The Night Attack

Here is a video of a nice celebration in Târgovişte, capital city of Vlad Dracula. It re-creates Vlad's night attack against Turks in June, 16-17 , 1462


The same scene can be followed in an artistic movie, Vlad Ţepeş (Romania, 1979)

Târgovişte, Dracula's princely court

We get a better view of Dracula's princely court from Chindia Tower (the Sunset Tower). Thanks to this guys that took a small movie and posted it online. If we ignore the quality of the movie, we still get a snapshot of how it looked and how it looks today

Târgovişte, Dracula

I realized there is not too much information about Târgovişte, where Vlad Dracula had his princely court. So here is a video presentation of the ruins of the princely court

Vlad Tepes

This is the third party of the movie Vlad Tepes, 1979
When the Ottoman Army reaches Targoviste, the capital of Wallachia, they find an empty city and a terrifying image: a forest of impaled (some estimates it to 20.000 people).

Snagov Monastery

Here is a nice vide-clip about Snagov Monastery, where Dracula is said to be burried.

Snagov Monastery is placed on an isle on Snagov Lake, 40 km North to Bucharest.

Inside the monatery we can find the largest assembly of medieval frescoes from Wallachia, dating from the XVIth century.
Vlad the Impaler is supposed to be burried here, after being killed in the nearby forest. In the middle of the church a thumb has been discovered, with bones of a man in precious clothes. As the priest explained to me five years ago, his thumb is placed right in front of the altar, so that he obtain forgivness when the priest goes to the altar passin on his thumb.

Then we can see other buildings of Vlad Dracula: Targoviste - his firs royal court, Poienari Castle and the old court in Bucharest (I remind Vlad was the first ruler that moved the royal court to Bucharest)

Comana Monastery, south to Bucharest, has been build by Vlad Tepes in the XV-th century and rebuilt at the end of the XVI-th century.

Count Dracula - The Truth

In fact the documentary is more about the legend of Dracula - the ruler of Wallachia than about "Count Dracula" - Bram Stoker's character:

We get presented Bran Castle - considered by the majority of tourists as "Dracula Castle". However it has only few connections with our Vlad III - Dracula. Please take a look at this fantastic documentary to see what Bran Castle looked like in the middle-ages.
The movie continues with the affirmation that "Bram Stoker never visited Transylvania". We are not sure about this. He might have visited it, however. Sighisoara is presented, with the house where Vlad Dracula is supposed to be born.
And of course, Poienari, build by the noblemen, as well as Targoviste.

The second part of the documentary is dedicated to the events in 1989, with the fall of Ceausescu and of the so-called communist regime.

Lost World of Dracula

Well, folks, I found another nice History Channeldocumentary about Vlad Dracula the warlord that became known allover Europe.
Among other images a scene described as one of the most terrifying landscape in history, a forest of impaled people in front of Vlad's residence in Târgovişte is presented. Also, images from Chindia Tower (The Sunset Tower) in Târgoviste, from Bran Castle or from "one of Eastern Europe's most breathtaking mountain-top castles", from many places in Transylvania or from Bucharest can also be seen.
The computer animation is amazing, it really brings back to life the lost world of Dracula.

Sighişoara, the place where Vlad Dracula was born (in 1431) is presented in details, with images and a short history of the town and of it's inhabitants. Vlad's father, Vlad Dracul, has been killed in 1446 together with his son Mircea.

