Brasov’s strategic geographical position, close to the commercial route Rucar – Bran, through the Carpathian Mountains, has influenced the economic development of the city. Thanks to its nearness to Bucegi Mountains and the Bran Castle, Brasov is one of the most important destinations in Romania.
The Black Church is the heart of Brasov
Over 500 years old, Biserica Neagra (the Black Church) is the most representative historic monument in Brasov, the greatest Gothic church in Transylvania and, in some historians’ point of view, the greatest religious edifice from Vienna to Istanbul. More than that, inside the church there is one of the greatest organs in Europe, and also the largest collection of old carpets from Asia Minor. The construction of this Gothic Evangelic church began around 1380, in the time of Vicar Thomas Sander, and initially it was named Saint Mary’s Church.
In 1421 an important part of the construction was destroyed during the Turkish invasion, and that is why the church was completely built in 1477. Nowadays it is considered the greatest place of worship in Romania, with impressive dimensions: 90 meters in length, between 25 and 37 meters wide, 65 meters from the floor level to the highest point of its Cross tower, while it can house about 5000 people. More than that, the biggest bell in the country, weighting 6.3 tones, is to be found in its tower as well.
Then, after almost 200 years, a fire partially destroyed it in 1689, and the smoke blackened the walls, and for a long period of time the façade couldn’t be renovated. The restoration lasted about 100 years, but the place of worship was called Biserica Neagra (the Black Church) because of its black smoked walls (Die Schwarze Kirche in German and Fekete Templom in Hungarian). The present roof, 20 meters in height, was also built after this fire. The workers who restored it were from Danzing, and this is the reason why the new vaults are in Baroque style and not in Gothic.
Black Church’s organ
The Black Church’s organ, with 4000 pipes and considered one of the biggest in Europe, was built between 1836 and 1839 by the Berlin organ maker Buchholz, and it is famous for its sonority. In 1924 the gallery in front of the organ was enlarged in order to organize sacred music concerts with chorus’ participation. Many vinyl discs, audio tapes and CDs were made in the course of years.
Nowadays an organ concert is organized every week.
Priceless Values
The collection of old carpets from Brussa, Usak and Ghiordes regions in Asia Minor, dating from the 17th and 18th centuries represent an invaluable thesaurus of the Black Church. Those were donated in the course of years by the craftsmen, merchants and citizens of the city.
The furniture and worship objects represent other remarkable values that turn this construction into a place that no tourist can miss. For instance, the bronze font made by the local craftsmen was donated in 1472 by Vicar Johannes Reudel. After almost 150 years, in 1716, blacksmith Meensen Hannes made a wonderful wrought iron grating that surrounds the font. Then, in the South porch there is a mural painting made after 1476 that shows Virgin Mary and Child Jesus, featured between Saint Catherine and Saint Barbara. The crests of Matthias Corvinus and his wife Beatrice of Naples – Aragon are at the bottom of the painting.
Three folds, with five paintings from the Feldioara altar (the end of the 15th century) are also to be mentioned. The pews in the naos date from the end of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th century and have Baroque wooden carved ornaments. Then the lecterns are in neo - gothic style, dating from 1866, and the pews in the centre of the naos, made of oak wood, were placed there in 1937.
The old tombstones of some famous personalities of the city were built in the side spaces of the West entrance when the neo - gothic altar was built (in 1866) and when the heating system was installed (in 1937).
An oiled canvas representing “The Wedding From Cana (Nunta din Cana)“, work of Hans Eder painter, it is exposed on the frontal wall of the northern lateral nave.
Hans Elder’s oil painting showing “The Wedding at Cana” is exhibited on the frontal wall of the North side naos. The emblem of the city, representing a crown on a rooted trunk, is plotted in relief on the pillar in front of the pulpit.
Inside the church there are also some sculptures, the oldest of all being the bust of Saint John the Baptist. The others represent Saint Thomas, Saint Jacob the Pilgrim, Jesus Salvator Mundi, Virgin Mary, Saints Pavel, Luke and Sebastian.
A sculpture uncommon for a place of worship is to be found on the North buttress. It is about the representation of a child that seems to be about to fall. The legend says that when they were building the church, one of the workers became jealous of a very talented apprentice. At one point he asked the child to lift something from the cornice, and when he leant out, the worker pushed him. The legend also states that the sculpture was made by the other workers to the memory of the cowardly killed child.
In the course of time, Biserica Neagra (the Black Church) endured several maintenance and restoration works. Between 1937 and 1944 the sculptures from the exterior buttresses were replaced with copies, and the originals were sheltered inside the church. Between 1967 and 1977 the money for renovation was from the public budget, and the restoration after the earthquake in 1977 was made with money from donations and subscriptions.
