Transylvania

Everything You Wanted to Know About
Transylvania  And Were Afraid to Ask

Most of you have heard of Transylvania from vampire and monster movies and books. But what else do you know about it? Where is located? Is Dracula's castle really there? Where is Dracula buried? Is the land dark and gloomy with dead trees all over the countryside? What is its history? I hope to answer some of these important questions and more in this blog.

Because of Bram Stoker’s decision to select it as the homeland of his fictional Count Dracula, it is invariably represented in fiction and film as a mysterious realm where the supernatural rules supreme. Its inhabitants are depicted as backward peasants who hold fast to their primitive and superstitious past, who hang garlic on their windows to keep vampires away, and who would never venture out at night without a crucifix in hand.

Since the publication of Dracula, the myth of Transylvania has been reinforced through films and fiction. The first movie, Nosferatu (1922), refers to Transylvania as “the land of phantoms.” Universal’s Dracula of 1931 established Transylvania as a land of eerie shadows, superstitious peasants and craggy mountains with a castle, enshrouded in fog, perched on a steep precipice. In this film, Count Dracula is portrayed by a Transylvanian-Hungarian actor, Bela Lugosi. Transylvania has been prime real estate for other vampire fiction ands film ever since. A voice-over in Hammer’s The Brides of Dracula (1960) intones: “Transylvania -- land of dark forests, dread mountains and black, unfathomed lakes. Still the home of magic and devilry.” In the comedy Transylvania 6-5000 (1985), the mayor wants to turn a Transylvanian town into a Dracula theme park for tourists. Daughter of Darkness (1989) concerns a woman who travels to Transylvania in search of her lost father (who, of course, turns out to be a vampire). Subspecies (1991) and its sequels were shot on location in Romania, as was Dracula Rising (1993). And who can forget The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) with its “Transylvanian Convention” and “sweet transvestite from transsexual Transylvania”? The very word “Transylvania” can be counted on to arouse a chill of anticipation.

Where is it located?

Transylvania is in the central part of Romania. It is bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, in the west by the Apuseni Mountains.

What is its history?

Transylvania has been dominated by different people and empires throughout its history. It was once part of the Kingdom of Dacia (82 BC–106 AD). In 106 AD the Roman Empire conquered it and systematically exploited its wealth. After the Roman legions withdrew in 271 AD, it was overrun by a succession of tribes, which subjected it to various influences. The Hungarians conquered the area at the end of the 9th century and established their control over it in 1003, when King Stephen I defeated the native prince. Between 1003 and 1526, Transylvania was a province of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1571, it was transformed into the Principality of Transylvania (1571–1711). For most of this period, Transylvania, maintaining its internal autonomy, was under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire.

The Habsburgs acquired the territory in 1683. The Habsburgs, however, recognized the Hungarian sovereignty over Transylvania, while the Transylvanians recognized the suzerainty of Emperor Leopold I (1687). The region was officially attached to the Habsburg Empire. In 1699 the Turks legally conceded their loss of Transylvania. After 1867 the region was reabsorbed into Hungary as a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

After the Austro-Hungarian Empire was defeated in World War I, Austria-Hungary began to disintegrate. The ethnic Romanian majority's representatives proclaimed union with Romania in 1918. Hungary protested because over 1,600,000 ethnic Hungarians people were living in the area, mainly in Eastern Transylvania, and along the newly created border. In August 1940, in the midst of World War II, with the aid of Germany and Italy, Hungary regained about forty percent of Transylvania. The territory reverted to Romania in 1945.

What has all this history have to do with Dracula?

Transylvania is often associated with Dracula (Bram Stoker's novel and its film adaptations), and the horror genre in general. The reason for this is that it is believed Stoker chose the cruel tyrant, Vlad Dracul, (known as Vlad Tepes which means Vlad the Impaler) as his fictional vampire. Dracul was infamous for executing his enemies in an especially cruel manner, by impaling them on sharpened poles.

