Brasov via Prejmer Fortified Church & Bran (Dracula's) Castle

6/4/2022

Outside the next city, we visit a church fort and "Dracula's" castle.

The church, what this says below in short, is 200 years after the church's 1218 AD construction began, built by German knights, the locals feeling threatened by Ottoman Turk invaders formed a fort around the central church. When the bad guys would show up, they'd retreat to the "fort" that had everything they needed to withstand a short siege.

There are several examples of these church forts in the region - we chose one of the most preserved for a tour.
(the one below, at lowermost right)

Hard to fathom that all this structure is over 600 years old - a testament to why many Balkan roofs are still built this way into recent times.

There was no information, but we're guessing the furnishings aren't original, but in the style during use during the times of Turkish invasions. Guessing in that, furniture is portable and valuable, so the originals likely would have moved on with it after the fort went out of use, or simply wore out, or maybe even some it is dated to later into the 18th century, at the end of Turkish threats.

A view of the defensive wall interior, with archery ports, and many ports used to channel boiling water or whatnot onto attackers.

Old timbers still holding the structure together, and more views of the defensive positions.

A school room - believe it or not.

The 13th century church - with Tom and Beth, who we picked up in Brasov (they had arrived some nights earlier).

Like the Holiday Inn, except with bows and arrows at the ready. The lodgings had 270 rooms, and could contain all 1600 villagers.

Here's a look at the whole thing at once (we left our drone at home, ha, ha).

The entry gate (viewed from this inside) and a view of the defensive walls. You might wonder why attackers simply didn't fling heavy flaming cannon balls to break through the roof, but then I imagine the villagers were at the standby with buckets of water. I'm also thinking the attackers were bands of small raiding parties, easily defended against.

Onto Bran's Castle (imagined in later times to be the lair of Dracula).

Below the castle, we wade through trinket stands and small hordes of tourists.

Commonly known outside Transylvania as Dracula's Castle, it is promoted as the home of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Apparetnly, Stoker knew nothing about this castle, which has only minimal associations with Vlad the Impaler, warloard of Wallachia, the inspiration for Dracula. Stoker's Dracula's crumbling fictional castle also has no resemblance to Bran Castle.

"Dracula's" bed - hmmm, I thought he hung from some ceiling in the form of a bat, during daytime.

Part of the Irish Embassy Bram Stoker exhibition.

Here's a cool nook - I suppose a way to ward off the chill of a large stone castle.

A look into the courtyard, and also showing some of the picturesque setting of the wooded hills.

Construction of the castle began after 1377 AD. This view provides a view of why the castle is really here - a strategic position in a river gorge - 50 years later the Ottoman Turks came on the scene and the fort was put to really good use in defending the territory. Later, much later, the 1920's, royals took residence in the castle giving it the interior look of some of the rooms we visited.

Cool and cheesy touristy "art" installations within other rooms.

A touch of interior decorating and useful features from the royals.

With an additional small ticket purchase we even toured some galleries of medieval torture devices - as with the Dracula myth, unrelated to the the real history of the castle. But, there is a Vlad-like impaler device in the corner, raring and ready to go.