This Gothic-Renaissance castle was built over the site of a smaller fortification on a rock above the Zlati River in a region of Transylvania on the orders of John Hunyadi. King Charles I of Hungary built the original structure. The monolithic structure features tall defence towers, a drawbridge and beautifully carved balconies. Some of the towers surrounding the castle were used as prisons, while others were solely for defensive purposes. Legend says that Vlad Dracula was imprisoned at the castle for seven years, where he impaled mice and bugs that roamed the dungeons. Ghost sightings surround the legend of twelve Turkish prisoners who were forced to dig a well in the central courtyard. If they could find water they would be released. Digging until they hit water, it took them 15 years to complete the task, but their captors didnt follow through and they were executed. The connection with Vlad the Impaler also scares visitors who insist they hear the voices of the impaled crying out for mercy as they slowly perish.
