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Situated at about 30 km from Brașov, and 43 km from Sinaia, between Bucegi Mt. and Piatra Craiului Mt., Bran Castle is an architectural monument of great value due to its beauty as well as to the association with the legendary character of count Dracula.
The castle is documentary mentioned for the first time in the XIVth century as a permanent garrison with 13 servant locality, having a defense role against the Turkish invasions. The authorities of Brașov donated the castle to Queen Mary of Romania, as a sign of gratitude to her contribution to the accomplishing of Romanian Great Union on December 1st 1918. This is why, figuratively, the heart of Queen Mary lies in the cliff on which the castle was built. During 1920-1927, Bran Castle was renovated under supervision of the Czech architect Carol Liman, the same who restored Peleș Castle. In 1938, the new owner became Queen Mary’s daughter, Princess Ileana, who owned it until 1948, when after the Royal abdication, the castle became the property of the Romanian state. On May 18th, 2009, the administration of the Bran Castle was transferred from the government to the administration of Archduke Dominic and his sisters Maria-Magdalena Holzhausen and Elisabet Sandhofer. On June 1st, the Habsburgs opened the restored castle to the public as the first private museum of the country and agreed with Bran Village upon a joint strategic concept to maintain their domination in the Romanian tourist circuit and to safeguard the economic base in the region.
Presently, it shelters a history and medieval art museum.
