Castles and Fortresses
Romania is filled with magnificent castles and fortresses grandiose witnesses of medieval times. Follow the footsteps of kings and knights or vampires and let history and legends come alive.
Corvinilor Castle
During the 14th and 15th centuries, Hunedoara was one of the main iron extraction and processing centers in Transylvania. Swords and spears manufactured here during this period were renowned across Europe.
Location:Hunedoara – Central Romania
Nearest train station: HunedoaraAddress: Str. Castelului 1 - 3
Opening Hours & Admission charge: www.castelulcorvinilor.ro
The greatest Gothic-style castle in Romania, Corvinilor was built by the Anjou family on the site of a former Roman camp. The castle served as a fortress until the mid-14th century when it became the residence of Transylvania's ruler, Iancu de Hunedoara. Iancu upgraded the fortress transforming it into the most stunning castle in Transylvania.
The beautifully preserved structure features a sumptuous Knights' Hall, an impressive drawbridge, high buttresses, inner courtyards, a chapel and some 50 rooms resplendent with medieval art. The courtyard features a 100 ft. well dug into stone.
On the coat of arm of the Corvin family is carved a raven with a golden ring in its beak. This family symbol has a legend. It is said that Ioan of Hunedoara was the illegitimate son of king Sigismund of Luxemburg of Hungary and his mother was Elisabeta, a very beautiful woman from the Haþeg region. In order not to dishonor her, the king married Elisabeta to one of his knights, Voicu. Sigismund also gave her a ring, as a gift for the unborn child, which will help him to be recognized when he will go to the royal court. During a trip of the family, when they halted for lunch, the ring was forgotten on a side of the towel were the food was placed. A raven, attracted by the shining of the ring stole it. Ioan of Hunedoara takes a bow, strokes the raven down and gets his ring back. When Ioan grew up and got to the royal court tells this story and the king, impressed by it, decides that the family’s symbol shall be the raven with a golden ring in its beak.
Moreover, the Corvins’ Family name comes from the Latin word “Corvus” which means “Raven”.
Peles Castle
Location: Sinaia – Southern Romania
Nearby large towns: Brasov (40 miles north), Bucuresti (80 miles south)
Nearby main attractions: Bran (Dracula's) castle (30 miles north-west), Brasov (40 miles north)
Nearest train station: Sinaia
If you are passionate about history and you are pondering a trip to Eastern Europe, might we suggest the splendid Peles Castle in Romania?
It represents one of the most beautiful and impressive castles in the world, flaunting an exceptional blend of Gothic Revival and Neo-Renaissance architectural elements.
The Peles Castle can be found deep in the heart of the Carpathian Mountains, in close proximity to the town and mountain resort of Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania. The site on which the castle can be found today was purchased by King Carol I of Romania in 1872 and named the “Royal Estate of Sinaia”. Falling in love with the sheer beauty of the place, the King commissioned the building of a royal hunting reserve and summer residence on the property, and so the foundation of the Peles Castle was laid on August 22, 1873. The building was complete and the castle was opened 10 years later in 1883, but many major improvements were still added to the building all the way until 1914.
Its 160 rooms are adorned with the finest examples of European art, Murano crystal chandeliers, German stained-glass windows and Cordoba leather-covered walls. By 1947, it became royal court for official visits or military ceremonies.
King Ferdinand, who succeeded Carol I, commissioned the smaller, art nouveau-style Pelisor Castle nearby. Pelisor's 70 rooms feature a unique collection of turn-of-the century Viennese furniture and Tiffany and Lalique glassware.
The most important event hosted by the Peleş Castle until the abdication of King Michael I, in December 1947, was the celebration of the semi-centenary of the castle in 1933. From January to March 1948, the castle was closed by the order of the communist authorities and the heritage assets were inventoried.
Since 1953, the castle has been a National Museum, open to the public, but two decades later, in 1975, the more critical conservation status of the property led to its closure and to the evacuation of a large part of the patrimony in storehouses arranged in Bibescu’s old family mansion of Posada, a place located about 20 km south of Sinaia.
From 1990, respectively 1993 until today, the Peleş and Pelişor castles have been reopened to visit.
Attractions include a generous collection of paintings and a vast assortment of weapons and armor that boasts over 4,000 pieces. The castle can be visited by tourists under the supervision of a professional tour guide. There is an entrance fee as well as an extra fee for those that wish to photograph the splendid building and its interior treasures. The most important rooms in the Peles Castle are called the Grand Armory, the Imperial Suite, the Honor Hall, the Playhouse, the Moorish Saloon, the Turkish Parlor, the Small Armory and the Florentine Room.
There are three different tours available, the first one including just the ground floor of the palace, while the second involves the first floor as well. The third tour offers complete access and includes the visiting of the second floor as well.
Given its rich historical heritage and wide array of sublime attractions, the beautiful Peles Castle in Romania surely deserves a personal visit at least once in a lifetime.
Bran Castle
We invite you to experience the history, the myth, the intrigue and the magic of this wonderful place and hope that you will carry the spirit that makes us love the Bran Castle with you, always.
