Dominic von Habsburg/Dracula Castle

The Romanian government says it will return Bran Castle, popularly
known as Dracula's Castle, to Dominic von Habsburg, a New York
architect and nephew of Romania's last king, as part of a wider push
to resolve the country's long-standing controversy over property
restitution.

mjcar...

Interesting; thanks Good to see you posting again.

Radu Bogdan...

Popularly known as Dracula's Castle ??? Probably for the ignorant
hordes of the "cultured, educated and refined West". The castle has no
proper name, except for being designated after the village next to it,
Bran. It's Bran Castle.
(It was never called "Dracula's Castle", except, of course, by some
ridiculous "Westerners" who read Bram Stocker's "Dracula" and imagined
that the biggest castle in the Carpathians - a.k.a. Transylvanian Alps
- had to be Dracula's !

Vlad III the Impaler slept for ONE NIGHT only in the castle ; I should

edespalais...

Said castle, Vlad the Impaler , did not belong to the "cultured,
educated and refined West", but to the East, in those days probably
particularly Turkey /Constantinople, which may have been rather
"cultured, educated and refined"

Radu Bogdan...

I'm afraid not, not at all. Wallachia never belonged to Turkey, see my
postings in Dec. 2005 / Jan. 2006 on this subject.
Bran was/is a Transylvanian castle - plain and simple. Those who have
doubts should make a voyage here.

edespalais...

Bran is a place in Transylvania. Hungarian time, what was the name in
Latin, Hungarian, German, where exactly situated?

Radu Bogdan...

First of all, click on the following links to see :

A map :

The castle :

The valley it dominates :

This is the centre of Brasov (Kronstadt), city founded by the Teutonic
Order :

T=F6rzburg in German ; T=F6rcv=E1r in Hungarian ; in Latin, the castle was
simply called Citadella (Roum.: citadela). Situated 30 km SE of Brasov
/ Kronstadt, it belonged to the Kronstadt city council.

edespalais...

That was ananswer! Of courese it must be said that not everybody can
scan, is good on the computer, the internet; also a question of age

edespalais...

That was ananswer! Of courese it must be said that not everybody can
scan, is good on the computer, the internet; also a question of age

When I say "cultured, educated and refined West", I mock some
present-day realities. But this is a quite different story...

Could you please define "East" ? Thank you.

probably call the White House and the Buckingham Palace "Ceausescu's
Palaces" because he slept there at least 1 night during official State
visits.

BUT, because Roumania considers that the ignorant hordes of the
"cultured, educated and refined West" must visit the country, Roumanian
bipeds themselves started to use the "Dracula Castle" formula, next to
producing and selling ridiculous kitsch souvenirs for those so eager to
buy smth. from "Dracula's Land" ...

Mr von Habsburg made a claim for the 900-year-old castle after the
Bucharest government last year strengthened the rights of those who
lost property under communism.

No legal agreement has been finalised, but Herzfeld & Rubin, Mr von
Habsburg's lawyers, said the government indicated it would turn over
the property this month. Officials in the culture ministry could not be
reached to confirm the decision.

"To me it is emotional and extremely important," said Mr von
Habsburg. "I spent my childhood there and have very warm memories."

Radu Bogdan...

Oh, I bet. Bran is estimated to some $ 25-30 000 000. Very warm.

Royal descendents are not the only ones set to be compensated for
properties lost during more than 40 years of communist rule. The
government of Calin Tariceanu, the prime minister, is also preparing a
fund that will be used to reimburse people who lost properties, both
commercial and residential, that for one reason or another can no
longer be returned. Many seized properties have been destroyed or now
function as public buildings.

Under the scheme the government will transfer state-owned shares in 114
companies, sovereign debts owed to Romania and cash. Officials estimate
the value of the fund at =803.8bn ($4.5bn, =A32.6bn).

Parties who make successful compensation claims against the state will
be awarded shares in the fund, which will be listed in Bucharest and on
a leading European exchange.

However, the plan is controversial. Recipients will receive
compensation based on the par value of shares. They will not be
protected against a loss in share value before they receive shares or
after the fund is listed.

Nicolae Ivan, president of the fund's supervisory board, said he did
not expect the shares to drop below par because they were valued on net
assets, which he called a "very conservative" basis.

Additionally, he said, claimants could opt to reject the shares and sue
the state for greater compensation.

Other complications remain for the descendents of some of Romania's
largest industrialists. Claimants are required to provide documentary
proof of their ownership in companies nationalised in June 1948, but
many records have been lost or destroyed.

First built as a fortress by the Knights of the Teutonic Order in 1212,
Bran Castle lies just south of the Transylvanian city of Brasov.

In the 15th century it came under the control of Prince Vlad Tepes of
Wallachia, otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler and the inspiration for
Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Radu Bogdan...

a) It did not. He did not contol the castle, only the village of Bran,
custom point between Wallachia and the Hungarian Transylvania.

b) inspiration for Bram Stoker's "Dracula" ? Ha. Stocker used a
Roumanian historic character (deforming it), old Hungarian and German
legends, and - I maliciously add - his own ancestral Celtic fears,
concocting a grotesque character whose continuous popularity rather
proves me that common sense, discernment and minimal historical
knowledge never were the strong points of the "cultured, educated and
refined West".

In 1920 the castle was presented as a gift to Queen Marie by the people
of Brasov. Queen Marie was Mr von Habsburg's grandmother.