Tourist potential
After the touristic estimations, about 100 000 persons visit Biserica Neagra (the Black Church) every year, being considered the second major attraction in the county, after The Bran Castle. The visiting program is daily between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., and the price of a ticket is 4 lei for adults and 2 lei for students, pupils and pensioners. At the entrance there are points of sale with postcards with the whole church and with details of it. Taking photos and making films are forbidden. One can easily find accommodation units in the vicinity of the church, in hotels and boarding houses.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Black Church-Brasov
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Peles Castle
It is said that sometime in august 1866 king Carol I arrived in the neighborhood, and spent the night at the monastery of Podul Neagului (as Sinaia was known at that time). He liked so much the wild and picturesque landscapes that he decided to built here a castle. So he bought the land in 1872, and then hired the German architect Wilhelm Dodderer to make the plans for the construction. That is why, in what concerns the exterior architecture, the main elements are specific to the German neo-renaissance style.
Pelisor Castle - Sinaia.
As a matter-of-fact, the construction began in 1873, but the basement of the castle dates from 1875. After its official opening in 1883, some development plans followed, the present shape of the building being finished in 1914. Mainly it is about some buildings that were annexed, like Camerele Gardianului (the Guardian’s Rooms), Economatul (the Bursarship), Foisorul (the Foisor Hunting Chateau) (the hunting house), Grajdurile Regale (the Royal Stables) and the Power Station. Over 300 craftsmen, from all over the world, worked here during this period.)
Queen Maria’s Bedroom - Pelisor.
Between 1889 and 1903, architect Karel Liman, who was in charge of the construction, built Pelisor Chateau - a modern and smaller replica of the main building - the residence of King Ferdinand I of Romania and of Queen Mary. The royal couple also lived in the Foisor Hunting Chateau for a while, building that was destroyed in a fire and was rebuilt again in 1933. A brief estimation shows that between 1875 and 1914 there were spent over 16 million golden lei for Peles.
Peles Castle - The Entrance Hall
Valuable collections and a secret door
Both, at the end of the 19th century and nowadays, the Peles Castle was and is considered to be one of the most beautiful castles in Europe, and the first to be entirely electrified on the continent. Its own power station was located on the bank of Peles Brook. Otherwise, the building had, even at that time, an interior elevator, vacuum cleaner and central-heating system. The castle has 170 rooms, out of which only 10 can be visited by tourists, and shelters various valuable collections of paintings, sculptures, armours, carpets, furniture, tapestries, statues, potteries, gold, silver and china dishes, stained-glasses.
The Entrance Hall is magnificent, with walnut tree carvings, covered with bas-reliefs and statuettes. The movable glass ceiling, activated by an electric engine or by a manual system, was a surprise element for the king’s visitors, who could admire the sky on cloudless summer nights.
The rooms included in the touristic circuit have suggestive names, like Sala Maura (the Moorish Salon), the Florentine Room, the Columns Room, the Music Room, and the Armoury.
Peles Castle - The armouries.
The Royal library attracts especially those who are keen on rare books, with leather covers engraved with golden letters. There is an attraction point even for those who are not familiar with the universe of books, namely the secret door, a way of access behind a book shelf through which the king could becalm in various rooms of the Castle.
The armouries, arranged between 1903 and 1906, shelter more than 4000 European and Eastern pieces from the 14th and 17 centuries. The most valuable are considered to be the German armours from the 16th and 17th centuries and a complete armour for horse and knight, unique in Romania.
The Music Room became a musical soirée salon at Queen Elisabeth’s wish. The furniture from this room was a gift from the Maharajah of Kapurthala.
Peles Castle - Maura Salon.
The Florentine Room, also called the Great Salon, impresses with its ceiling sculptured out of linden trees, gilded, with two great chandeliers, and its ornaments in the Italian neo-renaissance style.
Maura Salon is the work of architect Charles Lecompte de Nouy, having Spanish-Moorish elements and an indoor Carrara marble fountain, replica of a similar piece in Cairo.
The Playhouse has 60 seats and a royal box, being decorated in Louis XIV style.
At first floor there is the Concert Room, arranged in 1906, where one can find a harpsichord made in 1621 at Antwerp, a Bluthner piano with vertical tail and a Rieger organ with two keyboards.
The Imperial Suite was also arranged in 1906, for the Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef, invited at King’s Carol I celebration of 40 years of reign.
Peles Castle - Concert Room.
Other rooms that offer the tourists various surprises are: the Council Room, which resembles one of the rooms of the mayoralty in Lucerne – Switzerland; the Work Cabinet where there is an imposing writing table and also an audience desk; the Dining Room, where there are exhibited some very valuable silver pieces, is at the first floor and has a rustic, Briton furniture from the 18th century; The Turkish Parlor which shelters a collection of Turkish and Persian brass pots; the Bedroom which is lighted by a Bohemia crystal chandelier.
