If you came looking for Dracula, you are in the right place, just not in the way you imagine. Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia, had his residence here, and from here in 1459 he signed the oldest document that names Bucharest. What you will not find is a vampire.

1Who was Vlad III?

His father, Vlad II, joined the Order of the Dragon in 1431, a chivalric order founded by Emperor Sigismund; that gave him the nickname Dracul, «the Dragon», and his son became Drăculea, «son of the Dragon». Vlad III ruled three times and became notorious for his cruelty to enemies and nobles: the nickname Țepeș, «the Impaler», appears in sources written after his death. He died in battle at the end of 1476 or early 1477. Where he is buried is still a mystery; tradition points to Snagov Monastery, north of Bucharest, but excavations have not confirmed it.

The vampire is another story: he was invented by the Irish writer Bram Stoker in his 1897 novel Dracula, which borrowed the prince's name and placed him in Transylvania.

2Bucur and the tunnels

One legend says the city was founded by a shepherd called Bucur, and that its name echoes the word bucurie, «joy». Another, often repeated, tells of secret tunnels linking the Old Court to churches and inns. There are cellars under the Old Town, certainly; a network of passages, nobody has ever proved.

3What to look for

  • The bust of Vlad III, with his cap and moustache.
  • The brick cellars, which many people call, without evidence, «Dracula's dungeons».
  • The church of 1559, beside the ruins.

Documented

Vlad III's residence in Bucharest and his document of 1459, Vlad II's admission to the Order of the Dragon in 1431 and Bram Stoker's 1897 novel are documented.

Oral tradition

The founding by the shepherd Bucur, the tunnels under the Old Town, «Dracula's dungeons» and the burial at Snagov belong to tradition and legend.

Sources and credits

Muzeul Municipiului București, entry on Curtea Veche; Radu R. Florescu and Raymond T. McNally, Dracula: Prince of Many Faces (Little, Brown, 1989); Matei Cazacu, Dracula (Brill, 2017).

Photos:

  • Old Court Church with striped brick and stone walls, its tower and garden: DimiTalen, CC0.
  • Brick ruins of the Old Princely Court in Bucharest with the bust of Vlad III: Stefan Jurca from Munich, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0.

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