With its name dating back to approximately the year 1745 and originating centuries earlier as All Hallows’ Eve — which is the day before All Hallows’ Day — Halloween is a holiday of sorts which conjures visions of witches, ghosts, vampires, pumpkins, and candy treats…
Sunday Morning Photograph October 31 2021: Bran Castle For Halloween.
…but other than the acting profession, Halloween gives people the chance to pretend they are people or other things which they are not in “real” life: space aliens, monsters, cartoon characters, doctors, sex symbols, ancient Egyptians, animals, celebrities, politicians, or original creations of their own minds.
Bran Castle in Transylvania
Halloween is celebrated today, Sunday, October 31, 2021 — although other celebrations have already occurred in the weeks up until today — and in tribute to this ghoulish day, this article features photographs which were first highlighted in this article of when I was in Transylvania in 2007.
Nestled in the Carpathian mountains high in the heart of Transylvania — which is a historical region that is located in the central part of Romania — lies the home of the most chilling tale of the nineteenth century. Most popularly known as Dracula’s Castle, the actual name of the place where the inspiration and legend of Dracula was created by Bram Stoker is Bran Castle.
“Bram Stoker’s character, Dracula, is a Transylvanian Count with a castle located high above a valley perched on a rock with a flowing river below in the Principality of Transylvania”, according to this article from the official Internet web site of Bran Castle. “This character is often confused with Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), sometimes known as Vlad Dracul, who was a Walachian Prince with a castle, now in ruins, located in the Principality of Wallachia. Because Bran Castle is the only castle in all of Transylvania that actually fits Bram Stoker’s description of Dracula’s Castle, it is known throughout the world as Dracula’s Castle. Chapter 2, May 5 of ‘Dracula’ describes the Count’s castle as ‘. . . on the very edge of a terrific precipice . . . with occasionally a deep rift where there is a chasm [with] silver threads where the rivers wind in deep gorges through the forests.’”
The office of the Hungarian King Louis the Great — Louis I of Anjou — issued a document on Thursday, November 19, 1377 which granted the privilege of building a castle to the people of Braşov.
Construction of Bran Castle — which was previously named “Dietrichstein” or “Törzburg” in German; “Törcsvár” in Hungarian; and “Turciu” in Romanian — was completed eleven years later in 1388 on a steep cliff between Măgura and Dealul Cetăţii; and the site provides stunning views of the nearby hills, Moeciu Valley, and Valea Bârsei.
In addition to providing fodder for the famous myth of Dracula, Bran Castle was also a medieval fortress and a residence for the royal family in Romania between 1920 and 1947.
You can read and learn more about the rich history of Bran Castle over approximately 800 years through this official timeline; but important to note is that Bram Stoker never visited the country of Romania — let alone Bran Castle — and therefore was never official part of the actual history of the castle.
The name Braşov — the city near which Bran Castle is located — means Crown City; and it is the seventh largest city in Romania. Before or after your visit to Bran Castle, consider visiting Braşov and enjoying what this city has to offer in addition to the views of the mountains. I also intend to feature additional photographs of Bran Castle in a future article, which will include its well-landscaped grounds.
Final Boarding Call
Bran Castle is located at the entrance to the Rucăr – Bran passage on the road connecting Braşov to Câmpulung, and surrounded by the towering peaks of the Bucegi Mountains and the Piatra Craiului Mountains. Bran Castle is fewer than 30 kilometers from Braşov via Romania national route 73, which leaves Braşov by its west end through the Bartolomeu district. The distance from Bucharest to Bran Castle is approximately 186 kilometers north northwest. Directions are given for arriving by automobile, train, bus, taxi cab, or airplane.
Bran Castle
Str. General Traian Mosoiu
nr. 24
507025 Bran, Romania
+4 0268 237-700 Telephone
+4 0268 237-702 Fax
office@bran-castle.com E-mail address
Operating Hours:
- Mondays: 12 Noon – 4:00 in the afternoon
- Tuesdays through Sundays: 9:00 in the morning – 4:00 in the afternoon
- Last Admission: 4:00 in the afternoon
Admission Prices:
- Adults: 45 Romanian Lei or 9€
- Senior citizens 65 years of age and older: 35 Romanian Lei or 7€ — official identification must be shown
- Students: 25 Romanian Lei or 5€ — official identification must be shown
- Children: 10 Romanian Lei or 2 € — official identification must be shown
- School groups greater than 20 people: 5 Romanian Lei or 1€
Free Access For:
- Disabled guests
- Institutionalized guests
- Children younger than seven years of age
As for the photographs with costumes, they were first highlighted in this article of when I was in Ybor City — which is located in Tampa in Florida — on Friday, November 6, 2015. Coincidentally, 2015 was the most recent year in which Halloween was on a Sunday…
…and additional photographs can be found in that article.
Please click here for a complete list of the Sunday Morning Photograph series of articles at The Gate.
All photographs ©2007 and ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
