BRAN CASTLE
The Small town of Bran is probably the most popular tourist site in Romania. Situated only 28 km southwest of Brasov, the town commands the entrance to the pass of the same name, formerly the main route into Wallachia. The Saxons of Kronstadt (Brasov) built a castle here in 1377-82 to safeguard this vital trade artery, and although what’s now billed on every tourist brochure as “Dracula Castle” has only tenuous associations with Vlad the Impaler- it’s likely he attacked in 1460 during one of his raids on the Burzen Land-, the fib is understandable as Bran does look rather like a vampire count’s residence. Perched on a rocky bluff, it rises in tiers of towers and ramparts from the woods, against a glorious mountain backdrop, living up to the Gothic fairy-tale image that Stoker’s book evokes.