Transylvania
Transylvania is the most famous part of Romania, thanks to the legend of Dracula, conjuring up images of haunted forests and werewolves, medieval towns, vampires, dramatic mountains and cliff-top castles.
The region has splendid mountain scenery and alpine peaks, some of the country's best hiking and skiing, rural villages and a way of life that remains almost as it was in the 18th century. Historic towns are scattered throughout the region, with their stone medieval streets, defensive towers and fortified churches.
The charming town of Sighisoara is the most striking introduction to Transylvania, the birthplace of Dracula (prince Vlad Tepes, who led the Romanian resistance against the Turks), along with the impressive castles and churches of Brasov and Sinaia, and the dramatic castle at Bran, also known as Dracula's Castle, that looks every bit a vampire's lair with its soaring turrets and dramatic setting.
Visitors to Transylvania will be enchanted by its medieval charm and the traditional hospitality of the people. Endearing images will linger, and memories of horse-drawn carts piled high with cabbages, driven by elderly couples with scarf-covered heads and rough hands; lively food markets, quaint cobbled streets, and hilly pastures nestled among the Carpathian Mountains will be the lasting impressions left by the charm of Transylvania.
Attractions
Bran Castle
The fortified medieval Bran Castle is often referred to as Dracula’s Castle, looking as a vampire count’s abode should look with a forbidding facade, towers and ramparts rising out of the forest, and perched high on a steep cliff face against a dramatic mountain background. However there is little evidence to suggest Vlad Tepes ever stayed there. Bran Castle was built in 1377 to protect nearby Brasov from invaders, and it later became the favourite summer residence of Queen Marie, offered to her by the people of Brasov who owned it. The rooms and towers surround an inner courtyard with a sculpted stone fountain. A warren of narrow, winding stairs, secret chambers and underground passageways lead between vaulted halls, a prison, watchtowers with sweeping views, and the living area. The rooms are decorated with a collection of Baroque furniture, elaborately carved four-poster beds, weapons and armour dating from the 14th to 19th centuries. On the grounds below is an open-air ethnographic Village Museum consisting of old local-style architecture with household objects, costumes and furniture on display. At the entrance to the castle grounds is a large handicraft market that aims to distract the bus loads of tourists.
For more information visit www.brancastlemuseum.ro.
Brasov
Nestled at the foot of Mount Tâmpa, Brasov is a charming medieval town, and along with Sighisoara is one of the seven fortified towns settled by the Saxons, with a distinct Germanic flavour to its architecture. The Saxons built massive stone walls and seven bastions around the city that are still visible today, as well as ornate churches, elaborately trimmed buildings and a fine central square lined with the red-roofed merchant's houses, now occupied by cafes and shops and in the centre is the 15th-century Old Town Hall that is home to the History Museum. The town's landmark is the impressive Gothic structure known as the Black Church, so named because its outer walls were blackened by a fire in 1689. The interior is beautiful, with balconies, stained glass windows, an enormous organ, stone columns and walls adorned with fabulous Turkish carpets. Many people use Brasov as a base for visiting the nearby attractions of Dracula's Castle at Bran, as well as Râsnov Castle and the ski resorts of Sinaia and Poiana Brasov.
For more information visit www.brasov.ro.
Peles Castle
Considered to be one of the most beautiful castles in Europe, Peles Castle was the summer residence for Romania’s kings. Built by King Carol I in 1883 the castle is a masterpiece of German-Renaissance architecture with an exquisite exterior, and is surrounded by fir forests and the towering peaks of the Carpathian range. Its 160 rooms are magnificent and lavishly decorated in ebony, mother of pearl, walnut and leather with crystal chandeliers, fine collections of sculptures, paintings and tapestries, stained glass windows and furniture. It is set within a large park with a statue garden in front. Further up the hill from the main palace is the smaller Pelisor Palace, built for Carol I’s son and decorated in the Art Nouveau style.
Sighisoara
Sighisoara is one of the seven fortified towns founded by the Saxons in the hills of Transylvania, and is a beautifully preserved medieval town that is renowned as the birthplace of Dracula, or Vlad The Impaler. The hilltop citadel dominates the town with the original medieval settlement enclosed within the fortress walls and surrounded by nine surviving towers. Within the old town, the narrow cobbled streets and steep alleyways, brightly-painted tiny lopsided houses, ancient churches, stone archways and covered stairways are overlooked by the striking Clock Tower, the control tower of the main gate with magnificent views over the whole town and countryside. At the foot of the Clock Tower is the simple yellow building where Vlad was born and lived with his father, Vlad Dracul, and is marked by a hanging wrought-iron dragon. It now houses a restaurant with medieval furnishings. The ancient cobblestone street that passes beneath the Clock Tower leads to the lower town with some interesting little shops where 'Vampire Wine' and locally made products can be bought.
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