The Mysteries of Vlad: Tepes? the Impaler? or Dracula?

Though Romania has many claims to fame, such as the founder of Dadaism and Nobel Prize winner Herta Mueller, the most prominent international figure that hails from Romania is Vlad the Impaler. During our trip, we saw various adaptations of Vlad's character and significance to Romania, from the historically accurate to the outlandishly cartoonish.

Ruins of the Royal Court near Vlad's statue

 In the old city of Bucharest, we received the most historically accurate depiction of Vlad's story. In the ruins of the Royal Court, there stands a statue commemorating his tremendous contribution to Romania. Though typically associated with Transylvania, being born in Sighisoara, Vlad played an extremely important role in Wallachian politics as the ruler throughout the second half of the 13th century. He was known for extreme cruelty and punishment for his enemies which often included slow impalement. With this preeminent reputation of horror, Vlad was able to help secure Romania's land, specifically from the Ottoman Empire and remained dedicated to his task until his eventual death in 1476. Some of the mystery and intrigue surrounding Vlad remains because of the unknown location of his tomb.

Because of these mysteries and his history of violence, Bram Stoker, author of Dracula used Vlad Tepes as a loose inspiration for the famous vampire, Dracula. Vlad Tepes' father had belonged to the Order of the Dragon, a constituency dedicated to the protection of christianity. Therefore, Vlad was often referred to as Dracul or son of the dragon. It is from this that Stoker derived Vlad's namesake, Dracula the Vampire. This books huge success in the West propelled Dracula to the center stage, and Romania has suffered the association ever since.

View from one of the many castles that claim a connection to Vlad Tepes

During our trip we visited many places that laid claim to part of the Vlad Tepes' story. These places included the castle on the top of the Carpathian mountains on our way towards the Ukraine, as well as the wonderful soup we enjoyed in Vlad's birth house.  One of the most ridiculous experiences was Club Dracula. It was fascinating that Romanian's were willing to play up the story to such an extent, but it was an entertaining, good time. Overall, it was interesting to learn about the different depictions of Vlad's life and see the places that were inspired by the book.