The stained glasses from Peles Castle were bought and set up between 1883 and 1914, most of them being brought from Switzerland and Germany, dating from the 15th and 17th centuries. The castle also has seven terraces decorated with stone sculptures, fountains and Carrara marble decorative pots.
Peles Castle - The Dining Room.
After the Bran Castle, Peles Castle is considered to be the second most visited museum in the country. Only in 2006 there were over 250 000 visitors from our country and also from USA, Australia, Japan and New Zeeland. The importance of the castle is also underlined by the existing security measures: military guards, supervisors and video cameras.
In March 2007 the Romanian Government gave back the Peles castle and Pelisor Chateau and the afferent lands to the Royal Family. Then, after a memorandum signed by the representatives of the Royal House and of the Government, it was agreed that the Peles Castle and the Foisor Hunting Chateau remained “forever”, as museums, in the property of the Romanian state.
Peles Castle - Sinaia.
Bugaboo for Ceausescu family
A story famous in the 80s said that the Ceausescu would have liked to have a protocol residence at Peles (the building was closed for the public between 1975 and 1990). Because it was well known that they had the habit of ordering all kinds of demolishing and renovations, the persons in charge of the museum scared them by saying that inside the Castle there is a fungus that attacked the wood and that it was very dangerous for man’s health. The truth is that there was indeed a fungus that affected the girders of the building because of the dampness and lack of airing. Cautious, Ceausescu husband and wife spent only one night at the Castle, sleeping in the Foisor. That is the reason why they started the restoration works, the resistance structure from the Honor Hall and the ground floor dining room being replaced.
It is also said that Elena Ceausescu was the one who ordered the six pillows embroidered in silver and gold for the castle. At that time, the value of one pillow was that of a Dacia car, meaning 70 000 old lei.
Peles Castle - Sinaia.
How to get there?
Castelul Peles (the Peles Castle) is located in Sinaia (44 kilometers far from Brasov and 122 kilometers far from Bucharest), and one can choose between the European road E60 and the national road DN1. In what concerns the railway, there are many trains that go from Ploiesti to the Valea Prahovei (Prahova Valley), and Sinaia Resort is one of the destinations.
Visitors receive an extensive tour of the rooms at the ground and first floor, with guide in five foreign languages. On November, Castelul Peles (the Peles Castle) is closed for general cleaning.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
BRAN CASTLE(1920-1947) - royal residence
On December 1st 1920, the people from Braşov – through the voice of their mayor, Mr. Karl Schnell – have given the castle as a present to the Romanian royal family, in whose possession the castle remained for the next twenty seven years.
After becoming property of the royal family, between 1920 -1930 the castle suffered a series of architectural renovations, aiming to transform it into a modern summer residence. The renovation works were lead by the Czech architect Karel Liman, who also worked at the castles Peleş and Pelişor. Two towers for stairs were added, the bulwarks and the shooting gaps became windows, the stoves and the hearths became modern fireplaces. In order to make it inhabitable by the royal family, the Bran Castle was equipped with all utilities compulsory in a genuine royal residence. The water was supplied by the 57 meters fountain dug in the inner court of the castle. The illumination of the castle was insured by a turbine power station, built by will of Queen Maria in May 1932, to which the communes Bran, Şimon and Moeciu were also connected, “poor and strictly Romanian communes, who wouldn’t have had such an advantage in the near future”, as shown by a thanking letter sent to Queen Maria by the inhabitants of the three communes. The turbine – manufactured by the Voith Company – was brought into operation on August 29th, 1932. A water power station of 85 hp was also built on Turcu River in December 1932, to illuminate the castle and the surroundings.The communication with the exterior was facilitated by the existence of three telephone stations in the castle. The telephone system and the telephone exchange were altered and replaced in 1941 and 1944, at the request of Princess Ileana. Since the castle had – besides basement and ground floor – four floors, it was equipped with an elevator, same as the Peleş Castle. The elevator was set up in order to facilitate the queen’s walk from the park to the castle. A cable way was installed for an easier communication with the Tea House, carrying from the castle kitchen the food the queen and her guests helped. The house was equipped with plumbing for cold and warm water, with electric light and sewerage, being specially fit out for small receptions in a natural frame. The Bran Castle, as many other palaces and castles, is the place where the architectural imaginative view of Queen Maria has fully manifested. Thus, there were built a hunting house, a wooden small church, a wooden house (with seven rooms) and … two bawdy houses (one for the queen and one for Princess Ileana.
