Bran

I know, I know...the name of the castle drenched in dripping blood is way too melodramatic, particularly since this is not really Count Dracula's main castle in Romania...but I just couldn't resist! The nonagenerian owner of Auchans Castle [which see in Scotland] is reputed to have trained rats to dine with her in her senescent state - and Martin Coventry in the 3rd Edition of "The Castles of Scotland" identifes fully 222 of more than 2,700 castles as having ghosts or bogles - and there were certainly a few famous beheadings in the Tower of London [which see in England], but occupancy by the villainous Vlad the Impaler is very difficult to ignore! Bran Castle is built into and atop a huge 200 foot rocky crag at the narrowest spot in the Turcu River valley to guard Bran Pass from Transylvania into Wallachia. The first known castle on the site was a wooden structure built by the Teutonic knights about 1212. It became the property of the Saxons later in the century, as part of the protection for the nearby city of Brasov. It was destroyed during a Turkish invasion of 1370.

Ludovic I d'Anjou, King of Hungary, soon gave the citizens of Brasov permission to rebuild the castle (at their own expense, of course) and in 1377 construction began on the stone castle. Bran became the possession of Prince Mircea cel Batran, King of Wallachia, in 1395. The castle passed back to the King of Hungary, János Hunyadi [Iancu de Hunedoara], early in the 15th century, but he was the patron and benefactor of Prince Mircea's son, Vlad Dracul, Knight of the Order of the Dragon, and his grandson, also named Vlad, born in 1431. Young Vlad Dracul is presumed to have spent time at Bran off and on during his life. Vlad was commissioned to control the local Saxon peoples and later to be an enthusiastic protector against further Ottoman Turkish invasions. His vigor against the Turks is remembered fondly, but his viciousness towards his foes earned him the name Vlad Tepes [Vlad the Impaler]. His notoriety was such that he became the main character in Irish author Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in 1897.

Count Dracula's vigorous rebuffs of the Turks, in his role as Prince of Wallachia, proved to be for naught. From the mid-sixteenth century until early in the nineteenth the Ottoman Empire ruled much of southeastern Europe, including Transylvania and Wallachia in Romania. While I can find nothing about the castle during that 250 plus years, the castle was in good enough shape when recaptured by the Austro-Hungarian Empire with the fall of the Ottoman Turks that it is listed as an important Austrian border castle in 1836! In 1920 the Brasov Town Council donated Bran Castle to Queen Maria of Romania, grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. Sadly she despised her husband by state-arranged marriage, King Ferdinand, but loved Bran's beauty...and isolation. Maria and her court architect Carl Liman made many of the subtle Italian and German Baroque changes to the castle that are so impressive today. The castle has been a very popular museum and monument since 1947.


The courtyard looking south toward the entrance tower/stairs.	The courtyard looking north with the well.	The cell where Vlad Tepes may have been imprisoned briefly.	And the famous Vlad Dracul himself [AKA Count Dracula.]

Construction of the Lego Model Begun July 11, 2005

The view from the southeast on July 14 features the path leading to the entrance steps.	The northeast view shows the base of the massive rock into which Bran was built more than 625 years ago.	The unique staircase to the entrance is now complete on July 20...	And the "rock" begins to take shape.

By July 29 the entrance stair looks all the more forbidding.	The mountainous rock continues to rise higher and higher...	and you can begin to recognize the massive western tower.	The courtyard of the castle is also beginning to take shape.

Photos of the Lego Model Built July-August, 2005

The south view shows the entrance to the imposing castle.	The famous southwest elevation should take your breath away. What an incredible fortress!	The northwest view of the model accentuates the large oval tower and the huge rock upon which the castle rests.	The northeast elevation displays the rock to its fullest. plus the unique keep & residential range.

The southeast view of the castle highlights the unusual stait tower as well as the entrance.	The narrow courtyard, viewed from the north highlights the security of this unique castle.	This southwest courtyard view continues the line of the circumferencal walkway around the courtyard.	I added this rooftop view just to emphasize the wonderful chimneys that enhance this castle.

The Board of Directors of the Millikin-Decatur Symphony Orchestra Guild was kind enough to ask me to show a castle at the "Symphony of Trees" fundraiser. Bran Castle was carefully driven to the Decatur Civic Center for the event. Here is the newspaper coverage:


Ground Floor Plan	1st Floor Plan	2nd Floor Plan	3rd Floor Plan	4th Floor Plan


Southeast Elevation	Southwest Elevation	Northwest Elevation	Northeast Elevation

Dateline January 11, 2007: Bran Castle for sale for just $78 million!


Cross-section through the north-south axis	Cross-section through the east-west axis

Build Your Own

Lego Plan	Roof Plan