During my third year at university, I followed a course about the gothic novel. I had to read four books: Frankenstein, The Castle of Otranto, The Golem and Dracula. Prior to these classes, I had seen some of the Dracula movies, but I had never been aware that they were loosely based on a novel. So, with a lot of enthusiasm, I started reading it and from the first page on, I was completely intrigued.
Apart from the thrilling subject, what I liked most about the book was how author Bram Stoker had designed it. Dracula consists of diary entries, letters and ships’ log entries. The novel starts with Jonathan Harker traveling to Dracula’s castle, which is located in the Carpathian mountains. Harker works for a real estate company and has to offer legal support to count Dracula, who wants to buy property in London. Soon the clerk is captured by Dracula and realises that the count has some very dark plans.
The descriptions of Romania are very detailed and accurate, which is quite extraordinary, given the fact that Stoker had never visited this part of Europe. He had to rely on accounts of travellers and spent quite some time in libraries researching them. Thanks to our travel guide and especially the owners of our hotel in Cluj, we were able to follow Jonathan Harker’s journey from his arrival in Romania to the castle of the famous count.
Harker arrived in Bistrita, a town located in the north of Transylvania and stayed in the Golden Krone Hotel. This is where Bram Stoker deviates from reality, because at the time of the novel, such a hotel did not exist. But it has been built in the meantime, mainly for touristic purposes. Nowadays, the town is known for its beautiful Lutheran church. Lars and I had a stroll in the busy but cozy town.
Afterwards, Jonathan Harker has to travel through the Borgo Pass in order to reach Dracula’s castle. At least, this is how the mountain pass is called in the novel. Bram Stoker actually used the Hungarian name, but in Romanian it is called the Tihuta Pass. Lars and I drove through it and stopped regularly to take pictures of the stunning scenery.
Follow the road and you’ll end up at the hotel called Castel Dracula. This too was built for touristic purposes. Although this is the location where the author imagined the castle, there are no castles in this region that resemble the one described in the novel; most historians believe that Stoker sought inspiration in an English one. Anyway, we did stop at Castel Dracula to take some pictures. In front of the hotel is a statue of Bram Stoker.
In our next posts, we will follow the life of the historical figure, who served as the inspiration for count Dracula. Join us on a trip through Romania, from the birth place to the place where he is likely to be buried, the infamous Vlad the Impaler!
