Read my Natural Wonders of Romania post to explore the country’s equally magical landscape

|Transylvania’s Castles

|Bran Castle

Recently having read Dracula for the first time, I’m very excited to tell you about the castle that inspired the lair of the world-famous vampire! Funnily enough, author Bram (which coincidently sounds like Bran) Stoker never visited Romania and died before his book ever gained popularity! All he had to go on was an illustration, from which he created an eerily accurate description. Though Stoker’s Dracula was released on to the world over a century ago, it wasn’t until the 1960s, during Romania’s communist days, that the legend of Dracula was used as a marketing tool to attract visitors. It seems Romania’s tourism office hasn’t been able to help itself ever since – it’s not just stalls selling Dracula’s ‘wine’ or fanged stein glasses, but also annual Halloween parties held in Bran Castle.

Despite Bran Castle specifically being chosen for its ability to reanimate the terrifying legends surrounding Dracula and its magnetic pull, the interior of the castle is cosy, even cute! It was this pretty aesthetic which attracted one of Queen Victoria’s more eccentric granddaughters, Queen Marie of Romania, who lived here. One step inside the fortified walls and the suspense of entering Dracula’s lair flakes away in to surprise at how charming it is. (Sorry to disappoint gothic horror fans!) The courtyard, in particular, would look at home in Colmar (France) with baskets of geraniums hanging from the walkways. So where is this gothic atmosphere that the castle was originally selected for?

Wait for winter is my advice. Winter can make the prettiest of scenes eerie, especially in a castle as high up as this. The hills surrounding the castle are smothered in thick white snow, the wind howling at the windows, making even the heavy castle doors rattle on their hinges. This is when the castle takes on a new life and suddenly you find yourself shying away from the freezing courtyard, instead following narrow staircases deeper into the castle to rooms displaying artefacts from Vlad the Impaler. Down the corridor is another room, showcasing the legend of the infamous Count, that almost convinces you there is more to this than myths are letting on. By the time you reach the torture cells, you can’t imagine any queen ever having lived here, other than the bride of Dracula. Locked doorways outnumber the visitors, who are reminded of this also being Jonathon Harker’s first observation when exploring Dracula’s castle. The legend has never felt more alive!

|Corvin Castle

Though Corvin Castle isn’t as strongly associated with Dracula as Bran Castle, for me it’s far scarier. The long thin bridge leading to the impenetrable gate tower is very intimidating. The dramatic effect of the gothic castle is largely due to the restoration in the 1700s in which the craftsmen were told to make it as fairytale as possible, almost theatrical. This has certainly played a part in its role now, as although it’s a museum, the castle hosts elaborate functions for select parties. Imagine being able to walk around the castle with a glass of champagne in one hand as you float amongst the guests!

However, like eveything in Transylvannia, there is a dark mystery hanging over the castle. Within the castle walls is a 100ft deep stone well which was dug by a trio of prisoners who after reaching the water were locked in to die. They weren’t the only prisoners to be kept at Corvin. There are stories of Dracula being locked in the castle’s dungeons for seven years and many claim this is what made him insane.

|Peles Palace

Peles was built very recently compared to Romania’s more famous castles of Bran and Corvin, but it’s certainly more lavish than all of them combined! The 160 roomed palace was built as a summer residence for the King and his family who expected the very best. When I say best, I mean elaborate crystal chandeliers made on the Venetian island of Murano, stained-glass windows crafted in Germany and even leather-clad walls imported from Cordoba in Spain! Who knew leather walls were a thing?! The glass roof above the foyer can even be remotely opened! But the spending didn’t stop there. The castle was the first in the entire continent to have electricity and even went to the trouble of having its personal power plant! If you want to see extravagance verging on insanity, look no further than Peles Castle.

(When the next King took the throne he decided to build a palace a third of the size further down the valley rather than live in Peles!)

|Fortified Towns

In the 12th century, the Hungarian King invited Germans to establish colonies in Transylvania in exchange for defending the Eastern border of his kingdom. The Transylvanian Germans as they became known, began to fortify each town they colonised, permanently changing the culture and landscape of Transylvania. Approximately 150 of the 300 fortifications have survived, but only 7 of them have achieved UNESCO heritage status. The three most beautiful are Sighisoara Citadel, Biertan Fortified Church and Prejmer Fortified Church. You can easily believe you’ve stepped into the pages of a fairy tale.

