Curtea de Argeș · Romania

Poienari Citadel

Poenari Citadel

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challenging

8/10

romantic

A local would say...

The REAL Dracula castle — 1480 steps up, built by enslaved nobles, where Vlad's wife jumped to her death

The REAL Dracula's castle — 1480 steps up a mountain to the ruins Vlad Țepeș actually fortified. He forced boyars to march from Târgoviște and build it as punishment. Far more atmospheric than touristy Bran: crumbling towers above the Argeș gorge, and usually empty. Legend says Vlad's wife threw herself from these walls rather than be captured by the Turks.