Travel with Tobey and Sue: June 10, 2026

After breakfast at the hotel we all got on the bus and headed to Bran, the location of the legendary home of Count Dracula, Bran Castle in Transylvania.

Rosnov Fortress is another 13th-century medieval citadel that we went by on our way.

Farm lands and sheep - and soon to be a solar farm

We arrived at Bran Village after a 45 minute bus ride. Bran Castle is built on the site of a Teutonic Knights stronghold dating from 1212. Transylvania's best-known castle was first documented in an act issued on November 19, 1377, granting the Saxons of Kronstadt (Brasov) the privilege to build a Citadel at the border between Transylvania (central Romania) and Walachia (southern Romania). Completed in 1388, Bran castle features 57 timbered rooms, some connected by secret passages, narrow winding stairways and a rich collection of furniture, weapons and armor dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries.

Vlad the Impaler, historically known as Vlad III, was a 15th-century ruler of Wallachia who earned his infamous moniker by ruthlessly executing his enemies to defend his territory against the Ottoman Empire. Despite its modern reputation as "Dracula's Castle," Vlad never actually lived in or ruled over Bran Castle. His only possible historical connection to the Transylvanian fortress is a debated theory that he may have been briefly imprisoned there for two months in 1462 by Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus. The enduring myth linking Vlad to the site is entirely a modern tourism invention, fueled by the castle's dramatic cliffside resemblance to the fictional vampire lair described in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. We enjoyed the tour anyway!!

Our group for the land tour only has 11 people which has made it much easier to get around! First views of the castle

These are the stairs to the entrance. The tour is a one-way tour through the castle.

Views of the courtyard

Tobey by the well in the courtyard

View of original wall

Cannon

Vlad III - Vlad the Impaler - Count Dracula

After our tour we headed back to Brasov and again went by many fields but liked the view of the mound behind the hills.

We had a brief stop at the hotel then had a walking tour of Old Town Brasov with our guide, Carmen, and her son, Tudor. She explained that the original name of the town was Corona which means crown. The coat of arms of the city is a crown. There were originally seven fortresses and the 30 towers. The city walls date to the early 1300s.

From the hotel we walked to the main square and then to the Black Church. In the main square most of the buildings were from the 1700s because earlier buildings were built from wood and were destroyed in a fire.

The most prominent, yellow building with a high tower, often called the Trumpeter’s Tower. Originally built in 1420 by the Furriers Guild, it served as the town hall, municipal court, and a watchtower. It is now the County of Brasov Museum of History.

Looking across the square

Located just south of the square, behind the red building, is the largest Gothic church in Romania, identifiable by its massive, dark stone walls. This is the Black Church.

We continued around the back side of the church to tour the inside. The Black Church is the largest Gothic architectural monument in Romania and a towering symbol of the city's medieval heritage. It was built by the local Saxon community between 1385 and 1477 - almost 100 years and originally served as a Catholic church dedicated to Saint Mary before transitioning to a Lutheran place of worship during the Reformation. Although popular legend claims its famous name stems from a devastating fire in 1689, modern research reveals the massive stone walls were actually blackened by 19th-century industrial pollution. The 1689 fire was a genuine disaster that destroyed the church's original roof and interior. Today, the church remains a celebrated cultural landmark renowned for its imposing architecture, its enormous 4,000-pipe mechanical organ, and one of the largest collections of historic Ottoman carpets in Europe.

The church is huge - it can accommodate up to 5000 people!

This was the original baptismal font which survived the fire.

This is an original painting that was restored after the fire. They left Mary's cloak the black color which was from smoke damage as a reminder of the fire.

It also has the largest collection of Oriental carpets outside Turkey.

This is where our walking tour ended. Tobey, Wendy, and I explored more of the Old Town on our own. We walked to the original walls of the city - only a few blocks away. There is a small, crystal-clear stream flowing along the wall.