Where is Dracula's Castle

Bran Castle was originally a fortress built by the Knights of the Teutonic Order in the year 1212. It was known by the name of Dietrichstein at the time. Later on, towards the end of the 13th century, it was taken over by the Saxons in that region in order
to protect the City of Brasov, an important trade center. Vlad Tepes used Bran Castle as headquarters for his incursions into Transylvania. This castle should not be mistaken for the actual Castle Dracula (now in ruins), which is located on the Arges River, at Poeinari. This is the real Dracula castle. Situated on an abruptly rising rock north of the village, Poienari can be reached by climbing 1400 steps from the hydroelectric power station  four km north on the road from the village Arefu. The castle is small, one third having collapsed down the mountainside in 1888. The prism shaped tower that remains was Dracula's residential quarters.

Where is Dracula's final resting place?

The general thought among historians that the body of Vlad the Impaler was entombed near the altar in a Snagov Monastery located on an Island in the middle of a lake accessible only by boat. His head was removed and taken to put on display in Constantinople. In 1931-32, archaeologist Dinu Rosetti, under orders from the Romanian Academy, visited the Snagov Monastery in hope of discovering the body of Vlad Dracul. What he discovered was looted graves inside the monastery, local legend told of how the body of Vlad Dracul lay one step in from the doorway of the monastery. Rosetti did not believe this legend, He went to the worn out and hammered tombstone in front of the altar. Rosetti found the grave beneath empty. He researched the floor in front of the entranceway and. found an unlooted unmarked grave of a nobleman. The clothes of the body pointed to a rich man. A ring was identified as a tournament ring of the kind given at Nuremberg. The skeleton however, had its head.

The monastery at Snagov suffers great humidity. Most of the remnants of bodies and skeletons in the monastery have decomposed and much that has been found was beyond recognition. If the body of Dracul was there, it probably rotted into the ground before anyone could ever see it for themselves.  (Unless it walked away under its own power.)

Is there any actual connection between Transylvania and vampires?

The word vampire is not of Romanian origin. It is Slavic, akin to the Serb “vampir” and Russian “upyr.” The territories that comprise Romania are mentioned only briefly in early accounts of vampires; Hungary, Poland, Moravia, Silesia and Serbia appear more frequently. During the nineteenth century, the connections became somewhat more pronounced. Joseph Ennemoser referred in The History of Magic (1854) to Wallachia as the land “where the blood sucking vampire hovered the longest, a superstition of the most revolting kind.”

Romanians usually deny the existence of vampire figures in their folk beliefs. To the modern Romanian, the word vampire refers to a supernatural figure that originates in Western culture and may be extended to describe bloodthirsty murderers. During the Communist regime (up to 1989), vampire fiction (including Dracula) was banned in Romania, as representative of the “decadent” West. In addition, there has been a determination to counteract the notion that Romania is the home of the vampire and that the world’s most notorious vampire (Dracula) bears the nickname of one of Romania’s national heroes. This has created a significant dilemma for Romanian tourism officials who are eager to capitalize on Dracula as a drawing card for foreign visitors, but who face strong opposition at home to presenting Stoker’s Count as a Romanian icon. Nowhere is this better illustrated than in the dispute in Romania over a proposed Dracula theme park.

What is Transylvania really like?

The region is known for the scenic beauty of its Carpathian landscape, by far the most romantic and inspiring of Romania's provinces. Mountain peaks rise up to the sky above wooded valleys and sparkling streams, high-roofed wooden churches and legendary castles. It contains a diverse variety of landscapes, including open hillsides with wild flower meadows, rolling woodland pastures, deciduous and coniferous forests, dramatic gorges and mountains. 

The region is an elevated plateau entirely surrounded by the Transylvanian Alps, a range of the Carpathian Mountains. The mountains curve around the region like a wall and in various places spread over the land. The chief rivers are tributaries of the Tisza. The terrain is suitable for growing fruits, cereal grains, and sugar beets. Wine is also produced, and livestock is raised. Transylvania is rich in minerals, including gold, silver, salt, and coal.