Bran Castle (Romania)

In actuality, Dracula is widely believed to have been inspired by the dark personality of Prince Vlad Tepes. The Prince ruled Vallachia, part of what is now Romania, during the 15th century. Although never accused of sucking blood, he certainly had a dark reputation.

During his childhood he was held as a political hostage by the Ottoman Empire, and spent many of his early years in Istanbul prisons. Later in his life he became Prince of Vallachia with some support from Hungarian royalty. He then became well known for the harsh punishments he exacted upon Turkish troops: a common practice was to impale enemy soldiers and leave them to die slowly. This is how he got his other name “Vlad the Impaler.” Apparently Vlad saw the cruel punishments as revenge for the mistreatment he received from Turks in his childhood.

He also ruled Vallachia with an iron first. Apart from committing atrocities upon his rise to power, petty theft was also dealt with through ridiculously harsh punishments for criminals; it is said that during his reign nobody even dared to pick money up off the ground.

While the story of the Prince aids in explaining the origin of Dracula’s character, the connection with the castle is still unclear; this is because Vlad Tepes never actually lived at the Bran Castle.

Western tourists who came to Romania in search of Dracula named Bran Castle “Dracula’s Castle” about three decades ago. They were surprised by how the entrance of the Transylvanian mansion resembled the castle described by Stoker in his novel, and thus named gave it this name. With the passage of time, it became a common belief that Stoker’s novel had some real connection with the Castle, but in reality this was not the case.

These days, anyone journeying to Bran Castle with Stoker’s terrifying descriptions in mind will find that reality proves surprisingly different: the Castle itself is an old, benign, and beautiful example of medieval architecture. Tourists come only to find it nestled in a tranquil mountainous area with shepherds pasturing their herds, and wives weaving beautiful handmade textiles to adorn theirs homes.

The source is The Epoch Times – an international information project: http://www.theepochtimes.com

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