Tour 2 Castles - Brasov � Poiana Brasov � Rasnov Fortress � Bran Castle � Gradistea Gorges � Moeciu Village � Brasov

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Tour 2 Castles : Bran Castle - Rasnov Fortress-Bears Sanctuary Zarnesti( Or Prejmer Fortress & Harman )

( We can organizae this tour starting and ending in Bucharest)

Brasov – Poiana Brasov –Bears Sanctuary Zarnesti( Or Prejmer Fortress& Harman)-Rasnov Fortress – Bran Castle – Brasov

departure from Brasov at 09.15 am
visit Poiana Brasov
visit Bears Sanctuary -Zarnesti (Monday is closed and will visit Valea Cetatii Cave ) or Prejmer and Harman fortified saxon churces.
visit Rasnov Fortress
visit Bran Castle – connected with many legends Count Dracula
return to Brasov around 5.00 pm

Departure from Brasov is at 09.15 am, form Council Square (Piata Sfatului) or from your Hotel or Pension.

We go through Poiana Brasov, with a stop at Warthe, to view the panorama of Brasov Old Town and a little tour of Poiana Brasov where we will stop to visit a wooden church.

We will visit the Bear Sanctuary from Zarnesti. Romania has the largest population of brown bears in Europe.In Zarnesti we have the largest bear sanctuary in Europe spread over 70 hectares of forest.81 bears live there and their number is increasing.

Then we go to Rasnov to visit Rasnov Fortress. This is an impressive 14th century Fortress build on top of a 150m hill build by the Saxon colonists to protect the villagers when they were under attack. The simple yet effective structure is still standing.As we drive by the scenic Bucegi and Piatra Craiului Mountains, Rasnov Fortress appears like a fairy tale Castle on top of the hill. Inside we have the deepest well in Eastern Europe 146m.The well was digged by 2 turkish prisoners who worked for 17 years in exchange for their freedom. From the Fortress, on a sunny day, there's a visibility of 30 km with beautiful views of Bucegi & Piatra Craiului Mountains. The fortress was build to protect 11 villages around Rasnov. In 800 years of existence no one could conquer the fortress by war.

We continue our trip to the famous Bran Castle . Also called Dracula's Castle, it is situated at the entrance of Bran-Rucar pass. A remarkable architectural, the monument was built between 1377-1382 on a rock 60 m high due to the privilege of November 19th 1377 given by the Hungarian king Louis I of Anjou. At the end of the 14th century, king Sigismund gave up the leadership of Bran Fortress to Mircea cel Batran. The royal domain had been given to the Hungarian aristocracy, while the castle passed under the rule of Mircea's faithful boyars. Few years later, the Hungarian king got back the castle. Bran Castle was subordinated to the authority of Szeklers Committee.The castle had an essential role in protecting the Hungarian king from the Ottomans and Tartars' invasion, coming from Wallachia through Rucar Pass. That's the reason why the inhabitants of Brasov built the Castle on their own work and expenses.
In the 18th century the castle was the house of the Austrians frontier guards. In 1836 Bran became the official border and the defense role of the castle was no longer a priority. In 1920, the Brasov Town council donated Bran Castle to Queen Maria of Great Romania, who lived there with the royal family till 1947. Since 1947 the Castle is opened as a museum.

Many legends are connected with Bran Castle. It is said the castle belonged to Count Dracula (Vlad Tepes), but nobody has any proof. Vlad Tepes lived only for a short time in the castle and only as a guest.The truth is that Bran Castle conjures up the perfect Gothic fairy-tale image of a Transylvanian castle and as a result it draws crowds of tourists from far and wide. In 1897 Bram Stoker wrote a terrifying story about Count Dracula. A century after, there are still people who believe in it. Even researchers are trying to find out the truth about Dracula. All are trying to clear the mystery: was there or wasn't there a vampire in Transylvania? Stoker's story is based on the life of Vlad Tepes/Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476), a ruler revered by Romanians for standing up to the Ottoman Empire. Known as one of the most dreadful enemies of the Turks, Vlad started organizing the state and enforcing the law by applying death penalty and impaling all those he considered enemies: robbers, cunning priests, treacherous noblemen, beggars, usurper Saxons. The historians nicknamed him Vlad Tepes while people say he was Count Dracula because he used to sign with his father's name, Dracul "The Devil". Dracula is derived from the Romanian word for devil or dragon. His castle is supposed to be Bran's Castle since its narrow corridors constitute a mysterious labyrinth of ghostly nooks and secret chambers easy to hide a "vampire".The Dracula's Castle was built on the edge of the Bran Pass and nowadays lures guests worldwide who wish to partake in the legend of the Count Dracula.

You'll taste the local produce and most important you'll have fun shopping souvenirs.

Lunch and then we will return to Brasov.

Shared tour from Brasov :

1 person	145 €/pers
2-3 persons	75 €/pers
4-5 persons	70 €/pers
6-7 persons	65 €/pers

Included: transport, english or german guide, permanent assistance.

Not included: lunch, entrance tickets, other services not specified on the intinerary, photo and video fees, banking or e-payment fees.

We can organize trips for bigger groups and prices are negociable.

For private tour please contact us .

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E-mail: office@discovery-transylvania.ro
Phone: (004) 0744352325

Tour 2 Castles - Brasov � Poiana Brasov � Rasnov Fortress � Bran Castle � Gradistea Gorges � Moeciu Village � Brasov