Q&A: Dracula

One of the most common sets of questions I get asked about Romania is related to Dracula. So this installment of my Q&A series will be answering some of those questions.

Q: Is Transylvania a real place?

A: Yes. Transylvania is one of the 3 major regions in Romania. I live in Sighisoara, a city in Transylvania. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, which had been part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was given to Romania. December 1, 1918, is observed as Romania's national holiday -- the unification of all Romanians. You can read more about Transylvania's unification with Romania on this earlier blog post.

Q: Who was the real Dracula?
A: There was a historical person named Vlad Dracula who lived in the 15th century. It is possible that he was born in Sighisoara in 1431. He later became the prince of Wallachia, the southern region of Romania. (He was never the prince – or count for that matter – of Transylvania.) His legacy is that he fought against the Turks who were trying to advance into Romanian lands. He had a very strict view of justice and would impale not only his enemies (a common practice in the 15th century) but also those who broke the law. This led to his nickname as Vlad the Impaler. Click here to read more about the historical Dracula at this earlier blog post.

Q: What’s the link between Dracula and vampires?
A: No, Vlad the Impaler was not a vampire. In 1897 the Irish novelist Bram Stoker wrote a fictional book about vampires. Although Stoker had never traveled to Transylvania, he found a reference to the historical character of Vlad the Impaler (Dracula) in the British library. He named the villain in the novel he had been writing Count Dracula and set the story in Transylvania. Since then, people have had a hard time telling the fact from the fiction.

Q: Is there a lot of Dracula-related tourism in Romania?
A: Yes. Nearly every tourist shop has Dracula-related merchandise. Some of the merchandise relates to the historical figure of Vlad the Impaler. Others is connected to vampires, devils, and the horror film genre. Since Vlad the Impaler is a historical figure, there are places around Romania historically related to him. However, most of these sites are in Wallachia (the southern region of Romania, where he was prince), rather than in Transylvania (where he may have been born but where the vampire story is set). Most tourists looking for Dracula come to Transylvania, so the tourism industry promotes the vampire in places where there is no historical connection to Dracula, whereas places in Wallachia with a historical connection are often overlooked because they aren't "spooky" enough. For example, you can click here to see pictures from a church he built in Bucharest.

Q: Have you ever seen a vampire?
A:  No, they’re fiction. Stop watching so much TV!