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| Locations of the 3 Dracula Castles in Romania |
Did you know there are 3 “Dracula Castles” in Romania?
Well, sort of.
If you come to Romania searching for "Dracula's Castle" and expect to find that the castle of the historical Wallachian prince known as Dracula is the same as the castle imagined in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel about a vampire named Dracula, then you'll be disappointed. There is no single castle that fits the location and description in the novel and was also home to the 15th century prince named Vlad the Impaler. However, each of the following three locations play a part.
Well, sort of.
If you come to Romania searching for "Dracula's Castle" and expect to find that the castle of the historical Wallachian prince known as Dracula is the same as the castle imagined in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel about a vampire named Dracula, then you'll be disappointed. There is no single castle that fits the location and description in the novel and was also home to the 15th century prince named Vlad the Impaler. However, each of the following three locations play a part.
First, let's discuss the castle in the novel Dracula. Author Bram Stoker. describes a "vast ruined castle" which was "built on the corner of a great rock, so that on three sides it was quite impregnable." The castle in the novel is located in the region of northeastern Transylvania, along the Borgo Pass, east of the city of Bistrita. This is a completely fictitious castle; there is no castle at that location, nor was there ever. There is, however, a recently-constructed hotel called “Hotel Castel Dracula” at that location, which obviously caters to the Dracula-seeking tourists. A few years ago, I drove through the Borgo Pass and by that hotel on the way from Sighisoara to Bucovina. We didn’t stop at the hotel, but below is a picture of it from the internet.
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| Hotel Castel Dracula |
The second castle is the one in Bran. This “looks” like the
castle described in Stoker’s novel. However, since it is located in southern
Transylvania, it does not match the setting of the novel. Also, since Dracula was prince in Wallachia (not Transylvania), this was never the historical Dracula's castle. Nevertheless, since it is located near the city of Brasov, it is a convenient destination for tourists. Be sure to read more about Bran Castle on my blog post that I published earlier this week.
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| Tourist stands at Bran Castle |
The third castle is the Poenari Fortress. It is located in
northern Wallachia because that is where Dracula (Vlad the Impaler) was
prince. It is
now just a ruin in a hard-to-reach part of the country, not to mention that to reach the
castle, you need to climb 1480 steps. These are just 2 reasons why the majority of tourists go to Bran. But
since I’ve been to Bran Castle several times, I thought it was time to finally
see the real Dracula Castle. Click here to read more about my visit to Poenari Castle earlier this week.
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| Poenari Fortress |
Each of these 3 locations has something to offer; it just depends what you're looking for. I've enjoyed seeing the Borgo Pass, as the location where the novel Dracula is set. I've also enjoyed touring Bran Castle, as the interior and exterior layout of the castle is similar to the descriptions in the novel. It's also been nice to visit historical sites tied to the real Dracula including Poenari Fortress.
Check out these blog posts I've previously written about the historical Dracula:
Check out these blog posts I've previously written about the historical Dracula:
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