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0845 3000 247 +44 (0)1539 531258 |
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ON THE TRAIL OF DRACULA - THE FICTION |
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"Borgo" (Bargau ) Pass Hotel Castel Dracula Jonathan Harker's Journey (Carriage ride to Castel Dracula) Bistrita ("Bistritz") "Golden Krone Inn" (Hotel Coroana de Aur) Cluj ("Klausenburg") |
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- THE FACTS |
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Bucharest (Curtea Veche) Targoviste (Princely Court / Chindia Tower) Curtea de Arges Arefu Poienari Castle Ruins Sighisoara (Schässburg) Brasov (Tampa Hill) Fagaras Snagov Monastery |
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DRACULA HOLIDAYS 2007 with Transylvania Uncovered |
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Scheduled Tours - Ultimate Dracula - Halloween Dracula Ultimate Halloween (NEW) Tours for Groups/ Societies (on request) Brief Encounter (Short-break holidays) Trail of Jonathan Harker (Carriage Ride to Castle Dracula) Dracula Trail (Bespoke Tours) |
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BESPOKE DRACULA TOURS We can organise flights, accommoddation, car hire & provide information to assist you should you prefer to travel independently If you want just a taste we can incorporate parts of the Dracula Trail into any Romanian itinerary |
Dracula - Discover the Truth!
ULTIMATE DRACULA ULTIMATE HALLOWEEN BASIC HALLOWEEN BESPOKE DRACULA BRIEF ENCOUNTER FLIGHTS CAR HIRE"Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road - a long, agonized wailing as if from fear. The sound was taken up by another dog, then another and another, till, borne on the wind which now sighed softly through the Pass, a wild howling began which seemed to come from all over the country, as far as the imagination could grasp it through the gloom of the night. ... Then, far off in the distance, from the mountains on each side of us began a louder and sharper howling - that of wolves!"
[ Bram Stoker "Dracula", 1897 ]
Superstitions, myths and legend are rife in this part of Transylvania
- a fear of the unknown in this remote corner of Europe
CONTACT US0845 3000 247
+44 (0)1539 531258
DISCOVER MORE ABOUT DRACULA - TAKE ONE OF OUR SPECIAL TOURS
Whether you are a serious Dracula enthusiast or you just want to discover the truth about Dracula
these are the tours for YOU - researched in great depth, tried and tested
and escorted by professional experts in the field;
these are the tours that will bring you closest to unravelling the truth - and they are also great fun!
In our opinion these are by far the best Dracula Tours available today
ALL TOURS CAN ALSO BE TAILORED FOR CLUBS & SOCIETIES
COUNT DRACULA
THE DRACULA COLLECTION
The well-known Dracula, a vampire count, subject of
hundreds of horror films, was created by an Irishman,
Bram Stoker, in 1897.
The book begins with the journey of Jonathan Harker,
a naive English lawyer dispatched to Transylvania
to finalise the deeds on the sale of a property in
London for the Count.
He stays at the Golden Krone Hotel in Bistritz
before travelling up the "Borgo Pass" to Castle Dracula
despite warnings to the contrary.
Although Stoker had never been to Transylvania
the locations used are real and surprisingly accurate.
Stoker describes the orchards of Bistritz then
"beyond the green swelling hills of the Mittel Land
rose mighty slopes of forest up to the lofty peaks
of the Carpathians themselves".
In our opinion the remote "Borgo" Pass is
one of the most beautiful places on the continent
of Europe - the dark forests, the peaks of the
Caliman, Suhard and Rodnei mountains and yes,
in the autumn and winter the night air is filled with
the chilling howls of the wolves!
ULTIMATE DRACULA -
This is the ultimate Dracula tour blending fact and fiction as we make our way through the realm of Vlad the Impaler in Wallachia to the heart of historic Transylvania, then further and deeper into the remote Carpathians of northern Transylvania as we seek out Count Dracula. Highlights include the horse and cart journey up to the 'Borgo Pass', following cart and forest tracks ever higher, following in the footsteps of Jonathan Harker ever deeper into the wolf-ridden forest. We pause at a woodcutters hut for a picnic before finally reaching the summit as the day draws to a close. Our midsummer tour also includes the exceptional 'Vampires Ball' amidst the fortified citadel of Târgu Mures - we are even expecting a visit from the Count himself - just because it is the shortest night you should still be afraid! We visit the historic domains of Vlad the Impaler including Sibiu, Sighisoara, Brasov, his castle at Poienari, his capitals at Curteaa de Arges, Târgoviste and Bucharest, and finally we take a boat out to the island where his headless corpse is buried beside Snagov Monastery. This trip includes quality accommodation and meals throughout. The autumn trip follows the same itinerary but with a more modest show in the old bastion at Targu Mures.
Bucharest - Curtea de Arges - Poienari (the 'real' Dracula castle) - Lake Vidraru - Baile Govora - Sibiu - Biertan (fortress church) - Sighisoara - Horse & Cart up the 'Borgo' Pass - Hotel Castle Dracula - Bistrita - Târgu Mures - Vampires Midsummer Ball (June tour only) - Brasov - Bran Castle - Târgoviste - Snagov - Bucharest (including Ghancea Cemetery!).
2007 DATES:
- AUTUMN: 12 - 19 SEPTEMBER 2007 FURTHER DETAILS
VLAD DRACULA
"THE IMPALER"
PRINCE OF WALLACHIA
Stoker drew his inspiration from a number of sources
but following his discovery of a pamphlet about the
15th century Prince of Wallachia - Vlad Dracula
- his vampire count gained an identity.
Vlad was born in Sighisoara in Transylvania in 1431
- the house where he was born still stands today
and now contains a restaurant.
He lived during a time of great conflict.
Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire
of the Turks in 1453 and his father joined the
Order of Dragon - a union of eastern and central
European rulers - to repel further expansion.
Years were spent as a hostage of the Turks
before Vlad took the throne of Wallachia
in Targoviste and attempted to rid his country
of subservience to the Turks.
Knowledge gained from captivity enabled him
to use terror tactics against wayward landlords
to gain obedience and against the Turks
who attempted to invade Wallachia and capture him.
Dracula means "Son of the Devil",
and this nickname, in addition to "the Impaler",
were soon applied to Vlad.
On one occasion they were repulsed by the sight
of a forest of the victims of a previous invasion
impaled outside the capital Targoviste.
He was later deposed by his brother, who
sided with the Turks and he fled from his castle
in the gorge of the Arges at Poienari,
aided by the villagers of Arefu, across the
mountains to Transylvania, where he was sheltered
for while in the mountain castle of "Königstein"
(Piatra Craiului), now a ruin above the Rucar Pass
Vlad returned to the throne of Wallachia
only to be murdered a few months later.
His decapitated remains were buried at
Snagov Monastery near Bucharest,
which he had once partly converted into a prison.
The capital itself was first recorded during the time
of his first reign when he built a citadel there.
Cockermouth, Cumbria, United Kingdom CA13 0RA - Tel. +44 (0)1900 838570; Email. [email protected]
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