The Bran Castle was – next to the Palace from Balcic – the dearest residence of Queen Maria who, due to her imagination, changed the solid and unwelcoming fortress into a warm, modern and comfortable summer dwelling. The queen’s favorite field of interest was the decoration of the interiors, the saloons from Pelişor and Cotroceni baring the stamp of the style imposed by the sovereign. The Bran Castle has also experienced such changes, although the rigid architecture of the castle did not allow too many changes of the interiors. Yet, one might remark: The Large Room, actually a dinning room decorated in the style of the German Renaissance, The Yellow Saloon of Queen Maria, The Music Saloon, The Tyrolese Room of King Carol II, The Saxon Room of Prince Nicolae, all these revealing the sovereign’s taste. In the series of all these changes is enlisted also the building of several outbuildings around the castle: The Tea House, built out of wooden beams (144 m2), The Guest House, built of rough stone (78 m2), the house of Princess Ileana’s children (43 m2), the private new house (176 m2), the staff house (378 m2), the stables for horses and six garages. The castle was inhabited only by some of the members of the royal family, who benefited by separate sweets. Queen Maria stands out between them, occupying an apartment made up of hall, dressing room, two saloons (including the yellow one), bedroom, bathroom and dinning room, apartment where the sovereign collected all sort of art objects (sets of china, icons, statues, paintings, books).
Being a faithful person, Queen Maria set up at Bran – actually, at every royal residence she occupied – a chapel, whose painting works were made in November 1927 by Artur Verona (remunerated with 200.000 lei). The chapel – equipped with an altar sculptured in golden wood, an iconostasis, a chandelier, three pews, three candlesticks, two crosses and two icons – was, next to the wooden little church besides the hunting House, the place where the queen used to meditate in the moments of distress. Bran was also the place where, the fall of 1940, the casket with the queen’s heart – brought from the “Stella Maria” chapel from Balcic - is deposited, by care of Princess Ileana, in a specially made niche in the rock besides the old wooden church.In 1995, a commemorative inscription was set on the crypt’s wall, in order to remind visitors that – for a while – the casket containing the queen’s heart was deposited here. In memory of her beloved mother, whom she loved very much, Princess Ileana succeeds in May 1941 to deposit at the chapel the mortal remains of prince Mircea, thus fulfilling an old wish of her mother. Queen Maria transformed not only the castle, but also the park of the Bran Domain, that was arranged by her plans and taste. Flowers were the queen’s great passion, all royal residences having modern greenhouses being equipped even with central heating for winter time. Such a greenhouse and small rose garden were set at Bran, in July 1922, by the company Klof & Co from Codlea, observing the plans of the architect Karel Liman. The flower transplants (roses, dahlias, chrysanthemums) were also delivered form Codlea but, for some rare species, they ordered from abroad (Erfurt and Reading – England). The chief gardener of the castle was Petre Conrad (who had a monthly wage of 3.691 lei), and the chief of the Bran Royal Park was – until 1938 – Constantin Pamula. The queen considered populating the lake not only with trouts, but also with swans. Colonel Spiess received 3.113 lei, using them to bribe the guardians from the Old Fortress and paid the frontier guards who helped catching the graceful birds. The swans caused great problems to the queen, leading to an actual conflict with the inhabitants of Bran. Once, because a swan was eaten by dogs, the men from the castle shot the pedigree dogs belonging to the private persons from the area, who addressed directly the queen, in a protest. The queen also liked horses, being a horsemanship fan, sport she frequently practiced in the castle’s park or on the riding fields from Braşov.
In Queen Maria’s time, the Bran Castle reached its glory as a royal residence. The Bran Domain was extended by the queen, by buying or transferring property rights over the hay fields around the castle. In 1934 the queen bought the Forest Măgura. Another domain that belonged to the queen was Copăceni and she also owned the riding fields in Braşov.The total surface of the Bran Domain – evaluated after the queen’s death – was 134.5 hectares, plus 105.6 hectares of forest (beech trees and pine trees), 53.7 hectares of grassland and 1.15 hectares of hay field.As long as the queen stayed in Bran, she constantly tried her best to help the surrounding villages and their inhabitants. A large number of villagers worked by day on the Domain, in the park, in the gardens or at diverse works that were done at the castle in that period, being remunerated for their work. After the power station was initiated, three villages from the area (Bran, Şimon and Moeciu) were connected to the new network, the Vocational School from Bran benefiting from illumination for free. The tradition of helping the surrounding villages was kept by her successor at the castle, Princess Ileana. In June 1939, she agreed to let a House of Culture for the inhabitants of the Bran commune function in four rooms of the ground floor from the castle. During Queen Maria’s period the castle was not only a summer residence, but also the place where royal receptions and feasts took place. For example, in 1934, the menu of such a feast contained: one rabbit, seven doves, fifteen chickens, one hundred twenty eggs, ten kg sturgeon, seven kg melons, etc.
