We all know Dracula as the bloodsucking, evil creature made up by Bram Stoker. He’s got long corner teeth, or fangs, a cape, slick black hair and preferably some blood running from the corner of his mouth. And somehow he’s usually portrayed with his hands out like claws. Long story short: he’s out to get you. But once upon a time there was a real Dracula.
Vlad Dracula, or Vlad the impaler, wasn’t the nicest of boys either, but he wasn’t known for sucking people’s blood. This man was a prince of Wallachia, a region that is now part of Romania. For the longest time Wallachia paid off the Turks so they wouldn’t invade, but take care of the small country. But Vlad was fed up with this and wanted freedom for his country. He stopped the payments and had to defend his country somehow. Cruel as he was he impaled a lot of Turkish soldiers and decorated the road from Turkey with them. He soon got the image of an evil and barbaric man.
You can still visit the ruins of one of Dracula’s houses. It takes some effort though. I imagine Vlad the impaler looked up to the structure on the hill and though ‘perfect, nobody will get me here’. A long staircase, 1400 steps, winds its way up along the side of the mountain. At the top of the hill is a small ticket office, cash only, and a toilet I decided not to check out. After a few more steps up you find yourself on the spot where Vlad used to walk in the 15th century.
According to a legend, Vlad’s wife also stayed here for a while. Unfortunately the fortress on the hill wasn’t as safe as Vlad had anticipated. As the Turks were moving in, his wife had to make a decision. She decided to jump off the cliff shouting ‘I’d rather rot and be eaten by fish, than e a captive of the Turks’. She landed in the Arges river, which has the nickname the lady’s river.
Unfortunately a lot of the fortress is now in ruins. Of course nobody really took care of it during the last centuries, but it also suffered some damage during the 1888 earthquake, which caused a landslide that took away part of the castle. It is still a spectacular spot to visit though. The climb up is totally worth it when you see the ruins, with some fake impaled people to greet you. The views over the valley are simply breath-taking!