Bran Castle and Bran Customs Museum

I am spending the New Year in Bran, my most favorite resort in Romania. Together with some close friends of mine, have decided to learn some new things about this fascinating place that gave birth to the legend of Dracula and that is very rich in history. The first interesting place that we discovered was a small cript that once hosted the heart of Queen Mary of Romania. She was so in love with Bran, that she wanted to leave her heart here.

Bran Castle overlooks the road of Bran, which was considered to be the most important merchant road that linked Transylvania to Wallachia, two of the three principalities of Romania. On this road, linked to the most important European mercantile roads, intense commerce took place between the Orient and Western Europe. When passing through the Bran Valley, the merchants had to pay a customs duty called “tricesima,” equal to 3.3 percent of the value of their merchandise.

Photo Gallery: Bran Castle, Bran Customs Museum, the cript where the heart of Queen Mary of Romania was deposited in 1940.

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The Romanian Government gave Bran Castle to the Habsburg family this year. From my point of view this was not fair, as the Castle was given by the Municipality of Brasov to the Royal Family in the 1920s, when they were crowned. All the pieces of furniture were moved inside the new Bran Customs Museum. The Romanians pay a rent of 10,000 euro a month for the building. Here is what was moved from the Castle:

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I passed through Bran Valley many times, but I never realized that the ruins of the walls that once guarded the Bran Customs are still standing. They used to separate Transylvania from Wallachia. Now, unfortunatelly, they are not marked properly and not used for touristic purposes. So, you need to pay attention to find them.

Photo Gallery: the ruins of the wall that defended the Bran Customs and that divided Transylvania from Wallachia.

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Further resources about Bran: Bran Castle Museum, Wikipedia, On the Footsteps of Dracula.