Queen Maria passed away on July 18th 1938, thus ending a glorious age in the history of Romanian monarchy. Although she had arrived in the country only the day before, the queen manifested her will of going to Bran and Balcic, her favorite residences. The King Carol II noted in his diary “She tells us how happy it makes her to have returned home and how she wishes, after a short rest here (at Pelişor), to go to Bran and Balcic”. Unfortunately, her last wish could not be fulfilled.
The queen elaborated a will and a letter addressed “to my country and my people”. The text of the Letter addressed to the country constitutes an emotional moral will – a supreme testimony of the queen’s love for the people she was chosen to lead. In the same document Queen Maria expresses for the last time the passion she used to build and set up her two favorite residences – Balcic and Bran – , manifesting her wish that her heart should be “brought and placed in Stella Maris, the church I have built by the sea”. Through her second will, Queen Maria left the Bran castle to Princess Ileana. The Princess – who lived with her husband, Anton of Habsburg, in the Castle from Sonnenberg (Austria) – will not arrive in country in time to find her mother alive. She will still participate to the funeral that took place at Curtea de Argeş. “For me – she will later remember – she was my mother, my queen and the best friend I ever had”.On August 3rd, 1938, after the queen’s death, the architects D. Antonescu and Eugen Dimitriu have issued the evaluation document of the Bran domain. The castle was evaluated at 4.967.500 lei, the land at 5.800.000 lei and the other buildings belonging to the complex at 9.264.500 lei. Altogether, the Bran Domain was worth 20.032.000 lei. After a week, on August 11, the official partition was made, the castle becoming property of Princess Ileana, who will permanently return to the country only after the abdication of King Carol II, in September 1940.
The Bran Castle had a different evolution during the nine years when it was property of Princess Ileana. Things developed quite normally, but the ostentation and the rigor imposed by Queen Maria were gone. Until 1941 general Eugen Zwiedineck, former master of Queen Maria’s court was appointed to administrate the domain. After 1941 he was replaced by Carol Guttman, the ex administrator of the Balcic Palace.
Breaking the tradition of the matrimonial alliances her brother and sisters had made with members of the Balkan royal families (Carol got married in 1921 with Princess Elena of Greece and Marioara with King Alexandru II of Yugoslavia, in 1922) – which made Queen Maria be known as “mother in law of the Balkans” – Princess Ileana will marry on July 26th 1931 the archduke Anton de Habsburg (1901-1988). The ceremony took place at the Peleş Castle from Sinaia, after which the bride and the groom made a trip to the Bran castle. It was the last marriage of a member of the royal family to take place in Romania.
The joy of the two spouses of spending more time in Romania was short because – under the pretext that the presence of a Habsburg on the territory of Romania might cause unpleasant incidents in Transylvania – King Carol II did not hesitate to ask her sister to establish her residence abroad. At first, even the diplomats from the Romanian Legacy in Vienna were forbidden to get in contact with Princess Ileana, trying to completely isolate her. It was a subtle way of estranging her from her family and especially from her mother, Queen Maria, situation that deeply affected the Princess.
Not having permission to enter the country except for special ceremonies of the royal family requesting her presence, Princess Ileana will comfort herself with the idea of losing her native places and will try – together with her husband, Anton of Habsburg – to set up happy home, although she confessed that “I had enough reasons to remain constant in my old loyalty towards Romania”.
A comfort for this sensitive soul came in 1934, when the two spouses bought the four hundred years old castle from Sonnberg, situated at fifty kilometers from Vienna, who “became our most beautiful house”. The princess lived at the Sonnberg Castle together with her and the archduke Anton of Habsburg’s six children: Ştefan (b. 1932), Maria-Ileana (Minola) (b.1933), Alexandra (Sandi) (b. 1935), Dominic (Niki) (b. 1937), Maria-Magdalena (Magi) (b. 1939) and Elisabeta (Herzi) (b.1942).
During the Second World War – while her husband serves in the German army, being taken prisoner – Ileana works as a nurse, the way her mother once did, during the First World War. Near the Bran Castle she sets up a hospital (where she will care for the wounded) she will name “Hospital of the Queen’s Heart”. She will write a book of memories about this episode of her life: Hospital of the Queen’s Heart, published in New York, in 1954. Decades later, when she returned to her homeland, in September 1947, Princess Ileana – now Nun Alexandra – will visit the Bran Castle, finding the hospital in ruins and the little wooden church pulled down. Once King Mihai I abdicates on December 30, 1947, Princess Ileana – along with her husband and children – will leave Romania, leaving the Bran Castle in the custody of the Romanian state, who transformed it into a museum (1957).
