Essential Transylvania

When you hear the word “Transylvania”, what do you think about? Do you envision creaking doors, helpless maidens, howling wolves and flapping bats, pale-faced noblemen with vicious teeth, and thunder and lightning booming down on a desolate castle? Do you envision werewolves? Vampires? Bram Stoker? Dracula?

The real Transylvania is nothing like this. Yes, the tourist shops may pay homage to Dracula, our most famous (and most imaginary) resident, a man who didn’t exist, but who is tenuously linked in history to Vlad Ţepeş. Contrary to legend, Vlad was a highly respected and beloved ruler: a man who brought order to a troubled land.

You can’t always trust the myths, so let’s go with reality.

And so, in reality, Transylvania – the true Transylvania – is as filled with light as the imaginary version is filled with darkness.

The real Transylvania is a daylight fantasy: flower-filled meadows, lost-in-time villages, sun-drenched plains dotted with ancient churches and castle ruins. And this complex and exciting region makes for a superb holiday destination.

Nature lovers will find that they have stepped into an unspoiled medieval landscape – rolling hills, lush meadows, oak forests, fence-free fields dotted with haystacks. Traditional, wildlife-friendly agriculture makes Transylvania one of the best places for flora and fauna in Europe.

Transylvania is a fascinating destination for all, from the casual day-tripper all the way up to British Royalty. Prince Charles himself – a man not unfamiliar with European beauty and history – is fascinated by Transylvania. The future king finds the region to be utterly unique: ‘It’s the timelessness which is so important,’ he says. The landscape is ‘almost out of some of these stories you used to read as a child. People are yearning for that sense of identity, belonging and meaning.’ The Prince visits Transylvania every year; he even has a home in a small Saxon village.