These villages could easily be mistaken for being in France or even Germany. That’s one of the things I love about Eastern Europe, that there are these incredible gems, so similar to the ones we already know and love, yet so few people have heard of them! In other words, get there before the crowds catch on!

|Sighisoara Citadel

This fairytale UNESCO site is currently the only inhabited medieval fortress in South-East Europe. It wouldn’t look out of place next to popular towns in Central Europe, such as Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber, or the villages surrounding Strasbourg or Colmar.

The cobbled streets duck under archways connecting colourful pastel cottages leading to the town square, where every July a very convincing medieval festival is held. The town is truly beautiful and a source of pride in Romania (to those who know it exists) and I am honestly envious. Though a lot of places in Romania claim to be related to Dracula or Vlad the Impaler, Sighisoara is the only one claiming to be the birthplace of the Dragon King. The house is now a museum in the town square and second only to the museum clock tower which every visitor should climb.

|Biertan Fortified Church

The fortified church is the crown of the village on a high hill encircled by vineyards, forests and fields. To reach the church you must climb a covered 100 metre long staircase. At the last step you are faced with a large boulder, originally used to punish naughty villagers. The guilty person would have to sit on the rock all day, so all the villagers could see them and punish them as they felt necessary. The Biertan Fortified Church has the strongest fortifications of all the walled churches. You would have had a hard time getting over the 3 walls, evading the guards in the 6 towers and mounting the 3 bastions! As if that wasn’t enough, the beautiful painted door to the vestry (which was presented at the 1889 World Fair in Paris) has a beautiful lock which intricately connects 15 different catches.

“God’s Castle” by Collin Key is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Within the walls, you can also find the matrimonial prison. It’s hard to believe, but this prison was built for couples who wanted a divorce. They would be locked up for 2 weeks, only able to use single items between them – one piece of cutlery, one plate, one bed. The idea was to make them communicate and spend time together, the last thing they wanted. Haha! Of all the couples locked up over the 400 years the prison was used, only one couple went through with the divorce. Must have been a bad 2 weeks!

Despite the impressive defences, the entire valley has a very peaceful atmosphere and easily transports you to another time, hidden away in the valley. For the photographers among you, I highly recommend climbing up the surrounding hills to get a panorama of the village.

|Prejmer Fortified Church

Many of the fortified churches and villages were hardly ever attacked, but poor Prejmer was repeatedly! The villagers hiding behind the church walls survived all but one of the 5 sieges laid against the church! Prejmer was built far stronger than the other fortifications as it was the most eastern of the German colonies and the front line of defence. In fact, the village was so well prepared for attacks, that there were 300 permanent rooms for its residents within the church walls, all connected by wooden ladders. The communal living centred around a circular courtyard, which really reminds me of the amazing Fujian Tulou walled houses in China (Blog Post Coming Soon!).

Surprisingly, you are allowed to walk the walls and explore the rooms, some of which are set up as they would of been when one of the families was hiding here.

File:Tudor Buildings, Prejmer by Antony Stanley is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

|Mountain Villages

|Rimetea

Enjoying a magnificent location in the Trascau Mountains, surrounded by peaks over 1,000 meters that create the illusion of the sun rising twice in a day. Rimetea is a small village of 300 houses, all white with green shutters. The perfect place to relax and forget about the bigger world beyond the mountains. Go for a gentle hike up to the top in an hour and have a picnic overlooking the valley.

Tip: Try and get a photo of the village church with the mountains in the background for a stunning shot

|Busteni

You wouldn’t guess it from the main road, but lurking in Bușteni are some beautiful buildings! Number one is definitely Cantacuzino Castle, though it looks far more like a large villa. The balcony cafe is the best place to sit and gaze up at the mountains towering above and appreciate their majesty without having to actually climb them. Spend a bit more time at the castle and you will find the locals’ favourite swing hiding between two ancient trees. Personally, I don’t think it gets better than a swing with an amazing view. There is also a small waterfall hiding in the grounds, but all of this should be saved for the end of the tour, once you have seen the enormous frescoes inside. If you have time to spare, consider dropping into the Caraiman Monastery.

Despite being known for its hiking opportunities, I hope this shows that Busteni is not just a cable car stop and that the mountains are just as beautifully jaw-dropping from the valley floor!

