Bran Castle
Transylvania 2012
On my first visit to Romania, in 1974, we were told that Dracula had lived in this castle. We were shown “the well where he threw the headless bodies of his enemies, the carpet which hid a trap door below which were upward pointed spears and which could be opened by a secret trigger. Of course, this was Dracula’s favorite trick to play on his guests” . None of this was true but the fanciful stories seared the memory of the castle rooms in our minds.
Actually built as a fortress by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th century, the castle has been enlarged and remodeled over the years. After Transylvania became part of Romania, post WWI, the castle was given to Queen Maria of Romania. The Queen remodeled it yet again and the castle was used as a residence of the Royal family. The communists forced the Royal family to leave and the castle became a museum until communism fell and once again the castle became the property of Romanian Royalty.
It isn’t easy to find a good viewpoint of the castle. I like this view…is it facing west?? the other side has wide, blank walls and isn’t as interesting architecturally. Look at Flickr and 500Px to find good images and go from there to get your unique viewpoint.