It’s October, so there’s no better time to talk about my visit to Bran Castle, the castle that “inspired” Dracula!
While it never served as the home of Vlad the Impaler— the source of the stories of vampires and possible inspiration behind Dracula— it is still a very old castle with an important history.
Bran is located, unsurprisingly, in Transylvania, Romania. It’s a notable tourist town, as Bran/ Dracula Castle is a popular place for fans of vampire media to visit!
Visiting Dracula Castle/ Bran Castle
I was warned about this by a Romanian before going, but I want to be honest here:
Bran Castle was kinda disappointing, especially compared to other nearby castles like Peles Castle and Cantacuzino Castle.
Is it still worth visiting? I think so, but I’ll describe my experience and let you decide for yourself. It feels more like a history museum than a castle.
Upon arriving in Bran, you’ll make your way uphill on a stone path to finally reach the castle, which towers over the area on a steep hill.
The castle itself is quite striking— The brownish-orange, shingled rooftops on top of white stucco walls really stand out within the surrounding mountainous forest. It’s a beautiful sight, regardless of any other opinions I might have about the visit.
Inside the Castle
Once you get tickets, you’re free to explore the castle. There’s a pretty linear path to get through it, but there are signs and imagery all over the walls describing its history. Other rooms have vampire decorations and talk about Dracula (the book and the movie) and its connection to the place. You can also learn about the real Vlad the Impaler!
I think the main disappointment came from some modern changes to the structure. Every wall is done over with stucco. There are occasional (intentional) gaps in it that let you see the original brick walls, but otherwise you’re seeing a very different image of the castle than what it used to look like.
It’s also pretty crowded. Like I said, a lot of people want to see the castle. Getting from room to room might take some waiting, especially in the narrower passages.
There are plenty of windows that give you nice views of the inner courtyard as well as the surrounding landscape, and a lot of interesting history to learn.
Things finally open out in the courtyard. There, you’ll find a gift shop and access to a few other parts of the castle. This includes a torture room and a cistern exhibit that you have to take an elevator to access. I didn’t do either of these, as they required paying extra.
In the Shadow of Dracula Castle
Below the castle, you’ll find a nice park with some good spots for taking pictures with the castle in the background.
Additionally, nearby you can explore a recreation of a small medieval village! I thought this was pretty cool, if a bit lacking. One difficulty I encountered is that many of the signs were only in Romanian. If I had taken the time to decipher them, I might have figured it out with some language basics. Luckily, we had someone with us who knew some basic Romanian to help translate!
There’s also a nearby market area, much in the style of a street fair in the United States. They mainly sold souvenirs or random tchotchkes. Some of them just sold trading cards and other stuff you’d expect to encounter at these fairs. If you’re here, you might as well check it out, though! There are some nice things for sale too. One of my friends bought some woven placemats.
Beyond this, I didn’t do a whole lot in Bran. I visited a store or two, ate at a restaurant, and explored a bit before heading home.
Bran Castle’s History
If there’s one thing Bran Castle did right, it’s their presentation of history.
The castle definitely felt more like a museum than a castle from the inside, but they did a good job of setting things up.
First of all, as I mentioned, Vlad the Impaler never lived in this castle. In fact, Bram Stoker might not have even known this castle existed!
That doesn’t mean it’s not a historically important castle!
It might surprise you to hear that Saxons built this castle in 1377. A lot of them lived in the area at the time, and had been granted the privilege of building the castle.
(I’ll admit, I did have to look that part up, but only to help provide some historical context!)
Interestingly, this castle’s connection with England didn’t end there, as Queen Marie, a member of the British Royal family, lived in it for most of her life!
She’s a very well regarded Queen in Romania and helped to unify the country after the World Wars. Much of the castle focuses on her life and history, and contains furniture and belongings from Queen Marie.
So don’t expect the entire thing to be about vampires!
Conclusion
Dracula castle has another event at night. I think it’s a haunted house or something, but I didn’t have any way to attend the event, so I can’t comment on it.
Ultimately, like I said, the castle feels more like a history museum than a showcase of a castle. I was a bit disappointed by the experience, but I think that going into it with some foresight might help.
Personally, the visit was still worth it, as I want to see everything I can, but knowing all of this ahead of time would have helped temper my expectations!
Questions, comments, concerns? Let me know below, or contact me directly!
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