DRACULA`S CASTLE- BRAN HISTORY
BRAN CASTLE (1377-1920)
The Bran fortress was built on a cliff between Măgura and The Hill of the Fortress, its position conferring an outstanding view towards both the hills of Moeciu and the ones from the Land of Bârsa. The building of the fortress was imposed by strategic and economic reasons. The strategic reasons underlined by the expansion of the Ottoman Empire which, by the end of the XIV century, began threatening the south-eastern borders of Transylvania; the economic reasons, given by the fact that the commercial road, one of the most important access ways connecting Transylvania to Wallachia, crossed this area. All these reasons determined the Hungarian king Louis I of Anjou to develop strengthening works of the Bran pass.jointly interested in raising the fortress were also the people of Braşov, aiming to secure their geographical position on one hand, and the economic one, on the other hand, by supervising the commercial road passing through the valley. These mutual actions materialize on November 19th 1377, when Louis I of Anjou grants the people of Braşov the privilege of building the fortress “unforced and unbound, but willingly they have generously and unanimously promised to build a new fort in Bran, on their own efforts and expenses, and to cut the forest thereabouts”. It was remarkable the fact that, by the death of the Hungarian king in 1382, the fortress was already built. After finalizing the construction, the fortress becomes property of the Hungarian royalty, who settles here a garrison of mercenaries, made up by archers and ballista men. In order to fulfill the needs of the fortress, the king grants it a domain formed by the villages Baciu, Cernatu, Satulung, Turcheş, Tărlungeni, Zizin, Purcăreni, Crizbav, Apaţa, Zărneşti and Tohan (the latter two until 1395), with permission to exploit the forests and waters, to hunt and fish, and to use the mutual fields and hay fields. The Hungarian royalty assumes its right to appoint a lord of the castle to run the fortress. The Szekler committee was sometimes entrusted with this prerogative, this position being mostly taken by the Voivodes of Transylvania. Yet, by the act of 1380, it is specified that, generally, a Saxon can be appointed in this position. The lord of the castle fulfilled several military tasks (command of the garrison, organization and supervising of borders) and also administrative – jurisdictional tasks (as lord of the mansion, he checked the incomes resulted from the fees owed by the inhabitants of the domain, as well as from other economic activities related to the city of Braşov).
About the same time, a customs point was built in the vicinity of the fortress, collecting a duty of 3% from the value of the goods being transited on the commercial road connecting Transylvania to Wallachia. At the beginning of the XV century, as product of the collaboration between the Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxemburg and the Wallachian ruler Mircea cel Bătrân with respect to the anti-Ottoman politics, the Bran fortress is transferred to the possession of the Wallachian ruler and to his descendants, with the purpose to strengthen the Transylvanian – Wallachian border. With this occasion, the customs point from the feet of the fortress was moved to Braşov.
Mircea cel Bătrân replaced the lord of the castle with one of his chief magistrates, appointing him with the supervising of the commercial road. On August 6th 1413, he grants the people of Braşov the well known commercial privilege, emphasizing “the establishments left by their forefathers for customs purposes through the boroughs from Wallachia and on the road from Braşov through the Bran pass up to Brăila”. The descendants of Mircea cel Bătrân disrespect the commercial privileges conferred to the people of Braşov, driving them to the Hungarian king with a complaint. This state of facts, corroborated with the persistent Turkish attacks (culminating with the one in 1421, when the Turks rob The Land of Bârsa) determine Sigismund of Luxemburg to entrust the Bran Fortress, on February 3rd 1426, to the Prince of Transylvania, entrusting him to appoint the lord of the castle. In exchange for granting new privileges to the people of Braşov, these had the obligation of supplying the fortress with food and informing the Transylvanian prince in case of imminent Turkish danger.The summer of 1427, Sigismund seems to have personally come to Bran in order to check the defense works and yet, in spite of all safety measures taken, the Turks penetrate The Land of Bârsa through the Bran pass and rob it again
The summer of 1441 the Turks initiate a new incursion in Transylvania, but are defeated in the district of Bran by Iancu de Hunedoara, prince of this province, who paid an extreme attention to the Bran Fortress and to the commercial road passing through this area, confirming the old commercial privilege granted to the people of Braşov by Mircea cel Bătrân and confirmed by Sigismund. Within the first months of the year 1459 the armies of Vlad Ţepeş, a Wallachian ruler, attack the city of Braşov through Bran, burning the suburbs and the old church of Bartholomew; this action came as a consequence of a commercial litigation between the Wallachian ruler and the merchants from Braşov. Bran was also the pass used by the armies of prince Ştefan Bathory, when supporting Vlad Ţepeş in his second reign (1456-1462). The acts of abuse committed by the lords of the castle from the fortress Bran caused inconvenience to the commercial activity of the city Braşov – which had become one of the most important commercial centers of Transylvania – making the people of Braşov try to get into its possession. In