used as defence against the Ottoman Empire in 1400s. After going through a number of hands, the Bran Castle, in 1920, was known to be a residence for the Romanian Kingdom. Queen Marie has been known to be great fond of the castle and after her demise the castle got in to the communist grip in the times of her daughter. It was again in 2005 that the castle went back to the Royal family as per the newly passed law.

After a series of contest between the Romanian government and the Royal family, the Bran Castle finally opened for public in the year 2009 post refurbishments. It now has a museum where people can see the collectibles of Queen Marie.

Dracula-Castle-Bran-Romania-04

The construction of the Bran Castle has been done with wood and stones. By its very look, the castle gives a feel of being a protective monument which has also been used for commercial purpose at times. The initial structure of the Bran Castle comprised of the outer wall, the donjon, the round and gate towers and also an observatory tower. Many changes were made in the castle through the succeeding centuries where the fire holes of the towers and been made in to windows, addition of towers and stairs in the existing towers.

A lot of legends have been attached with the Bran Castle but though none of them have been proved still the castle continues to draw a large number of tourists across the world and ascertains that no trip of Romania can be complete without paying a visit to the Bran Castle. The best means of reaching the Bran Castle is from by landing in Bucharest which has the international airport connecting all main cities worldwide and then going to Brasov through either bus, train, or rented car. Brasov, being the second largest city of Romania is the centre of all trips where you can stay and also make a day trip to the Bran Castle by bus.