Vampires and Transylvania

8/2/2019 Vampires and Transylvania

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The truth aboutVampires and Transylvania


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Many people in the world think that vampires really existin Transylvania. The reality is that there arent any andthere never were.

In the XVth century in the territory today known asRomania, there was a cruel ruler (Vlad Tepes) who usedto impale dishonest persons and took pleasure in doingit; the Irish writer Bram Stocker read about him and

wrote in 1897 the fictional book Dracula. Plus, it isknown that the Carpathian mountains in Romania havemany caves and there are obviously bats living in them.Most of the castles are built in the mountains, so

probably this led to the association with bats.


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Who wasDracula?

So, Dracula as known today represents the result ofreal historical events related to the reign of Vlad epe

(reign: 1448; 14561462; 1476, son of Vlad Dracul),who was a very cruel ruler, amplified in the upcomingcenturies by the association with the character of thefiction novel "Dracula", issued in England in 1897,

written by the Irish writer Bram Stocker.


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Vlad Tepes

(Dracula- Vlad the Impaler)

Vlad epeswas prince ofaraRomneasc.Convinced that only a harsh reign from the inside could installorder in the country and organize successfully its defense fromexternal dangers, Vlad epes applied a domineering reign,imposing to its subjects honesty and diligence as virtues;

dishonesty (theft) and laziness were harshly punished byimpalement, a very hard punishment. (The victims didnt dieinstantly but in a few days so it was terrifying to see them impaledand suffering on the side of the road so as to be seen by any whowould try to steal. As a result, it is said that during his reign, you

could leave gold coins in the middle of the road and nobody evertouched them). Estimates of the number of his victims range from40,000 to 100,000 people. It has been said that in 1462 MehmedII, the conqueror of Constantinople, returned to Constantinopleafter being sickened by the sight of 20,000 impaled corpsesoutside Vlad's capital ofTrgovite.


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Vlad Tepes was born in Sighioara, Transylvania, (today inMures county) in the winter of 1431.

He died in 1477 (aged 46). Vlad's head was taken toConstantinople as a trophy, and his body was buriedunceremoniously by his rival, Basarab Laiota.

The descendents of Vlad Tepes' sons, Vlad epelu and

Mihnea I "the Bad", are ancestors of Elizabeth II, Queenof Great Britain.

In October 2011, Prince Charles publicly claimed thatgenealogy proves that he is a distant relative of Vlad

the Impaler.


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Draculas fortress: Bran Castle


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The castle is now a museum open to touristswho can see the interior individually or by aguided tour. At the bottom of the hill there is a

small open air museum park exhibitingtraditional Romanian peasant structures(cottages, barns, etc.) from across the country:

http://www.bran-castle.com/

Bran Castle, Draculas Castle
http://www.bran-castle.com/http://www.bran-castle.com/http://www.bran-castle.com/http://www.bran-castle.com/


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Vlad Tepes dining during executions (wood engraving, 1500)

Vampires and Transylvania

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