Bran Castle

TIMELINE
1205-1235 | THE TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
In the early Middle Ages, when all of Europe was in the process of a mass political and social
reorganization, Transylvania was overwhelmed by waves of migration coming from the immense Asian
steppes. After the formation of the Magyar state and its Christianization under King Stefan around the
year 1003, the Magyar sovereignty adopted a policy of territorial expansion and extending its political
influence over neighboring populations, including the Carpathian-Danubean area. During the reign of King
Andrew II, the Magyar crown's influence began to trickle down to the South-Eastern gorge of
Transylvania.

This period briefly coincided, with the dwelling, on the other side of the Carpathians, of a migratory people
called the Cumans. The Cumans' relentless invasions of the Transylvanian section of the Carpathians
strongly preoccupied the Magyar sovereignty. King Andrew II, seeking security, became determined to
formulate a defence plan. This, in turn, sparked the most controversial episode of Transylvanian history:
the debate regarding the possible presence of the Teutonic Knights in the South-eastern region of
Transylvania to ensure the enforcement of Magyar policies in the region. Unfortunately, to this very day,
sufficient evidence has yet to be discovered corroborating the Knights' presence in Burzenland during the
period between 1211–1225. If these crusaders were present in the area, there is no doubt that they would
have exploited its geo-political advantages, as the Bran Gorge had become an strategic area essential to
anyone wishing to gain military control over the gorge.

Regardless of the presence of the Teutonic Knights in the South-Eastern region of Transylvania,
however, the Magyar Sovereignty understood the importance of fortifying the Transylvanian borders.
Coinciding with the beginning of the German migration into the intra-Carpathian territory, the Magyar
Crown developed a vast network of fortifications. The need to construct such fortifications became
imperative, for military purposes, especially in the southern regions of Transylvania. The period between
the mid-14th century and the the mid-16th century, therefore, was the richest period of fortification
construction in the history of Medieval Transylvania. Towards the end of the 14th century, the Magyar
Sovereignty developed a more elaborate defence plan, which relied on interior fortresses in addition to
those on the kingdom's borders.

1377-1388 | KING LOUIS I OF ANJOU ORDERED THE CONSTRUCTION OF

THE BRAN FORTRESS

During the reign of Louis I of Anjou, the Magyar crown continued its expansionist policy in the Balkans.
This was also the time that Walachia and Moldavia were cemented as formal political entities. The great
military expectations arising out of these formations culminated in a series of battles between the Magyar
King and Walachia. The Magyar King's military strategy heavily relied on the fortification of the gorges
that allowed military access to Walachia. The ongoing conflicts and misunderstandings between King
Louis I of Anjou and Walachia convinced the King to approve a plan for the construction of a fortress at
Bran.

Bran Fortress was built both for strategic and economic reasons. Its purpose was to intercept the road
that leads to Transylvania, including the gorge, and to ensure the protection of the Magyar customs
centre.
At the time of Bran Fortress' establishment, trade through the Bran Gorge was prohibited. Instead, trade
migrated upstream to Rufla Arbor (Rucăr). In order to receive aid for the construction of the Fortress,
Louis I of Anjou promised the residents of Braşov that the customs centre would be moved to the new
fortress they would build at Bran.

In order to achieve his strategic aims, the Magyar King relied on the large Transylvanian cities (Braşov,
Sibiu and Bistriţa) that he considered capable of counteracting the autonomous tendencies of
Transylvania. He ordered the construction of fortresses in Tălmaciu (1370) and in Bran (1377) in order to
form, alongside the Severin Fortress, a chain of defence alongside the southern border of Transylvania.
In fact, his plan to build Bran Fortress dates as far back as 1364, according to recovered documents from
that time.

It is also important to mention one major historical factor that contributed to the Fortress' survival of such
major historical turmoil. All the military conflicts that took place at the Bran Gorge were regional military
confrontations, which were secondary in importance, and therefore involved only moderate use of military
power.

