Poenari Fortress

I've finally visited the ruins of the Poenari fortress, aka the historical Dracula's castle.

The Poenari fortress was first built on a high cliff in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in the 13th century by the rulers of Wallachia (the southern region in present-day Romania). However, over time, the fortress fell to ruins.

In the mid 15th century, Vlad Dracula, prince of Wallachia recognized the strategic location of the abandoned fortress and ordered its rebuilding and expansion. The Poenari castle became one of Vlad the Impaler's main fortresses.

There are a few legends relating to the castle.

One legend says that on Easter Sunday 1457, Vlad attacked the Wallachian boyars (nobles) from the town of Targoviste who were not loyal to him. He impaled the older ones and forced the rest to walk the 85 miles (140 km) to build Poenari Castle.

Climbing 1480 steps to the fortress

Another legend says that Vlad's wife killed herself by jumping from the castle's tower during an Ottoman siege, so as to not be captured by the Turks. Meanwhile, Vlad escaped over the mountain by horseback, fooling his pursuers by shoeing his mount backwards.

The fortress was used by Wallachian princes after Vlad Dracula, but fell to ruins by the 17th century. In 1888, an earthquake caused a landslide in which almost a third of the fortress was lost down the back side of the mountain.

To reach the fortress, I had to climb 1480 concrete steps on a winding path through the woods. (It actually wasn't as bad as it sounds.) The top has a spectacular view of the valley below.

Be sure to check out my pictures on Facebook.