Documentary about Vlad Dracula

Third party of the documentary speaks about the medieval town of Sighişoara, the house where Dracula was born in 1430 - 1431, his strange relation with John Hunyadi, governor of Hungary and ruler of Transylvania, a hero of Christian World. Hunyadi's castle in Hunedoara is also presented, with it's gothic architecture and his evolution in time. The legend explains history of Iancu of Hunedoara (John Hunyadi) by him, killing with an arrow ravens that steal his royal ring. Therefore the Hungarian kind decided to give him the lands around Hunedoara, as well as put the raven on John's coat of arms.
Then we can see the ruins of Vlad's princely court in Târgovişte, his first residence as Wallachian ruler. Chindia Tower is also to be seen near the ruins. While is true what the documentary mentions, that Vlad's punishment methods are similar to the one use during middle-ages by other rulers like Ivan Third, Luis 11th, Families of Visconti, Sforza and Borgia, Richard IIIrd or The Inquisition. However I'd say the punishments of Dracula spread allover Europe because he exposed them, he used terror to impose law and order in Wallachia. Is unbelievable people were used to this, were watching this "spectacles" with a strange joy, satisfaction and happiness.
While we are not sure about how Vlad Dracula died, the theory presented (his killing by one of his men) could be true, but there are no proofs to sustain this.

Vlad Dracula conquers his father's throne

The reign


On August, 11, 1456 John Hunyadi dies by the pest epidemic that was transmitted from the Turks to the Christians predators of cadavers. On his funeral tomb in the Cathedral of Alba Iulia one could read “the World’s Light is off".


Vlad take advantage of this and, inspired also by the Halley comet that was visible in Europe for one month, starting with June, 8th, 1456, he grouped his men, cross the Carpathians and conquered Wallachia’s throne.


Vladislav II, surprised, opposed only a weak resistance and was betrayed by his men. He run away and was caught and killed on August, 20, near Târgşor, an important town of the medieval Wallachia, 60 km North to Bucharest, now disappeared. He was buried in Dealu Monastery, near Târgovişte. The place where Vladislav II was killed may be the church that he erected here in Târgşor. However five years later, Dracula erected another church in Târgşor, church that was finished on June, 24, 1461.
This might be as a sign of requiring forgiveness for killing Vladislav. Here are some remaining of the old church in Targsor, photo taken by myself two weeks ago:



Photo(c): Radu Cernea, April 2007, Târgşor, Romania.

The Real Life of Vlad The Impaler – Dracula

Life of Vlad The Impaler Dracula - the Childhood



By most probabilities, Vlad was born in Sighisoara, in the year 1431, presumably November or December. As explained in this post describing briefly Vlad Dracul’s life, 1431 is very probable the year of his birth. And as his father Vlad II (Dracul) was in Sighisoara by that time, running one of the state’s mints, is very probably that he was born in Sighisoara in the house still standing today near the clock tower (you can see it in this picture that I took in march 2004 in Sighisoara).

There is no much information about the childhood of Vlad III but we know how young princes were educated at that time. There was a “preceptor”, usually an important boyar to take care of them education. This one was searching for them masters of arms, equitation, etc. In the Germanic world as Sighisoara was in the 15th century there was an emphasis put on “the seven skills”: equitation, swimming, using arms, the arch, fighting, the court life and the tournament. We can easily suppose that Vlad Dracul, after receiving this kind of education himself at Sigismund’s Court wanted his sons to be educated in the same manner.
Doubtless equitation was the main activity, as the horse was the universal transport modality, as well as the close friend of the warriors. Learning horse riding at the Wallach court was going in parallel with the fights on-horse, or the “harta” – term used then for the hunting parties.

About theoretical skills we can suppose that Vlad didn’t know writing at most he was able to read. That’s because we don’t have letters written by him, neither signatures nor any other proofs. Slavonic was the language used for writing at that time in Romanian countries. However, official correspondence with Saxon towns in Transylvania was sometimes done in Latin Language. We don’t know if Vlad was in knowledge of this language, however we knew he was speaking Turkish after his stay by the Ottoman court.

In 1436 Vlad Dracul took the throne of Wallachia and his children went along with him in Târgoviste. Here the boys get in contact with what princely court life means. He gets in touch with the Princely Court’s ceremonial, with all the political intrigues of the boyars, become conscious of the fragility of the Wallachia’s Throne and of the Wallachia as a state itself, facing Hungary and The Ottoman Empire. Both Mircea (first son of Vlad Dracul) and Vlad seems to have been strongly influenced by the record of Mircea the Elder, them grandfather, although they haven’t seen him alive.

The teenage of Vlad is presented in this post.