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Dracula's Castle For Sale
Are you in the market for Transylvania real estate? "Dracula's Castle" is up for sale.
Just bring the garlic and $100 million. But if you want the castle, a word of warning: the heating system doesn't work and the up-keep costs are high. It's also said to be pitch black inside.
The 13th century castle was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.
The castle was owned by the late Queen Marie and bequeathed to her daughter Princess Ileana in 1938. It was confiscated by communists in 1948 and fell into disrepair. It will be transferred on last year to Dominic van Hapsburg, a New York architect who inherited the castle from Princess Ileana decades after the communists seized it.
Van Hapsburg is a descendant of the Hapsburg dynasty which ruled Romania for a period starting in the late 17th century.
Restoration work began in the late 1980s and was partially completed in 1993. It is now one of Romania's top tourist destinations.
While known and marketed as "Dracula's Castle," it never belonged to Prince Vlad the Impaler, who inspired Bram Stoker's Count Dracula character. But the prince is thought to have visited the medieval fortress.
The Gothic fortress, perched on a rock, has appeared in numerous Dracula movies.
At the gates of Bran Castle, peasants sell Dracula sweaters hand-knitted from the thick wool of local sheep, cheesecloth blouses, and Vampire wine. The castle is the most famous of 15 citadels and fortresses in the area, which were built by peasants to keep out marauding armies of Turks and Tartars and cruel local medieval lords.
Romania passed legislation earlier this year to return property to its former owners and establish a "property fund" to pay damages for assets that cannot be returned. The fund includes stock in state-owned companies that are being privatized.
It looms over Transylvania like the set of a Hollywood movie. Its towers are covered in blood-red tiles. Its belfries are as cold as the grave.
Castle Bran, more popularly known as Castle Dracula, is Romania's number one tourist attraction. And it can be yours for the low, low price of $100 million.
Our tour guide at the castle was Alex Priscu, a Transylvania native with a wicked sense of humor.
"We only do take people around during daylight," he told me. "Insurance doesn't cover midnight visits."
He explained that according to local legend, Count Vlad Tepes, also known as "Vlad the Impaler," was once imprisoned in the 13th century castle for two weeks. That's the strongest connection with the Dracula myth.
Interestingly, the place has no basement at all. In other words, no crypt. It is built on solid rock.
The castle has 57 rooms and a secret passageway leading up to the watch towers. But up in the tower that once served as the dungeon there are several Gothic chests that look suspiciously like coffins!
The exhibitions on display make no mention of Count Dracula. Instead they all focus on the history of Romania's former royal family, which lived here until 1948.
The castle was seized by the Communists after World War II. It was only returned to the royal family last summer, after a long restitution process. Almost immediately, they decided to sell it.
The Ministry of Culture in Romania has balked at the asking price. It accuses the Hapsburg family of trying to profit from a national treasure. And they worry the new owners will turn it into the centerpiece of a tacky Dracula theme park.
"If I were a rich man, I would easily give $100 million, hoping the count does not mind," Nikolai Paduraru, the head of the Transylvania Society of Dracula, told us.
Paduraru is one of the few Romanians to realize early on the tourist potential of the Dracula myth. He hosts an annual Dracula Ball, as well as academic symposia on vampires and ghouls.
Just bring the garlic and $100 million. But if you want the castle, a word of warning: the heating system doesn't work and the up-keep costs are high. It's also said to be pitch black inside.
The 13th century castle was the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula.
The castle was owned by the late Queen Marie and bequeathed to her daughter Princess Ileana in 1938. It was confiscated by communists in 1948 and fell into disrepair. It will be transferred on last year to Dominic van Hapsburg, a New York architect who inherited the castle from Princess Ileana decades after the communists seized it.
Van Hapsburg is a descendant of the Hapsburg dynasty which ruled Romania for a period starting in the late 17th century.
Restoration work began in the late 1980s and was partially completed in 1993. It is now one of Romania's top tourist destinations.
While known and marketed as "Dracula's Castle," it never belonged to Prince Vlad the Impaler, who inspired Bram Stoker's Count Dracula character. But the prince is thought to have visited the medieval fortress.
The Gothic fortress, perched on a rock, has appeared in numerous Dracula movies.
At the gates of Bran Castle, peasants sell Dracula sweaters hand-knitted from the thick wool of local sheep, cheesecloth blouses, and Vampire wine. The castle is the most famous of 15 citadels and fortresses in the area, which were built by peasants to keep out marauding armies of Turks and Tartars and cruel local medieval lords.
Romania passed legislation earlier this year to return property to its former owners and establish a "property fund" to pay damages for assets that cannot be returned. The fund includes stock in state-owned companies that are being privatized.
It looms over Transylvania like the set of a Hollywood movie. Its towers are covered in blood-red tiles. Its belfries are as cold as the grave.
Castle Bran, more popularly known as Castle Dracula, is Romania's number one tourist attraction. And it can be yours for the low, low price of $100 million.
Our tour guide at the castle was Alex Priscu, a Transylvania native with a wicked sense of humor.
"We only do take people around during daylight," he told me. "Insurance doesn't cover midnight visits."
He explained that according to local legend, Count Vlad Tepes, also known as "Vlad the Impaler," was once imprisoned in the 13th century castle for two weeks. That's the strongest connection with the Dracula myth.
Interestingly, the place has no basement at all. In other words, no crypt. It is built on solid rock.
The castle has 57 rooms and a secret passageway leading up to the watch towers. But up in the tower that once served as the dungeon there are several Gothic chests that look suspiciously like coffins!
The exhibitions on display make no mention of Count Dracula. Instead they all focus on the history of Romania's former royal family, which lived here until 1948.
The castle was seized by the Communists after World War II. It was only returned to the royal family last summer, after a long restitution process. Almost immediately, they decided to sell it.
The Ministry of Culture in Romania has balked at the asking price. It accuses the Hapsburg family of trying to profit from a national treasure. And they worry the new owners will turn it into the centerpiece of a tacky Dracula theme park.
"If I were a rich man, I would easily give $100 million, hoping the count does not mind," Nikolai Paduraru, the head of the Transylvania Society of Dracula, told us.
Paduraru is one of the few Romanians to realize early on the tourist potential of the Dracula myth. He hosts an annual Dracula Ball, as well as academic symposia on vampires and ghouls.
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