"BRAN / Törzburg - a castle for sale for 60 mil.EUR" Top 5 Page for this destination Bran by josephescu

The town of Bran is situated in the Brasov depression near the town of Rasnov, 30 km west of Brasov. Every year it's visited by a large number of tourists, attracted not necessarily by the castle itself, an important monument of feudal Romanian architecture, or by the beauty of it's surroundings…but by a legend of the 19th century.
For the sake of the tourism and most probably, for the cash which comes along, Romanians nowadays tell tourists the story they want to hear. Since selling Dracula is more efficient than a Teutonic defense castle, and since Bram Stoker located Dracula in Transylvania, a castle fit to “accommodate” Dracula (and sold together with the legend) ought to be identified. In short, these are the ingredients which tied together two stories which had not had anything in common: the castle of Bran……with……Vlad Tepes (aka Dracula)

trade routes

The citadel was built by craftsmen from Brasov, at the order of the Teutonic knights, beginning in 1212. It was known by the name of Dietrichstein at the time. The citadel defended the Bran Pass which was across the most important commercial road, which tied "Tara Româneasca"(The Romanian/Valachian Country) and Transylvania in the Middle Ages.
In 1377, craftsmen from Brasov started to built a new stronghold to defend Bran pass, in response to the privileges received from the Hungarian Ludovic I D'Anjou.
At the end of the 14th century, king Sigismund gave up the leadership of Bran Fortress in favor of Mircea cel Batran. The royal domain had been given to the Hungarian aristocracy, while the Fortress passed under the rule of Mircea's faithful boyards. Few years later, the Hungarian king got back the Fortress. Bran Fortress was subordinated to the authority of Szeklers Committee.

The Fortress had an essential part in protecting the Hungarian king from the Ottomans and Tartars' invasion, coming from Romanian country through Rucar Pass. That's the reason why the inhabitants of Brasov built the Castle on their own work and expenses.
Iancu de Hunedoara fortified Transylvania's borders and also the towers of the Bran Castle. He made sure the rights of the paysans were respected by the boyards who ruled the Fortress. However, there were frequent fights between merchants and boyards.
In 1498 the Fortress passed under the merchant's possession and it was used mainly for trading. You should also know that it was a time when in charge of the leadership was a judge called "Judele Brasovului". Responsible for the defense of the Castle was the permanent garrison: 2 guards and 10 - 20 archers and ballisters.
The castle had the right to collect fees from visitors and paysans. The Fortress had an extra income from: selling cheese, milk and muttons and manufacturing wood. The paysans fought against the aristocracy for several times. In 1514 they refused to take action against Gheorghe Doja.

In time, the castle belonged to the Romanian country during Mircea cel Batran, then to the nobles from Brasov. In 1651 they became owners of the castle ("forever and irrevocable ").

After the revolution of 1848-1849 when the feudal domain of Bran ceased its existence, the citadel became the headquarters of one the forest detour administered by a castellan.

At 1 December 1920 the castle was donated to the Queen Maria of Romania, and, after extensive restoration works which gave its current look, the castle became a royal summer residence until 30 December 1947, when the king Mihai I was forced to abdicate.

The heart of Queen Maria of Romania has been buried near the castle.

The castle was turned into a museum in 1956.

Post-communist authorities have recognized the propriety rights of the Romanian Royal House over the castle of Bran, and have recently returned it to the inheritor of Princess Ileana, Dominic de Habsburg, who committed to keep the castle open to the public.

The castle is for sale for 60 mil. EUR, mortage accepted.

• Pros:castle, park, old village, landscape, Queens' heart
• Cons:chaotic kitsch bazaar at the entrance - don't waste money or time shopping around there
• In a nutshell:definitely worths visiting even if not Dracula's