Castle-Hopping in Transylvania: Exploring a Royal-Residence, a Restoration, and a Ruin
Transylvania is a castle-lovers paradise. A central region in the eastern European country of Romania, Transylvania’s castles are little known in the tourist world where the Rhine River and the Loire Valley dominate people’s bucket lists. But Transylvania is packed with breathtaking views, messy history, and legends famous the world over. Kids will come away with an understanding of a part of history that is little known outside of the Eastern European world.
On our magical visit to Transylvania, our family found many different castle options that we could explore. Here I will share three very different castles that we were able to visit and our takeaways from each experience. Each castle brought a different view of the past by the way it was presented. Bran Castle, tourist central with the most extensive historical renovation; Cris Bethlen Castle in the midst of restoration to its former glory; and Rupea Citadel, a castle fortress mostly left to its present-day state of ruins and dirt paths.
The Royal-Residence: Bran Castle
Bran Castle, most well-known of the three, is heavily visited due to its connection to the legend of Dracula. But in actuality it was a royal residence to King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria of Romania in the early 20th century.
This castle has been retrofitted with household items belonging to the king and queen to show what the castle would have truly looked like during the 1920’s. Beyond this, several rooms in the castle have also been filled with items relating to the popular legend of Dracula. The legend is said to have come from Vlad the Impaler, a ruler from this region, who inspired the vampire story of Dracula.
*Family Tip: There are a few places where the vampire-gore gets a little intense, so if you have sensitive children who may get scared, watch for signs in the castle that will warn you of these areas.
Here are a list of pros and cons our family put together of visiting this type of castle:
Pros:
- Lots of history written and seen throughout the castle rooms.
- Ability to have a tour guide if you so desire to learn even more
- Access to food and drinks as there are restaurants on site
- Accomodations close by as the castle is a popular attraction
- Lots of parking
- Market stalls out front of the castle to buy souvenirs
Cons:
- Extremely crowded and easy to lose sight of children on the small windy staircases
- Stuck between tour groups moving from room to room
- Not a lot of time to read signs as you must continue with the flow of the crowds through the rooms in the castle, so you choose which signs to read instead of reading all of them
Overall, the feeling at Bran Castle was one of a museum-like tourist attraction. This is a very different feeling from the next two examples of castles that I will share.
*Off the Beaten Path Tip: We were able to get away from the crowds for a bit while exploring the grounds around the castle, which was refreshing and gave us a different perspective of the walls from down below. Another option would be to go during a different time of year. We went during high summer season in July.
The Restoration: Cris Bethlen Castle (Castelul Bethlen din Cris)
Cris Bethlen Castle is a castle in Kreisch, Romania (20 minutes outside of Sighisoara). It is currently under restoration to show the present how it was used and lived in the past.
This castle was completely empty besides the caretakers, ourselves, and a few workers who were helping with the restoration. As we bought our ticket, the caretaker shared a little about the history of the castle and what they were up to with the restoration and then told us that we could go explore wherever we wanted to in the castle, but only certain rooms had displays inside.
We had a wonderful time exploring. Some parts of the castle were definitely still ruins, but our children’s imaginations went wild with what could have taken place in those rooms. The jail had displays of different knight’s armor and the back of the castle housed a full interactive area that the kids played with for a long while.
They had a small coffee shop on site where we enjoyed a coffee before leaving to go find lunch.
Here are a list of pros and cons our family put together of visiting this type of castle:
Pros:
- Caretakers were friendly and personable and genuinely seemed excited to share with us about the castle
- Entrance price was about a quarter of the price of Bran Castle
- Our whole family enjoyed seeing the first hand view of the restoration process of the castle
- Informational signs and a few exhibits still gave a museum-feel but we were able to explore on our own time with the lack of crowds
Cons:
- The only bathroom option was a portapotty far behind the castle
- Only a coffee shop, no real food option at the castle or nearby as it is farther off the beaten path
- The drive to get there is farther off the main roads that you would be driving to get around Romania
With the unconventional way that we like to travel as a family, this was by far our favorite type of castle to see. It had personality, intrigue, and sparked our imagination, while still giving us information to help us learn about the history of the castle.
The Ruin: Rupea Citadel
Rupea Citadel is a ruin of a castle fortress off the main road, E60, between Sighisoara and Brasov. Although it also has some restoration occurring, the ruins are extensive, making the buildings and walls more of less left to the toils of nature.
Here are a list of pros and cons our family put together of visiting this type of castle:
Pros:
- You can see what time has done to the property – gives children a better understanding of what a long long time ago feels like
- On your own time to explore with no crowds
- Bathroom available
- Easy access to the highway
- A shorter visit as there is not as much to see in regards to exhibits.
- Cheaper entrance fee (again about ¼ of the price of Bran Castle)
- Beautiful views of the surrounding area as it is set on a hill
Cons:
- Very little interactive exhibits for the kids, only signs to give information about history
- Ruins give very little to see and explore.
- Very little food and drink options
Castle ruins can still teach kids a lot about history and paired with informational signs can give context to the events surrounding the castle in the past. All three of these types of castles tell their own story in their own way. Remember these are just three of the many castles around Transylvania. Exploring on your own with your kids is so much of the fun when you discover a castle!