order to achieve this purpose the people of Braşov needed, besides the approval of the king, the actual owner, also the consent of the Transylvanian prince who, being appointed with the defense of the borders as representative of the Szekler committee, had military authority over the fortress of Bran. The arrangement seems to have been made only between the people of Braşov and the King of Hungary Vladislav II Jagello, and on the 1st of January 1498, the latter pledging by himself the Bran fortress to the people of Braşov “along with all possessions and rights of usage” for ten years, in exchange for 1000 florins. In 1508, after expiration of this term, the Hungarian king renews for another twenty five years the pledge contract for the domain and the fortress of Bran, in favor of the city of Braşov. At the end of this period the royalty had to pay to the people of Braşov the amount of 6300 florins, as ransom, or else the fortress remained property of the city of Braşov. In 1513, King Vladislav Jagello issues an act by means of which he removes the Bran fortress from the jurisdiction of the prince of Transylvania, and grants it to the people of Braşov “to keep and administrate” for twenty five years, should they always be truthful to the king, ensure keeping the fortress and support the spies in Turkey. By means of this document the city of Braşov gains possession over the fortress and domain of Bran, having absolute rights as possessor. Once the Bran fortress became property of the city of Braşov, the duties of the serfs grew ruthless and more numerous, making the serfs often complain and rise up against them. In addition to all that, by a decision ruled by the king, dating from the beginning of the XVI century, they were bound to perform the military duty for the city of Braşov and, in need, to take up arms at its request. This provision made the serfs from the villages in the Bran domain run away. This state of facts concurs with the riot of the Transylvanian villagers from 1514. The serfs from the Bran domain refused to rise up against the rebels – as presented in a letter from the voivode of Transylvania addressed to the king of Hungary – and above all that, “they refuse to pay their regular duty to our citizens from Braşov. This major disobedience came close to causing a riot of the common people even in our city of Braşov and in the Land of Bârsa”. The position of the villagers from Bran vexed the leaders of Braşov who, at first, did not dare take any actions, waiting for the denouement of the riot. Only after the riot was repressed the people of Braşov had the courage to ask the king for his support. By rule of the king, Ioan Zapolya, the prince of Transylvania, set off to Braşov, in order to punish the rebels. As a consequence of this action, Braşov was reinstated by use of weapons. As expected, the Bran fortress had also been involved in this political action. Thus, at first, after the denouement form Mohacs, the people from Braşov, supporting Ferdinand of Austria, adopted a hostile attitude towards Ioan Zapolya, who had succeeded to take over Transylvania. This explains why, in 1529 when Lăudat, the commander of the Wallachian armies, tried to cross to Transylvania to help Ioan Zapolya, he came up against the resistance of the garrison from the Bran fortress, lead by the lord of the castle Ioan Hock. Although the siege lasted several days, the fortress could not be conquered. The year to come, the Bran fortress stands up against Mehmed Beg, stopping the Turks attempt to break into Transylvania, aiming to support the same Ioan Zapolya. In 1531, seeing that their resistance against Zapolya caused only prejudices, they cross to his side, being sworn in faithful to him. In exchange, the prince reinforces their privileges and grants them possession of the forests from the Transylvanian part of Buzău.Even after 1541, when Transylvania becomes an autonomous principality under Turkish suzerainty, the Bran fortress remains property of the city of Braşov. Yet, the serfs belonging to this domain are bound to pay the Turkish yearly toll until 1602, when the prince suspends it in favor of the people of Braşov. In December 1596 Mihai Viteazul, on his trip to Alba Iulia used the road passing through Bran and his wife is likely to have stayed in the fortress for three days. In the year 1600, the son of Mihai Viteazul, Nicolae Pătraşcu, tries to penetrate The Land of Bârsa through the Bran pass, aiming to punish the people of Braşov, who had revolted against the domination of the Wallachian ruler. Unable to conquer the fortress, they had to withdraw. In the decades to come, the prince of Transylvania, Gabriel Bathory, temporarily occupying the Bran fortress, contested the property rights of the city of Braşov over the fortress. This action caused major economic damage to the people of Braşov, by cutting the commerce with Wallachia, as well as political and military prejudices. In 1613 the people of Braşov regain the property rights over the Bran fortress, consequential to a treaty signed with Gabriel Bathory. The same year, during the campaign of the Turkish army lead by Ali Pasha Maghiaroglu, aiming to install Gabriel Bethlen as prince of Transylvania, the Pasha requests the lord of the Bran castle to use their cannons, in order to prevent the “Tartar sultan” from passing through Bran. The permanent tendency of the city of Braşov to interfere with the Transylvanian politics determines Gabriel Bethlen (in the meantime prince) to raise the question of verifying the endorsed possession rights over the Bran fortress and the inherent domain. In 1625 the Transylvanian prince agrees to let the Bran fortress and the domain remain property of the people of Braşov.
