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Bran Castle (Romanian: Castelul Bran; German: Schloss Bran or Die Törzburg; Hungarian: Törcsvári kastély) is a castle in Bran, 25 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Brașov.

The castle was built by Saxons in 1377 who were given the privilege by Louis I of Hungary. The fortress is on the Transylvanian side of the historical border with Wallachia, on road DN73. Marketed outside Romania as Dracula's Castle, it is presented as the home of the title character in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula (1897). There is no evidence that Stoker knew anything about this castle, which has only tangential associations with Vlad the Impaler, voivode of Wallachia, whose byname 'Drăculea' resembles that of Dracula. Stoker's description of Dracula's crumbling fictional castle also bears no resemblance to Bran Castle. The castle is now a museum dedicated to displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie. At the bottom of the hill is a small open-air museum exhibiting traditional Romanian peasant structures (cottages, barns, water-driven machinery, etc.) from the Bran region.

The first documented mention of Bran Castle is the act issued by Louis I of Hungary on 19 November 1377, giving the Saxons of Kronstadt (modern Brașov) the privilege to build the stone castle at their own expense and labour force; the settlement of Bran began to develop nearby. Although many castles of the time belonged to members of the nobility, it has been established that Bran Castle was built almost exclusively for fortification and protection of German colonists in Transylvania. At some point, Bran Castle belonged to the Hungarian kings, but due to the failure of King Vladislas II (r. In 1530, Moise of Wallachia, Voivode of Wallachia, sent an army to capture the castle, but the Székely soldiers led by the castle lord Dénes defended the building, thereby forcing the Wallachian army to retreat.

With the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, Hungary lost Transylvania, and the castle became a royal residence within the Kingdom of Romania after being given to the royal house by the Saxons of Kronstadt-Braşov, who had no more use for it and no interest in financing the time-damaged property. In 2005 the Romanian government passed a law allowing restitution claims on properties illegally expropriated, such as Bran, and thus a year later ownership of the castle was awarded to Archduke Dominic of Austria, a son of Princess Ileana. On 18 May 2009 administration of Bran Castle was transferred from the government to Archduke Dominic and his sisters, Archduchess Maria Magdalena (2 October 1939 – 18 August 2021) and Archduchess Elisabeth (15 January 1942 – 2 January 2019). On 1 June 2009, the Habsburgs opened the refurbished castle to the public as the first private museum in the country and presented a joint strategic concept in collaboration with Bran village to maintain their prominent role in the Romanian tourist circuit and to safeguard the economic base in the region. Though many myths have been connected to the castle in connection with the Dracula myth, most historians agree that Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, never lived in Castle Bran, which was neither a friendly place for him to visit nor under his rule.

Bran Castle is not mentioned in the novel Dracula, and there is no evidence that Stoker ever visited either Transylvania or Bran Castle. Furthermore, the novel's description of the castle does not match Bran Castle.

King's novel Castle Shade (2022), part of her series about Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell, is set in and near Bran Castle in 1925. In the documentary Romania: Seeking Dracula’s Castle (2020), this is the first castle that the presenters, Greg and Felicity, visit in order to contrast the ‘tourist’ view of Dracula with the actual history of Vlad the Impaler.

Quick Facts

• Bran Castle is not mentioned in the novel Dracula, and there is no evidence that Stoker ever visited either Transylvania or Bran Castle.
• Stoker's description of Dracula's crumbling fictional castle also bears no resemblance to Bran Castle.
• The castle was built by Saxons in 1377 who were given the privilege by Louis I of Hungary.
• King's novel Castle Shade (2022), part of her series about Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell, is set in and near Bran Castle in 1925.
• In the documentary Romania: Seeking Dracula’s Castle (2020), this is the first castle that the presenters, Greg and Felicity, visit in order to contrast the ‘tourist’ view of Dracula with the actual history of Vlad the Impaler.

Source material: Wikipedia - "Bran Castle". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.