bran castle

Dracula's Castle for Sale (Bats Included!)

Filed under: Estates

Some 450,000 people pass through Dracula's castle in Transylvania each year, and now people not only have the chance to see it but also to own it. Prince Vlad the Impaler, the violent warlord who inspired Bram Stoker's "Dracula" character, is rumored to have stayed one night in his family's castle, officially called Bran Castle, back in the 1400s. It's been running as a museum per an agreement with the Romanian government that expires in 2009. The castle went up for sale on Monday, and although it's expected to go for upwards of $135 million it won't be sold to just anybody, as only buyers who "will treat the property and its history with appropriate respect" will be considered. And those who don't mind seeing bats flying around the ramparts at twilight, of course.

Interested? I think I'll pass.

Via Book of Joe

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Tags: bran, bran castle, BranCastle, castle, dracula, impaler, prince, prince vlad the impaler, PrinceVladTheImpaler, romania, transylvania, vlad, vlad the impaler, VladTheImpaler

Dracula's Castle Returned to Owner

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

One of Romania's most popular tourist attractions, Dracula Castle, is being returned to its rightful owner, Dominic van Hapsburg, a New York Architect and descendant of the Hapsburg family line. The castle is actually named Bran Castle, and was never owned by Vlad the Impaler, though the prince who inspired the story of Dracula is though to have stayed there. The castle's remote, cliff-top location and striking Gothic architecture have made it a fixture of Dracula movies. The property is being returned under new legislation that reverses the seizures made by the former communist regime. The castle was originally taken in 1948 and was left to fall into disrepair until a restoration began in the 1980s. Part of the agreement for handing over the castle is that the new owner will not make any changes to it for at least three years. The hand-over ceremony will take place on Friday. The castle is worth approximately $25 million.