Read my Wild Wonders of Romania post to see what you can find at the top of the mountain

|Fairytale Land of Maramures

|Merry Cemetery

Unlike the gravestones I’m used to, which usually just say the name and dates of a person’s life, like the most detached diary entry ever, the paintings on the crosses in Săpânța tell the story of the people buried there. I really like this idea and find it far more poetic and peaceful. But it’s not just the lovely tales, it’s everything that made them, dirty, funny and tragic stories alike.

Since the first cross was painted 100 years ago, Dumitru Pop has taken over from his predecessor and now cuts, carves and paints each cross by hand. Sâpânta is a small town, so when someone dies the family come to Pop and he collects the oak from his garden and starts creating a very personal cross.

In an interview for Romanian Tourism Pop said: “It’s the real life of a person. If he likes to drink, you say that; if he likes to work, you say that … there’s no hiding in a small town,” He testifies to never having received even one complaint from family members. Pop says this is because “The families actually want the true life of the person to be represented on the cross.”

Pop doesn’t just use images, he also uses personalised poems written in the first person as though the dead were telling their own story. One of the poems belongs to the man who started the cemetery (Pop’s predecessor) whose cross tells of a man who never wanted to be alone, even in death he wanted his resting place to have lots of visitors. The popularity of the cemetery is proof of his success.

|Bârsana Monastery & Churches

Romania is the only country I have ever heard of moving their churches around! It’s been done in Bucharest but it’s also been done in the country too. The first time Barsana church moved was to protect it from being burnt by invaders, by moving it closer to the village. It was moved once again to a hill where the victims of a plague were buried, to bring them the peace their tragic deaths had prevented.

The site of Barsana Monastery has become a little village of sorts. It includes: the New Church of the Monastery, The Summer Altar, Aghiasmatarul, the priory, the nuns’ house, The Confessor’s House, the belfry and the museum.

Whilst it’s the church’s spire that is the record-breaker at 57 meters high, it’s the verandas of the Nuns’ House that really catch photographers’ eyes. The verandas are adorned with hanging baskets of brightly coloured flowers in every available archway. It almost looks like a picturesque Alpine chalet mansion.

Tip: If you love these kind of timber churches I really recommend touring the other wooden churches in Maramures, especially Surdesti.

|Fairytale Cities

|Brasov

Being one of the 7 fortified German towns of Romania, Brasov’s old town can look surprisingly German. Brasov is a great city break if you need some time to recuperate after hiking your way around the rest of the country. If you want to keep your hard earned muscles, you can always hike up Tampa hill to the Brasov Hollywood sign.

The old town, in particular, Strada Republici has recently had its facades restored and is looking more beautiful than ever, making it the perfect place for a stroll. If you continue exploring, you will undoubtedly come across many narrow passages, but the narrowest by far is Sfori Street which is just 111cm wide despite originally being intended for firemen! How they fit I don’t know! Other attractions to keep your weekend busy are the candy cane coloured Old Jewish Synagogue and the White Tower, which not only provides a gorgeous view of Brasov valley, but its walkway creates a beautiful frame of the old town.

For those of you staying more than a weekend, visit the Liberty Bear Sanctuary, who have saved bears from zoos that couldn’t comply with UN standards when Romania joined in 2007. Another way to spend time is by exploring the cobbled Shei District. This historical district of the city was the last hold out against communism during Romania’s Soviet era. When communist troops took over Brasov, the Shei district barricaded their end of the valley and constructed a sign saying ‘this is where communism ends’! This brave district is one of the most beautifully preserved in the city.

|Sibiu

Another of the most popular German towns in Romania is Sibiu. If you enjoy wandering the cobbled streets of sleepy towns in France and Italy, then you will enjoy exploring Sibiu. The city is one of the most bohemian in all Romania, the buildings around the square are impressively grand (Sibiu was the richest of the German cities) and spiral out into pastel townhouses throughout the city centre, but especially on Strada Nicolae Balcescu. If you love colourful cities, then this is the best spot in Romania for you.

|Bucharest

Romania’s capital was once known as ‘The Paris of the East’ for its Art Nouveau buildings and Parisian style grandeur. Though a lot of that was washed away with Romania’s communist rule and a devastating earthquake, there are gems that have survived and are now even more special for their rarity. But these aren’t the only unusual buildings in the city, Bucharest is home to one of the world’s most beautiful bookshops, Cartursti Carusel, extravagant beer halls such as Caru Cu Bere and Orthodox monasteries hiding heavenly courtyards.