The spring of 1651, on 25th of April, Braşov signs with the prince of Transylvania Gheorghe Rackoczi a sale-purchase contract according to which the city “irrevocably and for ever” bought the Bran fortress and the inherent domain, including the villages belonging to the castle, as well as the communes: Purcăreni, Zizin, Tărlungeni, Satulung, Cernatu, Turcheş, Bacifalu, Crizbav and Apaţa, becomming owner with full legal rights over these estates. In exchange for yielding the rights over the fortress and the domain, the people of Braşov had to give up, besides the amount owed by Vladislav II, also the amount of 11.000 florins (paid to the exchequer), along with several villages being up to that point in their possession. The sale-purchase contract for the Bran domain was confirmed by the Transylvanian states through the law Approbatae constitutiones regni Transsilvaniae III, title 84, paragraph 1. After a constant and tenaciously fought fight of over one hundred fifty years, the city of Braşov succeeded to consolidate its lawful rights over Bran.
At the end of the XVII century, as a consequence of the defeats suffered by the Turks, first at the siege of Vienna in 1683, then at Zenta in 1687, The Habsburg Empire gets dominion over Transylvania. Since the “Leopold Diploma” from 1691 confirmed all privileges and donations made by the princes of Transylvania, acknowledging the old laws of the country, the old administrative and judicial stabilities, the old privileges granted to the Saxons and the Szeklers, the city of Braşov also remains rightfully owner of the Bran fortress and domain, in conformity with the contract from 1651. The Habsburg economic politics and military strategy in the XVIII century lead to a diminution of the fortresses purpose, hindering the commerce of the people of Braşov with Wallachia, and even the lords of the castle in fulfilling their responsibilities on the Bran territory.
This way, on May 1st 1706, a customs officer is appointed to administrate the Bran customs point, a clerk of the Austrian Treasury who, besides the task of collecting the customs duties, took over from the lord of the castle also the table lands and the paths in the mountains Bucegi and Piatra Craiului, in order to prevent the illicit commercial activity and the illegal crossing of the border. To the same purpose, the Austrian state set up a sanitary cordon along the mountains Carpaţi, establishing, middle of the XVIII century, a quarantine office at Bran. Planning to strengthen the Bran pass, the castle was restored in 1723, as results from an inscription on the inner wall. The basic purposes of the fortress were practically reduced to those of head office of the domain administration and residence of the lord of the castle. Yet, it still constituted a defense residence which could possibly face a potential attack.
In spite of all these impediments, the Bran fortress continued to be mentioned in chronicles and also to partially fulfill its military and customs point role. Carol XII, king of Sweden, after being defeated in Russia, passes through Bran on the way to his country, accompanied by his armies that took refuge at the Turks. In 1737 an Austrian army company passes through Bran, attacking the Turks in Câmpulung.
During the Russian-Austrian-Turkish war from 1787, the Bran pass was invaded by the Moslem armies, who attacked the fortress, but failed to conquer it.
The amplification of the economic crisis from the second half of the XVIII century made the Austrian state stiffen the taxation policy, introducing the so-called “cadastral registers” in Bran too.
The major decline in the living conditions of the tenants from Bran generated several riots. The most important one, in the context of the events that took place in the years of the uprising led by Horea, Cloşca and Crişan, was in July 1785, when the tenants from Bran refused to pay their taxes to the city of Braşov.
The XIX century brought the decay of the last military tasks of the Bran fortress. The fortress failed to remain an efficient keeper of the border, due to the change in the military strategy and to the spreading of the performing fire guns.
In 1836, along with the transfer of the Transylvanian borders with Wallachia upper in the mountain, at Pajura, the Bran fortress loses its task as customs point at the border of the Austrian state and, along with that, the control over the commercial transit from the area.
The activity of the fortress becomes exclusively focused on the administration of the domain, which will generate numerous abuses coming from the land agents and lords of the castle. In the context of the rebellious movements from 1848, these abuses lead to a local riot, when the inhabitants of Bran organized themselves in “national guards”, acting against the lord of the castle and the garrison, banishing them from the fortress.
The imminence of the Russian-Romanian-Turkish war from 1877 determined the Austrian army to execute defense works along the eastern border of Transylvania. In this context, the Austrians occupied the Bran fortress, replacing its roof (easily exposed to any shelling) with faggots, thing which caused its severe decline.
Taking into account all that the city of Braşov asked the Austrian authorities to restore the fortress. Eventually, they accepted to support the expenses made within the period 1883-1886, and on July 22nd 1888, they handed it over to the city of Braşov.Not long after the city donated the fortress to the Forestry Administration from Braşov. From that point, the fortress was inhabited by forest keepers, foresters from Bran and, at times, in the expressly fit official chambers, by the forest inspectors came from Braşov. The Forestry Administration had the fortress in possession until 1918.
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