Location: Transylvania – Central Romania
Nearby large town: Brasov (16 miles northeast)
Nearest train station: Brasov
Address: Str. Traian Mosoiu 24, Bran
Opening Hours & Admission charge: www.bran-castle.com
Surrounded by an aura of mystery and legend and perched high atop a 200-foot-high rock, Bran Castle owes its fame to its imposing towers and turrets as well as to the myth created around Bram Stocker's Dracula. It is said the castle belonged to Count Dracula (Vlad Tepes), but nobody has any proof.
The first documentary attestation of Bran Castle is the letter written in 1377 by the Hungarian Ludovic I D'Anjou, giving the inhabitants of Brasov some privileges.
Although Stoker never visited Transylvania, the Irish author relied on research and his vivid imagination to create the dark and intimidating stomping ground of Count Dracula, leading to persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad Tepes, ruler of Walachia. Vlad Tepes lived only for a short time in the castle and only as a guest. What is really true is that Bran Castle conjures up the perfect Gothic fairy-tale image of a Transylvanian castle and as a result draws crowds of tourists from far and wide.
Stoker's story is based on the life of Vlad Tepes/Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476), a ruler revered by Romanians for standing up to the Ottoman Empire. Known as one of the most dreadful enemies of the Turks, Vlad started organizing the state and enforcing the law by applying death penalty and impaling all those he considered enemies: robbers, cunning priests, treacherous noblemen, beggars, usurper Saxons. In fact he fought against everybody who tried to replace him either by his step brother Vlad the Monk or by his cousin Dan the Young. The historians nicknamed him Vlad Tepes while people say he was Count Dracula because he used to sign with his father's name, Dracul "The Devil". Dracula is derived from the Romanian word for devil or dragon.
This word alone carries with it magic and mystery.
His castle is supposed to be Bran's Castle since its narrow corridors constitute a mysterious labyrinth of ghostly nooks and secret chambers easy to hide a "vampire".
While the association with Dracula is sketchy at best, the castle continues to hold a strong attraction for all fans of the Count.
From 1920 to 1957 Bran served as royal residence, a gift of the people of Brasov to Queen Marie of Romania.
The castle is now a museum open to tourists, displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie.
Narrow winding stairways lead through some 60 timbered rooms, many connected by underground passages, which house collections of furniture, weapons and armor dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. The castle overlooks the picturesque village of Bran, which offers an open-air Ethnographic Museum consisting of old local-style village houses complete with furniture, household objects and costumes.
Rasnov Fortress
Location: Transylvania – Central Romania
Nearby large towns: Brasov (9 miles northeast)
Nearest train station: Brasov
Rasnov Fortress (Romanian: Cetatea Râșnov, German: Rosenauer Burg) is a historic monument and landmark in Romania, situated in Râşnov, Brașov County, in the immediate vicinity of Brașov. Located on a rocky hilltop in the Carpathian Mountains, 650 ft. above the town of Rasnov, the fortress was built as part of a defence system for the Transylvanian villages exposed to outside invasions. First mentioned in an official document in 1331, the fortress was built by Teutonic Knights as protection against invading Tartars and was later enlarged by the local Saxon population. Strategically located on the commercial route linking the provinces of Transylvania and Walachia, Rasnov differs from other Saxon fortresses in that it was designed as a place of refuge over extended periods of time. A decisive aspect for building the citadel on the actual location was the route of the invading armies which were coming from the Bran pass and were passing through Râșnov, on their way to Burzenland. The only chance of survival for the inhabitants of the area, inclusively from Cristian and Ghimbav, was the refuge inside the fortress. Compelled to stay there for decades, the people of Râșnov and the nearby villages turned the fortification into a dwelling. As such, it had at least 30 houses, a school, a chapel and other buildings more commonly associated with a village. The defensive system included nine towers, two bastions and a drawbridge. Surrounded by 500-foot-slopes on the north, south and west sides, the fortress was obliged to surrender only once, in the year 1612 when invaders managed to find the secret route that supplied the people inside the fortress with water. With the location of their water supply no longer a secret, the need for a well inside the fortress became a must.
Work on the 470-foot-deep well began in 1623 and took 17 years to complete. The well provided extra security as it meant the people didn't have to go outside the gates at all during a siege. It was used until 1850 when a broken wheel in the well windlass caused its abandonment.
According to local legend, two Turkish prisoners were put to the task of digging a well through solid rock in the center of the fortress. They were promised their freedom once the well was finished. The captives dug for 17 years, during which time they wrote verses from Quran on the well walls which can be seen even today. The fate of the prisoners isn't known, with some saying that they were released, and others that they were killed.
The last siege of Rasnov Fortress took place in 1690 during the final Ottoman invasion of Transylvania. Damaged by fire in 1718, it was rebuilt the following year. The next major damage occurred as the result of an earthquake in 1802. The fortress was last used as a place of refuge during the revolution of 1848 and was abandoned after that.
Recently, the old fortress has been restored to its former glory and today, you can visit the impressive remains. There is also a museum here, hidden behind the ancient walls, where you can find a skeleton buried beneath a glass floor, as well as some other interesting artifacts.
The inner rooms are maze-like, with several wooden ladders linking them and a few so-called secret passages which should keep you busy for quite a while.
The views from the top of the fortress over the plains and mountains are magnificent, and a lack of tourists makes the place feel much more authentic than Bran Castle. To reach the fortress, climb up the steps from the square immediately below, or be lazy and drive up the road towards Poiana Brasov, and turn left at the Cetate sign.