The Old Court Museum was established in when an archaeological dig revealed the remains of the fortress, along with Dacian pottery and Roman coins, evidence of Bucharest's earliest inhabitants. The oldest document attesting to the city's origin under the name of Bucuresti was discovered here. It was issued on September 20, and signed by Prince Vlad Tepes. For two centuries, the church served as coronation ground for Romanian princes. Some of the original 16th century frescoes have been preserved.
In - more than one hundred years after the church was built - Romanian prince Vlad Tepes Vlad the Impaler added thick defending walls and a dungeon.
A plaque on the floor inside the church marks the grave with the presumed remains of the world-known count. The monastery is located on an island on lake Snagov, and can be accessed on a pedestrian bridge or by boat. Admission fee www. The Princely Court served as the capital of Walachia, where Vlad ruled. It was here that the Prince impaled a great many disloyal court members the boyars after inviting them to a celebratory feast.
Chindiei Watchtower now houses an exhibition illustrating Vlad's life. Reason: Bears roam in the area. Tentative re-opening: summer The regional council has approved plans to build a tram car cremaillere to facilitate acces to the fortress.
At the present time 1, steps must be climbed to reach the castle ruins, perched high above the surrounding area. Admission charge: The ruins of Poienari Fortress stand high on a cliff overlooking the Arges River, at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains.
Built at the beginning of the 13th century by the first Walachian rulers, the castle changed names and residents a few times over the decades; eventually, it was abandoned and left in ruins. Vlad recognized the potential of the location and upon taking over the throne, he ordered that the structure be repaired and consolidated, turning it into one of his main fortresses.
When the Turks attacked and captured the castle in , Vlad escaped via a secret passageway leading north through the mountains. Although the castle was used for many years after Vlad's death in , it was eventually abandoned again in the first half of the 16th century and left to the ravages of time and weather. In , a major landslide brought down a portion of the castle which crashed into the river far below. The castle underwent repairs and the remnants of its walls and towers stand to this day.
You will need stamina to climb the 1, steps to reach the castle ruins, perched high above the surrounding area like an eagle's nest. Next visit Arefu, where many of the villagers trace their ancestry back to the loyal minions of Vlad Tepes himself in the movies, these are the ones who are always busy loading up Dracula's coffins with Transylvanian earth.
Legend has it that when the Turks attacked and took over the Poenari Castle in , it was the villagers of Arefu who helped Vlad escape. Spend the night with the locals camping around a fire and listening to centuries-old folk tales. Fringed by the peaks of the Southern Carpathian Mountains and resplendent with gothic, baroque and renaissance architecture, as well as a wealth of historical attractions, Brasov is one of the most visited places in Romania.
Founded by Transylvanian Saxons during the 12th century, Sighisoara still stands as one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval towns in Europe. Designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, this perfectly intact 16th century gem with nine towers, cobbled streets, burgher houses and ornate churches rivals the historic streets of Old Prague or Vienna for atmospheric magic. It is the birthplace of Vlad Tepes Vlad the Impaler , ruler of the province of Walachia from to find out more about Sighisoara.
Address: Str. Cositorarilor 5 Tel: This ocher-colored house is the place where Vlad Tepes, the inspiration for Bram Stoker's famous Dracula, was born in and lived with his father, Vlad Dracul read more about the story of the Dracul name , until when they moved to Targoviste. A wrought-iron dragon hangs above the entrance.
The ground floor of the house serves as a restaurant, while the first floor is home to the Museum of Weapons. Located at the foot of the Bargau Mountains, not far from the Borgo Pass Pasul Tihuta in Romanian which connects the provinces of Transylvania and Moldavia, the town of Bistrita is one of the oldest in the region.
Archeological findings indicate that the area has been inhabited since the Neolithic age, long before Bram Stocker chose it as the setting of his fictional Dracula's castle. Saxon colonists, who settled here in , helped develop the town into a flourishing medieval trading post. First mentioned in as Villa Bistiche, the name was later changed to Civitas Bysterce.
