Tour : 3 Castles and Fortified Saxon Churches 2 days / 1 night

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Tour : 3 Castles and Fortified Saxon Churches (2 days / 1 night)

The tour can be extended (several days) ,visiting the many sights or changed depending on the options tourists.

Day 1: Bucharest – Peles Castle – Bran Castle – Moeciu – Brasov

departure from Bucharest at 9 am
visit Peles Castle in Sinaia - residence of the former Romanian royal family
visit Bran Castle – connected with many legends Count Dracula
visit Gradistea Gorges and Moeciu Village
overnight in Brasov,hotel ***(Bella Muzica , Casa Wagner , Gott)

We start the journey by traveling to Sinaia - the pearl of the Carpathians, where we visit Peles Castle. The building of the Peles Castle began in 1873 under the direct order of the Viennese architect Wilhem Doderer and was continued in 1876 by his assistant, Johann Schultz de Lemberg. During 1877-1879 because of the war they abandoned work. Peles Castle was inaugurated on October 7, 1883. The location for the Peles Castle was chosen by the prince Carol I de Hohenzollern, who was to become a king and it draws its name from the neighboring brooks which passes through the courtyard. Peles Castle was the first castle in Europe to have central heating and electricity. During Ceausescu's era, its 160 rooms, each furnished to reflect a different European country, were used as a private retreat for leading communists and statesmen from around the globe. It is also important to know that Peles Castle shelters one of the most important and most valuable painting collections in Europe, almost 2.000 pieces. Peles Castle was built in wood, stone, bricks and marble and comprises more than 160 rooms. The representative style used is German Renaissance, but one can easily discover elements belonging to the Italian Renaissance, Gothic, German Baroque and French Rococo style.Peles Castle is surrounded by seven terraces decorated with statues (sculptured by the Italian, Romanelli), stone-made-wells, ornamental vases and Carara marble. The architects used an abundance of wooden decoration, both for the exterior and for the interior of the castle, which confers a very special quality to the building.

For next destination we go to Predeal ,then Paraul Rece, Rasnov, then to Bran were we visit Bran Castle. Surrounded by an aura of mystery and legend and perched high atop a 200-foot-high rock, Bran Castle owes its fame to its imposing towers and turrets as well as to the myth created around Bram Stocker’s Dracula. Built on the site of a Teutonic Knights stronghold dating from 1212, the castle was first documented in an act issued by Louis I of Hungary on November 19, 1377, giving the Saxons of Kronstadt (Brasov) the privilege to build the Citadel. Although Stoker never visited Transylvania, the Irish author relied on research and his vivid imagination to create the dark and intimidating stomping ground of Count Dracula, leading to persistent myths that it was once the home of Vlad Tepes, ruler of Walachia. While the association with Dracula is sketchy at best, the castle continues to hold a strong attraction for all fans of the Count. From 1920 to 1957 Bran served as royal residence, a gift of the people of Brasov to Queen Marie of Romania. The castle is now a museum open to tourists, displaying art and furniture collected by Queen Marie. Narrow winding stairways lead through some 60 timbered rooms, many connected by underground passages, which house collections of furniture, weapons and armor dating from the 14th to the 19th centuries. The castle overlooks the picturesque village of Bran, which offers an open-air Ethnographic Museum consisting of old local-style village houses complete with furniture, household objects and costumes.

After that we go to Moeciu de Sus Village and take lunch to Gradistea Gorges Resort.

Then return to Brasov, check-in to hotel *** then a short tour of the medieval center of Brasov.

Day 2: Brasov – Prejmer – Harman – Viscri – Bucharest

departure from Brasov
visit Prejmer Fortified Church
visit Harman Fortified Church
visit Viscri Fortified Church
return to Bucharest

We begin our journey with Prejmer Fortified Church. The largest fortified church in southeastern Europe, Prejmer
(Tartlau in German) was built by Teutonic knights in 1212-1213. The powerful surrounding walls are 40 feet high and 10-15 feet thick. Historical records attest that in its 500 years of existence, the fortress was besieged 50 times. However, it was only captured once, in 1611 by Gabriel Báthori, Prince of Transylvania. Endowed with bastions, drawbridges and a secret, subterranean passage through which food supplies could be transported, the church’s most famed war device was the “death machine,” made of several weapons that could shoot simultaneously, causing the enemy severe losses. Access to the building was through a 100-foot-long arched passage fortified with two rows of gates. Each village family had a designated room for shelter in case of attack. The red-roofed wall accommodated 272 rooms, stacked over four stories and linked by wooden staircases. The church, built in a cross-like plan, was completed in 1225 and later adapted to the Cistercian style. The nave features late-gothic vaulting.

Next stop in our tour is Harman Fortified Church. this fortified church dates back to the 13th century when Saxons built the original structure. Strong walls and bulwarks surrounded the church and on its sides, massive towers were added. The choir was built in a square shape with a vault resembling a cross. It was surrounded by two chapels, indicating the influence of the Cistercian style. This influence can also be observed in the still-standing original round windows with four lobes in the upper part of the church. The fortified church boasts two chapels. The south chapel has been preserved in its initial state while the north chapel was rebuilt in the 15th century. The exterior vaults of the chapel are sculptured in stone and have a human face at each end.

From here we travel to Viscri village, to visit Viscri Fortified Church. The church was built in the 12th century by Szekely (Szeklers, Hungarian ethnics) colonists and taken over by Saxons colonists in 1185. In the 12th century, that is in the first stage of German colonization in Transylvania, the Saxons had built a Romanesque church, which, having been pulled down by the Tartar invasion in 1241-1242, was replaced by an edifice which has been preserved to the day. The Church and the Peasant Fortress display three different building materials, namely stone mixed with partially plastered brick for the precinct walls, towers, as well as for the Church's walls and spire; wood used to encircle the precinct walls and the towers, and placed below the cornices and along the bracket corridors; tile which covers the Church's and the towers' tall roofs. Their corresponding colors, i.e. white, brown and red make the buildings' complex look particularly picturesque. To this effect contribute also the Church's buttresses, with lateral entrances to the nave, alongside the very narrow space left between the Church and the Fortress, keeping with the rural styles during the Middle Ages.

After lunch in Viscri Village we return to Bucharest.

Persons	Double room	Single room
1 person		1050 €
2-3 persons	525 €/pers	575 €/pers
4-5 persons	495 €/pers	525 €/pers
6-7 persons	475 €/pers	495 €/pers

Included: 1 nights accommodation with breakfast( hotel ***), transport with luxury van mercedes Vklass full options or similar car, driver, english guide or german,skip the line , local taxes ,maps.

Not included:entrance tickets at the monuments, lunch,medical insurance, other services not specified on the itinerary, photo/video tax at museums, 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 : 3 Castles and Fortified Saxon Churches 2 days / 1 night