History of Dracula

From the History Channel, the second episode of "The Lost World of Dracula":

It starts with the presentation of Bran Castle, where Vlad Dracula stopped by in 1415. The castle has been modernized by the Romanian Royal Family (remember, Bran Castle belonged to the royal family in the first half of the XX-th century), so its interior is very different from what it was in middle-ages. But, by using floor plans of the castle the experts pieced together how it looked 500 years ago.

Here is a simulated image of Bran Castle, obtained by high class computer simulation. Compare it with a picture of the nowadays Bean Castle and you'll be amazed of how different it is. It was not the gothic castle that we see today, but a strong, secured border castle. Placed of the Transylvanian border with Wallachia, the castle occupies a strategic place. However, building the castle was a huge undertaking. The territory was not allowing easy construction and the first difficulty was getting the stuff on the place.
What few people know is that Dracula, in order to build-up his dream (a strong, independent country of Wallachia) , he had started one of the most ambitious building programs in his small country.

A team of experts explore Vlad's construction projects. After seizing the throne of the princedom of Wallachia, in 1456 , he began an extensive building project, trying to impose order in an unruly land.

Vlad III set his capital city in Târgovişte. Is the place where most of Dracula's atrocities took place. in the XV-th century the rule was pretty very simple in politics: kill or be killed . Vlad's first thought was getting rid of the boyars, that were representing the power in the country, changing the ruling prince upon them wish. The princely court in Târgovişte is strengthened, he build something more imposing than every building erected before. The whole complex was surrounded by walls of 5 feet thick. The construction was made up of cellars. The arches, typical for the byzantine architectural style of building, were constructed using a timber framework and helped creating huge volumes. Once Târgovişte was transformed in a highly secured head-quarter, Dracula had begun exterminating his enemy boyars.


The documentary is to be watched more that once:



See also:

• Sky News documentary about Vlad Dracula and Bran Castle
• History of Dracula on Discovery Channel