Today, the old town's quaint 15th and 16th century merchants' houses, the remains of the 13th century fortress walls and a generally unhurried pace have preserved some of Bistrita's medieval atmosphere. Borgo Pass Bargau in Romanian , made famous in the opening chapter of Bram Stoker's Dracula, is an oft-trod passageway through the Carpathian Mountains in northern Transylvania. Located near the small township of Tihuta, the pass peaks at 3, feet.
The Bargau Valley encompasses some of the most beautiful unspoiled mountain scenery in the Carpathians with picturesque traditional villages located in valleys and on hillsides, ideal bases for hiking, riding or discovering their vivid tapestry of old customs, handicrafts and folklore. Here, you will step into a realm that the fictional Mina Harker described in her diary as "a lovely county; full of beauties of all imaginable kinds, and the people are brave, and strong, and simple, and seem full of nice qualities.
Vlad Tepes was born in in the fortress city of Sighisoara. Vlad was charged with leading a force to defend Wallachia from an invasion. His battle to protect his homeland was victorious: Legend holds that he personally beheaded his opponent, Vladislav II, in one-on-one combat. Though he was now ruler of the principality of Wallachia, his lands were in a ruinous state due to constant warfare and the internal strife caused by feuding boyars.
To consolidate power, Vlad invited hundreds of them to a banquet. Knowing his authority would be challenged, he had his guests stabbed and their still-twitching bodies impaled. What is impaling? Impaling is a particularly gruesome form of torture and death : A wood or metal pole is inserted through the body either front to back, or vertically, through the rectum or vagina. The exit wound could be near the victim's neck, shoulders or mouth. In some cases, the pole was rounded, not sharp, to avoid damaging internal organs and thereby prolong the suffering of the victim.
The pole was then raised vertically to display the victim's torment — it could take hours or days for the impaled person to die. Though Vlad is widely credited with bringing order and stability to Wallachia, his rule was undisputedly vicious: Dozens of Saxon merchants in Kronstadt, who were once allied with the boyars, were also impaled in The Ottoman Turks were never far from Vlad's thoughts — or his borders.
When diplomatic envoys had an audience with Vlad in , the diplomats declined to remove their hats, citing a religious custom. Commending them on their religious devotion, Vlad ensured that their hats would forever remain on their heads by having the hats nailed to the diplomats' skulls. During one of his many successful campaigns against the Ottomans, Vlad wrote to a military ally in , "I have killed peasants, men and women, old and young, who lived at Oblucitza and Novoselo, where the Danube flows into the sea … We killed 23, Turks, without counting those whom we burned in homes or the Turks whose heads were cut by our soldiers Dracula lived in a time of constant war.
Transylvania was at the frontier of two great empires: the Ottoman Turks and the Austrian Hapsburgs. Treachery, vindictiveness, and revenge ruled the day, as young Dracula soon discovered. Dracula was imprisoned, first by the Turks, who hauled him away in chains, and later by the Hungarians.
Dracula's father was murdered, while his older brother, Mircea, was blinded with red-hot iron stakes and buried alive. From until his death in , Dracula ruled Walachia and Transylvania, both part of Romania today. Twice he lost and reclaimed his throne, once by fighting his own brother, Radu. Although the Vatican once praised him for defending Christianity, it disapproved of his methods, which soon became infamous.
Dracula earned another nickname, "Vlad Tepes" pronounced tsep-pesh , which means "Vlad the Impaler. As a warning to others, the bodies would remain on rods as vultures and blackbirds nibbled the rotting flesh.
During one battle, Dracula retreated into nearby mountains, impaling people as he went. The Turkish advance was halted because the sultan could not bear the stench from the decaying corpses. Another time, Dracula was reported to have eaten a meal on a table set up outside amidst hundreds of impaled victims. On occasion he was also reported to have eaten bread dipped in blood. At that time it was believed that religious charity, and a proper burial, would erase sin and allow entry to heaven.
Dracula surrounded himself with priests and monks and founded five monasteries.
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