A Transylvanian castle famous for its connections to the 15th century medieval ruler who inspired "Dracula" was returned on may 27 to a Romanian royal heir, more than half a century after the country's communist regime seized it.
New York architect Dominic Habsburg return to Romania after 58 years abroad to take formal possession of Bran Castle, where the heart of his grandmother Queen Marie had, quite literally, rested for decades before it was put in a Bucharest museum in 1971.
The community of Bran, which had built the fortress in the 14th century to help stave off invasion, gave it to Queen Marie in 1920 to thank her for her efforts in unifying the country. It had briefly been associated with Prince "Vlad the Impaler," whose cruelty inspired novelist Bram Stoker's creation, the vampire Count Dracula.
In 1938, Princess Ileana, daughter of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, inherited the castle, which is perched high on a rock and surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
May 2006
