Ruined castle in Romania which was a home of Vlad the Impaler. This earthquake resistant citadel is situated on top of a mountain and accessed by climbing 1,480 concrete stairs.
Link Location Gps ← Find Best directions
Gps Coordinates / 45.3535834,24.6347276
Draculas Real Castle Poenari Castle Mountain Fortress VR Romania
Poenari Citadel Transfăgărășan, Arefu 117040, Romania
Although the castle was used for many years after Vlad's death in 1476, it eventually was abandoned again in the first half of the 16th century and was in ruins by the 17th century.
Gps Coordinates / 45.3534922,24.6343102
The castle is located on the plateau of Mount Cetatea, facing the west side of the Transfagarasan, on a canyon formed on the Arges River valley, close to the Fagaras Mountains.
In the next few decades, the name and the residents changed a few times but eventually the castle was abandoned and left in ruins.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link 45.3535064 / Gps Link 45.3538655 / Gps Link 45.3539814
Gps Coordinates / 45.3535064,24.6344989 / 45.3538655,24.6349902 / 45.3539814,24.6352521
Poenari Castle was constructed around the beginning of the 13th century by Wallachians. Around the 14th century, Poenari (then known as Castle Arges) was the main citadel of the Basarab rulers.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link 45.3539399 / Gps Link 45.3537566 / Gps Link 45.3536904
Gps Coordinates / 45.3539399,24.6352602 / 45.3537566,24.6353267 / 45.3536904,24.6350226
Vlads Castle engineers would stand under the interior arches during construction and pull away the safety forms due to project failing they would have likely been fatally punished anyway as Vlad was famous for his demonic humor or were most likely upsetting him for mere presence will have been cleverest captured conscripts.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link 45.3538158 / Gps Link 45.3558056 / Gps Link 45.354927
Gps Coordinates / 45.3538158,24.6355071 / 45.3558056,24.6275106 / 45.354927,24.6300496
1453, realizing the potential for a castle perched high on a steep precipice of rock, Vlad III the Impaler repaired and consolidated the structure by enslaving his enemies from the nobility of the Danubian Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, making it one of his main fortresses, rebuilding the former Castle Arges on the left side of the river with stones from the older Castle Poenari, which was on the right bank and somewhat lower.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link 45.3501019 / Gps Link 45.3498075 / Gps Link 45.3501345
Gps Coordinates / 45.3501019,24.6336767 / 45.3498075,24.6337868 / 45.3501345,24.6339243
The size and location of the castle made it difficult to conquer. On 13 January 1913, a landslide caused by an earthquake brought down parts of the castle which crashed into the river far below. After two further earthquakes in 1940 and 1977 that caused further damage, it was slightly repaired and the walls and its towers still stand today.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link 45.353381 / Gps Link 45.3538281 / Gps Link 45.3548517
Gps Coordinates / 45.353381,24.6375659 / 45.3538281,24.637187 / 45.3548517,24.6362994
After two further earthquakes in 1940 and 1977 that caused further damage, it was slightly repaired and the walls and its towers still stand today.
Link Location Gps / Gps Link 45.3542123 / Gps Link 45.3541161 / Gps Link 45.3540575 / Gps Link 45.3539946
Gps Coordinates / 45.3542123,24.6354192 / 45.3541161,24.6356271 / 45.3540575,24.6356217 / 45.3539946,24.6349544
Is this castle earthquake proof? correct. Vlads engineers constructed the bricks on much softer clay which is still soft to the touch many centuries later due to the castle being near faltlines so if the moratr was dry the castle would crack but due to the clay chosen it never dries so when earthquakes appear the castle can readjust itself by only cm's each time but those centimeters of flex allows the castle move and twist with those earthquake events
Gps Coordinates / 45.3535309,24.6346436
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Fun entertainment Media information
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In Fallout 3 video game, a vampire-related side quest starts in a fictional, postapocalyptic settlement, constructed on a preserved fragment of a highway in the Washington D.C. area, bearing some visual resemblance to Poenari Castle (e.g. linear structure) and named Arefu (as a hidden reference to the real-life location 6 km [3.7 mi] from Poenari), although the toponym is disguised to look incidental (the roadsign says CAREFUL with C and L faded away).
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In Dan Simmons 1992 novel "Children of the Night", Poenari Castle is depicted towards the end of the novel as a ritual site to a cult known as" The Family" which consists of the genetically mutated descendants of Vlad the Impaler. While the novel is pure fiction, the description and depiction of the castle and surrounding region contain mostly accurate geographical and historic information.
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In the 2020 documentary "Romania: Seeking Dracula’s Castle", the presenters declare that Poenari deserves the title ‘Dracula’s Castle’ as it has the ‘heart’ of Vlad III.
It was also featured as a haunted location in Ghost Hunters International in Season 1 (2008–09), episode # 14.
