Does Transylvania Really Exist? Yes It Does
My next vacation will be Transylvania, Romania, birthplace of Dracula and…me!
Some find it hard to believe that I was born in such an exotic land. Or that this place actually exists outside the movies and books.
I can assure you it is real and fascinating. Some of my most interesting lifelong memories are from previous summer vacations there when I was younger. At this point, I have not been back in over a decade, so I'm curious to see how the place has changed, as all places do.
Most people associate Dracula and vampires with this region of the world (thanks to Bram Stoker– who never visited), but the real deal is so much more complicated and interesting. It really has to be experienced in person to appreciate.
The guidebook: Transylvania, by Lucy Mallows reminds us that botanist Dr. John Akeroyd calls it 'the very last example of an untouched medieval landscape in Europe."
In case you are interested, Vlad III Tepes, the inspiration for Dracula was the ruler of Wallachia, Romaina, but not Transylvania. He was born in Sighisoara, Transylvania, but he spent most of his brutal days in other parts of Romania.
Enough about that (although it's fun).
Throughout history, Transylvania has been home to various races and cultures. Various migrating people invaded Romania over the centuries. The region of Transylvania was under Roman, Magyar, Habsburg, Ottoman and Wallachian rule, in that order, while remaining an autonomous province. It is mentioned from the 11th century as part of the Kingdom of Hungary. Then became an autonomous principality under Ottoman sovereignty in 1571, in 1711 part of the Habsburg monarchy (Austro-Hungary after 1867) and part of the Kingdom of Romania after World War I. Let's leave the history at that, as it's really convoluted and complicated, and I remember growing up, whenever I tried to educate myself about it, I would swiftly give up.
It's fun to note that Lonely Planet named Transylvania the Top Region to visit in 2016. Take a look at my colleagues' blog post from the end of last year.
I look forward to breathing in some fresh Carpathian Mountain air, visiting the historic and almost frozen-in-time towns and villages, hay rides, and even going berry picking amongst possible bear sightings. And not to forget of course, visiting the Dracula castle, or Bran Castle, as I have never seen it before and it's located amongst beautiful mountain scenery.
So bon voyage to me and stayed tuned for the real pics!
4 thoughts on “Does Transylvania Really Exist? Yes It Does”
Thank you for this interesting post, Emoke! I look forward to seeing some pictures from your trip. Definitely a trip worth noting for the rest of us who have never been there before.
Thanks, Ann for the comment. I look forward to sharing my experience and pictures!
Always thought of it as a place in the movies or cartoon, nice to know its real
It’s quite real, and you can see some current pictures of the place in my next blog post about the topic!