Stake on Bran Castle, Romania

A foretaste of creepiness 

Our route from Bucharest to Brasau takes us through Transylvania. The Carpathian mountains surround us. The landscape is rustic with rippling rivers, herds of sheep and idyllic villages. Perhaps because of association with the name ‘Transylvania’ ,made famous through Bram Stoker's Dracula  I begin to notice stone buildings and architectural details that seem creepy and haunting.

Intrigue: Bran Castle or Dracula's  Castle?

Yes, we arrive at Bran Castle, marketed as Dracula's castle. Bram Stoker had never been to Romania. He only envisioned the castle. However it does have an uncannily similar setting and features.

The first feature that strikes us is the sheer height in proportion to the base area. It is built at the entrance to a gorge, a natural moat, and therefore the sheer impenetrable stone wall. 

The turrets with steep, sloping roofs and slit windows are intimidating. An equally steep staircase with narrow steps jam-packed with tourists awaits us. It takes us about 20 mins on the steps to reach the stiles at the entrance. With the multitude of people the atmosphere could have been celebratory rather than creepy, but surprisingly it remains chilly thanks to claustrophobic features: doors,passages, stairs(a secret passage) that lead from the first floor to the third, dizzying tight spiral staircases that accommodate only one person at a time, dark nooks just before the doors into the rooms all speak of intrigue.

Highlighting through contrast

The muted grey, and brown colours add a sense of decay and foreboding.As though to enhance the eeriness some color is presented through  blue ceramic tiled stoves, a blue kettle, a bench near the hearth, etc. 

The covered wooden verandas give us a view of the courtyard that seems like a deep well. In fact, it does have a well, or two. Initially meant to provide the needs of the household it was found to be inadequate. It has now been turned into an elevator shaft that takes paid customers into a multimedia museum.

However, there's a wishing well.

From fortress to castle

Built in 1377, this stone fortress was built by the Saxons, of German origin, to guard the mountain pass and defend Transylvania from the Ottoman Empire. It was also used as a customs checkpoint. The real Dracula, 

Vlad Draculea III, never stayed here  but he did pass from Bran gorge at least once to set the outskirts of Brasov aflame  and impale some traders for not paying their taxes but that was it.

Transylvania joined Romania after world war 2. In 1920 the castle was given to Romania’s Queen Marie in memory of the war heroes and it underwent some reconstruction to make it suitable for a noble  family to live in. It became a summer retreat for the royal family. Bran was lived in by the royal family even after Queen Marie's death. Her daughter Princess Ileana lived in it until the communist regime forced her into exile.

Today the fully furnished and renovated castle is a museum.

Feature: a small square of the brick and stone wall is exposed to show how the tall walls were fortified  : wooden boards embedded in the brickwork helped to protect them against distortions , cracking, or risks such as earthquakes.

Then it was time to take in the whole scene from the landscaped gardens at the bottom of the hill. I thought this tree with a hanging artificial swatch of red leaves was particularly metaphoric.  Beyond the pond were umpteen bright yellow bean bags with people sitting in various poses, admiring the castle from its bottom up. Had we stayed longer we would have seen the landmark lit against the twilight.

   

More reminders of a bloody history

As we leave Brasnove we get a good view of Râșnov Citadel, a medieval fortress, considered one of the best-preserved rural citadels in Transylvania and Romania,  high above the hills. Its position afforded a high-altitude viewing post and an early warning system against invading armies. 

 

Peles Castle, Sinaia, Romania

Natural landscape vs progress

We've crossed the Danube from Ruse, Bulgaria into Romania's Transylvania! The land of Dracula!  Traditional houses with shingled roofs, towerlike at the entrance, atop timber walls raised on a stone foundation pass by.

Driving down winding roads along lush greenery, it is easy to understand that 33% of Romania is forest and there's logging. Notably, the country is an important European source for forest products like sawn wood, wood-based panels and furniture, most  of it passing through the Black Sea. It should not be surprising then that there have been issues with illegal logging. 

Sensory introduction to ‘romancing’ Romania

We arrive at the foot of the mountains to an  entrance that  easily distracts with the colourful souvenir stalls and the traditionally dressed women toting large baskets filled with colourful little woven baskets filled with juicy bright red strawberries and the most flawless, freshest cherries I've ever seen. 3 baskets for 10€ seems a steal for parched tongues.

Adding to the celebratory tastes and colours was a wedding group dressed in its traditional finery.

And of course Medieval Castles.

And there appears before us a stunning edifice, Peles Castle, so called because Peles creek flows through its courtyard. Most in our company have bought tickets. They will see the lush furnishings and the lavish decorations on the inside while we admire the outside. The summer retreat, built in 1883, with both Gothic tall vertical elements and thin walls as well as Renaissance decorative classical elements, is inarguably distinctive. A sense of awesomeness is evoked through the kinds of material, viz wood , marble and glass, that are imaginatively incorporated into the architecture.

Interestingly, it was the first European castle to have its own power plant for electricity. Consequently it had hot and cold running water, central heating, telegraph, telephone, a small elevator for the royal family and a central vacuum system. Our friends tell us the stained glass roof of the foyer opens mechanically.

We notice the alpine-like features from the outside while exploring the various landscaped terraces. The marble statues in one of the terraces draw our attention more than any other. Then there is the typical lion guards of the Balkans. The urns seem to  complete the requirements of palace gardens.  Some parts are supported with scaffolding and fountains are under repair. 

The castle is undoubtedly enchanting, but the crumbling parts evoke a sense of the eerie, perhaps because of Bram Stoker.

Yes, we get lost. 

The castle is surrounded by forest with well marked trails. Since we enjoy trails we launched on one with our friends. When we sense it is about time to rejoin our travelling group we hastily look for the way back when we chance upon umpteen souvenir shops with such attractive displays that we get side tracked. We smugly believe we are back at the row of vendors we had seen at the entrance. But we are wrong and it does not take long to realise it. A frantic walk hither and thither till we get our bearings and there we are, the abominable late comers ( but just by a minute, saving our reputation for punctuality).

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