Each time a powerful army from the South (the Ottoman army, for example) organized a military
campaign against some other Central European state, such as Hungary or Austria, a geographically
favorable road crossing the Balkan Peninsula from Serbia to Hungary was chosen in order to avoid the
Carpathian gorges, which were known to be very problematic, even for a large army such as that of the
Ottoman Empire.

The Magyar King's strategic intention to erect Bran Fortress coincided with the will of the residents of
Braşov, who were eager to solidify their geographic and economic position in the area by keeping an eye
on the trade route crossing the gorge. On the November 19, 1377, Bran Fortress' “birth certificate” was
issued. The Fortress was described as a privilege granted to the town of Braşov by Louis I of Anjou from
the kingdom of Zvolen (Slovakia).

The document specified the following: the residents of Braşov, “willingly and uncompelled, generously
and unanimously” promised to build a “new fortress on the Dietrich's cliff,” (novum castrum in lapide
Tydrici aedificare). It would be built “through their own efforts.” They were also obligated “to clear the
woods there, high and low, as is seen fit; to level the ground, bring and supply stones, cement, and wood;
as necessary for the construction of the Fortress.” Additionally, they supplied “builders, stone carvers, and
carpenters, at their own expense.”

When the Fortress' construction was finished, it would become the property of the Magyar Sovereignty
and was supervised by a Chatelaine, whom the King would appoint. It was the Chatelaine's duty to form a
garrison, which included mercenaries, archers, and ballista men. For Braşov township's “efforts and
expenses”, their rights over thirteen fairs in the Burzenland would be reinstituted, “as in ancient times”.
The agreement both confirms the Braşov township's involvement in defending the borders and reflects
their positive relationships with the Magyar Sovereignty.

It is remarkable that, before the end of the reign of Louis I of Anjou (prior to his death in 1382), the
construction of the Fortress had been completed. The swiftness of the Fortress' construction, as well as
the Magyar King's special interest in the region, were the result of the complex political realities of the
time. The ruler of Walachia, Vladislav Vlaicu engaged in a course of action, up until Vidin was conquered
in 1368, which was targeted against the Magyar interests in the region. Their competing interests
resulted, as expected, in an open battle between the two medieval states.

According to some historians (such as Fotino), one of the battles took place at Bran. “As Louis (the
Hungarian King) stooped on Vladislav (the Walachian ruler), a great battle was fought at Bran, with a
victory for the Romanians”.
Following the Romanian victory, Bran Fortress was granted ownership of the territory that included
several villages of the Burzenland: Baciu, Cernatu, Satulung, Turcheş, Târlungeni, Zizin, Purcăreni,
Crizbav, Apaţa, Zărneşti and Tohan (the last two only remained part of the territory until 1395). As the
proprietors of the territory, the Bran Fortress administrators had the right to use its resources, including
the woods, the waters, the hunting and fishing grounds, the wells and the common fields.

As planned, the Fortress' location ensured that it dominated the Bran passage, thus controlling one of the
most important entry routes to Transylvania, amplifying its military significance. The protection of the
gorge was assured by the Fortress' garrison. In general, the Bran garrison was composed of
mercenaries: the historian Ioan de Târnava mentions the “English brigades and ballista men”. Their
number did not usually exceed 12–24 men, though in 1599, for example, there were 40 ballista men, and
in 1658 there were 30 ballista men. Their primary mission was to block the enemy in front of the Fortress
until help arrived from Râşnovand Braşov.

The rapporteur of documentation was the nobleman Johannes de Schafeneck, a Chatelaine of the
Landskron Fortress, located near Tălmaciu, which was erected in order to defend the Turnu Roşu gorge.

