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On this last day, just after breakfast, we’ll
go Bran Castle because visiting Romania without
visiting Bran Castle is something quite uncommon, especially for
western visitors. There are many reasons for that, the most obvious
being the one that it is, maybe, the most advertised spot in Romania,
especially “thanks to” Bram Stoker and his novel, Dracula.
Although the castle has nothing to do with Vlad Tepes, it was called
Dracula Castle and all the subculture derived from the vampire tales
was soon “attached” to this castle.
Bran Castle was built in 1377 by the people of Brasov (yes, Saxons
again..) to protect the border with Wallachia from the Turks attacks.
The Hungarian King, Ludovic I of Anjou allowed the people of Brasov
to build this castle in order to protect the border with Wallachia
and the trade route linking Transylvania to Wallachia. In exchange
for building this castle, the people of Brasov got higher privileges
over the 13 villages in Tara Barsei, a decrease in royal taxes and
the promise that the Customs charges will decrease as well.
The castle was built on a cliff in the narrowest point of the valley,
the strategic position ensuring a good visibility over Tara Barsei
and the other peasant fortresses (very useful for smoke signals
in times of war). In 1382, when Ludovic I of Anjoux died, the castle
was finished, which means that the Saxons moved rather quickly.
The main reason is that the Turks were an increasing danger for
the area, as more and more states from the Balkan Peninsula fell
in the Turks’ hands. In 1920 the people of Brasov donated
the castle to Quenn Marie, who transformed it into the summer royal
residence. Although we won’t see the luxury we’ve seen
at Peles Castle, the rooms were decorated with exquisite decorations
and pieces of furniture. The royal architect, Karel Liman, who had
also worked at Peles Castle turning it into the magnificent royal
residence we can see today, got inspired from the Romantic style
in architecture, very popular throughout Europe at the beginning
of 20th century.
In the Weapons’ Hall are displayed guns specific to the 15
until 18 century: heavy siege guns, crossbows, Transylvanian shields,
swords, all being in close connection with the military role of
this castle. The Oriental Room, the Gothic Chapel, the Council Room,
are adorned with very old and precious pieces of furniture.
After visiting the castle we can as well visit the small village
museum in the park at the bottom of the castle and admire the local
craftsmen’s works : nice pottery, wood sculptures, masks,
whistles and many other things. Just outside the museum’s
gates a noisy jungle of kitsch-selling kiosks makes us hurry on
to the Rucar-Bran pass, one of the most beautiful
roads in whole Romania.
Tiny houses scattered over green plains with the impressive
Piatra Craiului mountain ridge in the background on the right and
the monumental Bucegi mountains on the left are part of a very picturesque
scenery. People living in this area are well known throughout Romania
as being very hardworking and equally tight-fisted. Their traditional
occupation ranges from sheep farming to weaving the sheep’s
wool and turning the sheep milk into delicious varieties of cheese.
Lately though, many of them took big advantage of the beauty of
the area and started to build villas and promote agro-tourism. Especially
in summertime but also during Christmas and New Year’s Eve,
lots of tourists, Romanians and foreigners as well, come to this
superb region in search for relaxation. Unfortunately for us, as
this is the last day of this tour, we head for Bucharest (230 km
from Bran) because we have a plane to catch!
Updated info regarding accomodation in rural Romanian pensions:
www.turistinfo.ro |