If architecture isn’t your thing, Bucharest has got you covered too. Whether you’re after hipster coffee gardens or rooftop hideaways like Nomad Skybar. For you urban explorers, there is also a growing street art community and a fascinating URBEX tour held by the Beautiful Decay Company who can get you in to some of the city’s abandoned palaces.

|Romania’s Art Nouveau Capitals: Oradea & Timisoara

If you love Art Nouveau, then you need to add Oradea and Timisoara to your tour of Romania! The cities recently renovated many of their facades and were immediately added to Europe’s official Art Nouveau Route, earning Oradea the nickname of ‘Little Paris’.

Read my post on Munich’s Art Nouveau Mansions to see more beautiful facades

|Painted Monasteries of Bucovina

The painted monasteries of Bucovina are one of Europe’s most unique treasures. The setting of Bucovina as a haven of cultural traditions only enhances the curiosity of these buildings. But what makes them rare?

The 8 monasteries have their frescoes on inside out. The paintings adorning their walls were originally created to spread the bible stories to people who could not read (no one can of been tall enough to enjoy the stories under the eaves!). The illustrations are divided by contrasting strips of colour which playfully remind me of comic book stories. The superheroes are the saints, who have told their stories from the walls for over 400 years. How has the paint lasted so well?!

Whilst each monastery is different, the stories depicted on the walls do have recurring themes:

‘Jugement Day’ (depicted on all the monasteries) which makes it very clear that if you are not good you will end up in the fiery pits of hell with a dragon. (Arbore’s fresco has faded, but funnily only the bit depicting Hell)

‘Jesus’s Family Tree’ – not being religious I was a bit confused by this one – which seems to highlight the important personalities in the bible. (The fresco begins with Jesus lying under a tree which then fans out to the other figures)

‘Saintly Lives’ shows how saints lived their lives spreading good, but it also has a healthy helping of martyrs and their grissly ends.

‘Ladder of Virtues’ depicts the open gates of Heaven teasing a group of monks who must first climb the ladder of 30 virtues, each rung represents a sin or a virtue. If they slip (which they do) devils wait in the pool beneath to pull them down! (Most shocking depiction can be found on Suceviţa)

The 3 most beautiful monasteries are:

1. Voronet – ‘Sistine Chapel of the East’ – the largest and most popular.

2. Suceviţa – ‘the fortified monastery’ – the artist who painted the ladder of virtues fell from the scaffolding before he could complete the design. Seeing this as an omen, the other painters were reluctant to finish his work!

3. Moldovita has the best-preserved frescoes of all 8 churches, it was painted later, but only by 5 years.

|Hidden Cave Churches

|Buzâu

Hidden in a remote canyon just outside of Buzau is a cave complex covering 3 square km, home to 15 cave dwellings. Romanians claim that this is the ‘Cradle of Christendom’ in Romania, where the first missionaries arrived from the Middle East and lived and prayed in these caves. Ever since, the area has been swathed in mystery and local superstition. There was even a rumour that the deposed leader Nicolae Ceausescu known for being extravagant, sent one of his secret service agents here to investigate the paranormal appearances!

Schitul lui Iosif by Noridamar

I’m not sure about any of that, but I definitely want to explore the caves. One of them involves climbing a ladder to reach the just wide enough entrance above the canyon. There are so many types of cave-dwelling available to explore that this region has earned the nickname of ‘Athos of Romania’ (Athos is a cave-dwelling Greek Peninsula that only Greek Orthodox monks inhabit, women and animals are forbidden to step foot there!).

With more reading, it’s not paranormal activity which takes the stage here now, but noxious gases naturally released by some of the caves. Recent dive teams found some prehistoric-looking creepy crawlies that are able to live in these conditions. But the more I think about them, the more I wish the story had ended with paranormal activity instead.

Read my post on Romania’s Wild Wonders to find out about the gurgling mud volcanoes nearby.

|Negru-Voda

Just outside of Bucharest, in the village of Namaesti is its namesake monastery looked after by a small convent of nuns. They keep a little post box on the door to the cave monastery for people who wish to be prayed for to send them a letter explaining their worries and sins. The devotion of the prayer will directly correlate with the size of your donation made in the tin next to the mailbox. When prayers can’t pay for the upkeep of the monastery, they sell their handcrafted leather goods to visitors.

The cave monastery was originally built by a priest who was told to dig in to the rock until he found a divine sign. After not too long, he came upon a saintly figure and decided to build an altar for it. The monastery grew from there.