1395-1406 | BRAN FORTRESS WAS IN POSSESSION OF SIGISMUND OF

LUXEMBURG
Documents concerning the years 1395, 1398 and 1406 expressly show that Bran Fortress (and, Implicitly,
the territory around it) was in possession of the Magyar King Sigismund of Luxemburg. The most obvious
piece of evidence seems to be the presence of the Magyar King himself at Bran in 1395. The King
allegedly used the fortress during the course of an invasion of Walachia, when he removed Vlad the
Usurper, who was a contender to the country's throne, in opposition to Mircea the Old, who was an ally of
Sigismund of Luxemburg.

The occupation of the town Adrianople by the Turks in 1354 preceded the Ottoman Empire's occupation
of the Balkan Peninsula, which, by the end of the 14th century, extended all the way up to the Danube.
The imminent Ottoman menace threatening the residents to the north of the Danube cemented the
materialization of a common interest between the region's Christian population.

The Turks' first plundering mission in Transylvania in 1394, alongside the victory of the Walachian
Voivode Mircea the Old in Rovine in 1395, once more encouraged strengthening the bond between the
two neighbouring countries, Hungary and Walachia.

The countries' rulers met at Braşov in the spring of 1395 (on March 7th) and established a Treaty of
Alliance. The Treaty was, most likely, based on the vassalage principles specific to those times, which
was based on the pyramid-structured relationships of the Medieval Period. It established the Magyar
King, Sigismund of Luxemburg, as the Lord, and the ruler of Walachia, Mircea the Old, as the Vassal. The
treaty also established the obligations of the two parties in case of an invasion by the Turks.

It is very possible that this treaty was signed at a later date, during the siege of the medieval
administration of Braşov, which was located behind the current “Aro Hotel.” The treaty also acknowledged
the ruler of Walachia, its ownership over the lands across the Carpathians: the Severin, the Amlas, and
the Făgăraş (Mzrcha voivoda Transalpinus dux de Fuguras et banus de Zeurine). After the signing of the
Treaty of Braşov, some experts ascribe the ownership of Bran Fortress to the ruler Mircea the Old.
Unfortunately, neither the document dated March 7, 1395, nor the document dated 1406, signed at
Severin, contains any reference to a grant of this right to the Walachian ruler.

1412-1418 | MIRCEA THE OLD'S POSSESSION OF THE FORTRESS

The first documented confirmation that Bran Fortress was “in other hands” does not appear until 1412.
This leads us to stipulate that, as of 1412, the nature of Mircea the Old's possession of the Fortress' was
limited to the rights of occupation and usage (dominium utile) rather than a right of dominion, in line with
the vassalage relationship between the two rulers. During Bran Fortress' occupation and use by the
Walachian ruler, a customs centre was built near the Fortress. 3 bani were collected “from riders passing
by Turciu (Bran)” and 1 ban from “pedestrians.”

Evidence of this can be found in the document issued in 1412 by the Voivode of Transylvania, Stibor of
Stiboricz, which referred to the relocation of the customs centre, as the toll was originally collected at
Törcz (in Braşov). On August 6, 1416, Bran was mentioned as the customs centre of Walachia in a
document issued by the Walachian ruler, Mircea the Old, confirming the privileges granted by his
predecessors to the Braşov merchants. It is also in this document that Bran is first referred to as “Turcu,”
a name that was probably derived from the name of the river (Turcul) that crosses Bran.

Another strong piece of evidence supporting the hypothesis that the fortress was in the hands of the
Walachians can be found in the document issued by Sigismund of Luxemburg at Casovia on July 7, 1419,
mentioning that Mircea the Old and his son, who were only granted the right to appoint the Chatelaines,
displeased the King because the Chatelaines they appointed had committed various misdemeanors in
their collection of the customs taxes and their regulation of the commodities brought to the customs
centre by the residents of Braşov. Trouble had already ensued somewhat earlier, however, when the
Romanian ruler nominated the provosts, with the King's consent, in 1412. The Consul of the Szekels,
Mihail, actually removed the provosts from the Fortress' administrative structure at the beginning of 1419.