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"Dracula's Castle" For Sale In Romania
galaad2 writes "Want to own the real castle that may have inspired the legend of Dracula? The Transylvanian castle associated with Vlad the Impaler, who may have been part of the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, is on sale for £40 million ($77 million). Bran Castle, near the historic city of Brasov, in central Romania, draws 450,000 visitors a year because of its association with 15th-century Prince Vlad Tepes III. (Wikipedia points out that Bran Castle's ties to Vlad are weak and disputed.) The local town council has been offered first refusal; they have 30 days to review the offer and then the property will be put on the market."
Ok, I'll bite...
£40 million GLORIOUS bats. HA HA HA.
Damn, do I spend my recently acquired $70 million inheritance to buy Sealand, or this castle?
I once shot a man in Reno 'cause they cancelled Firefly.
Real Estate salesman: Wow, we don't see many vampires around here.
Vampire: Yeah well, at these prices you won't see many more.
What?
Who wants to go in on a castle?
Ideal roommates should be able to appreciate trap doors, suits of armor used used for conversation pieces, abandoned rooms with misc furniture covered in white sheets, pictures of aristocrats with the eyes cut out (for spying), rotating bookshelfs, and indie rock.
No dogs.
No smokers.
Weed is ok.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
All I can say is if I had 77 million lying around I would love to pick this castle up. I could get so many more chicks: "come back to my castle... of love"
What chick wouldn't want to go back to a castle? Of love?
Hey, there is only one Return and it's not of the King, it's of the Jedi.
Putting in heating, ventilating, and air conditioning will be a tough job. I know someone who converted an old stone barn, and that was a major project, even with substantial spending.
Sure you can buy Dracula's castle, but there's one catch. You have to spend the night there.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Certainly nobody will buy this castle for making a profit. Do the math: 40 million pounds have to be spent. People pay 2.40 per entry. Thus you need 16.7 million entries to cover the acquisition costs (assuming the 450,000 visitors a year are all adults, a bit optimistic). Using this figure, it takes 37 years to pay off the initial investment - ignoring costs for running the castle, such as ongoing repairs, staff, etc.
Still, it would be cool to have that castle and enjoy eternal night life...
I only have one question. If I buy it can I get fully cooked meat out of the walls by destroying certain blocks?
Well, the castle has little to do with Vlad Tepes, actually. As for Bram Stocker, there's an idea he mostly drew his inspiration from the actions of Elizabeth Bathory. :) You should look more into the subject of this castle. It is beautiful, indeed, but you would really have the wrong expectations of it. Here's the story for those interested in this topic :b reaking-dracula-myth.html
http://wordsofabrokenmirror.blogspot.com/2006/09/
I've been to a few, and they were all advertised as being "the real one". The joke among Romanians is apparently that every castle over there belonged to some Vlad this or that, and because that Bram Stoker has never been to Romania, there is no problem in claiming that it is Dracula's castle
The Castle in Bran *looks* the part. If Disney were to make a real castle, it would look like this. It is well located for access by train from all over the country. I'm not sure it would be a good investment as their door policy isn't exactly difficult to skip around.
Anyway, the castle at Poenari is the real deal, though it is difficult to get there. You have to climb up a very steep mountain side to actually get to the castle, sometimes you are watched by armed guards protecting a nearby Hydro plant or something. The guys had guns, I didn't ask. This castle really was the home of Vlad the Impaler and the slope you climb to reach it once had the decapetated heads of his victims strewn across it on spikes.
The castle itself is actually very small and nobody is ever going to make moey selling tours there (hence Bran is where the tours are sent). It is spooky and very, very cool. It is perched on a teeny tiny outcropping from the mountain and is a really fantastic experience , as I recounted here many years ago http://www.apj.co.uk/tales/vlad.htm#vlad.
...a week ago.
It is really beautiful, and the surrounding village of Bran is extremely nice. The caste is quite small, but very nice, with small corridors, winding stairs, inner terraces and balconies, even a secret passage from Queen's room to King's room. All asymmetric, you can easily get lost in there. The entire thing is in mint condition, but heating in the winter must be a bitch.
As can traffic. A few hours after we left, the whole village got snowed in, and thousands of tourists couldn't leave as the roads were buried in half a metre of snow.
I didn't know Dennis Miller surfed slashdot...