Bran (german: Törzburg; hu, Törcsvár) is a commune in Brașov County,

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. It is about southwest of the city of Brașov and consists of five villages: Bran, Poarta ( hu, Porta), Predeluț (''Kispredeál''), Șimon (''Simon''), and Sohodol (''Szohodol''). The medieval Bran Castle is a popular tourist destination, partly because it is associated with the home of Dracula in Bram Stoker's novel of the same name; the castle has been listed as one of the Seven Wonders of Romania.

Geography

Bran is located in the southern part of Brașov County, on or near the border with Dâmbovița and Argeș counties, and belongs to the historical sub-region of Țara Bârsei (Burzenland). It lies at the northern end of the Rucăr-Bran Pass; national road DN73, which runs through the pass, connects Brașov to Pitești, to the southwest. The commune is situated between two mountain ranges of the Southern Carpathians: to the southeast are the

Bucegi Mountains The Bucegi Mountains ( Romanian: ''Munții Bucegi'' ) are located in central Romania, south of the city of Brașov. They are part of the Southern Carpathians group of the Carpathian Mountains. At , '' Omu'' is its highest point. To the east, th ...

, with the Omu Peak dominating the area, at ; and to the west are the Piatra Craiului Mountains, which top out at .

History

The Teutonic Order began building a wooden fort called ''Dietrichstein'' here early in the 13th century. After the fort's destruction in 1242 by

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

("Tatars"), King Sigismund of

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

ordered a stone castle to be built in 1377, while the settlement of Bran began to develop nearby. Positioned high atop a steep cliff, the castle guarded a strategic trade route between

and Wallachia. In 1498, Bran came under the jurisdiction of Brașov. After the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

defeated the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

in the 16th century, Bran became part of the Eastern Hungarian Kingdom and the Principality of Transylvania, which eventually became part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. In 1804 the commune became part of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

along with the Grand Principality of Transylvania, and in 1867 the Hungarian section of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. It became part of the

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. After Transylvania became part of Romania, Bran Castle (that was owned by the city of Brașov) was gifted to Queen Marie by the Brașov magistrate. The queen transformed it into a royal residence in the 1920s, and today it is one of Romania's most popular visitor sites. It is open to tourists, who can view the inside alone or as part of a guided tour. Outside the castle is an open-air museum with traditional Romanian farm houses and manufacturing facilities.

Natives

* Marian Blaj (born 1978), biathlete * Ioan Pușcariu (1824–1911), historian and genealogist, member of the Romanian Academy * Livia Reit (born 1978), cross-country skier * Alexandra Stoian (born 1983), biathlete

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bran, Brasov Communes in Brașov County Localities in Transylvania Burzenland