Most people have heard of the Romanian province of Transylvania, the mythical land of Dracula. Unfortunately for Romanians, including myself, most visitors associate Dracula with Bram Stoker’s novel, which bares the name of the world’s most famous vampire.

But there’s more to Romania, particularly Transylvania, than a myth started by Saxon merchants about Prince Vlad Ţepeş, who ruled over Romania’s south-central region, historically known as Ţara Românească or Wallachia.

Any Romanian will tell you that Ţepeş had the bad habit of impaling his enemies on sharpened stakes, although he was not alone, this being common practice during the mid-16th century among European rulers. Saxon merchants from the Transylvanian cities of Braşov and Sibiu held a grudge against the Wallachian prince because, in order to protect local businesses, he banned them from trading in his lands. Tensions were high, and in a piece of early marketing, they began the rumor that Ţepeş enjoyed sucking blood. The Saxons went as far as printing pamphlets and books about his gruesome, yet effective methods to cleanse his land of criminals, thieves and other enemies, including the Turks, who continuously plotted to invade. Bram Stoker read these Dark Age tales and invented a vampire count who dwelled near the city of Bistriţa, by the Bârgău Pass, which, incidentally, is nowhere near Târgovişte, the capital of Wallachia, where Ţepeş resided.

Transylvania’s name originates from the Latin phrase trans silva, “beyond the woods.” It is a geographic depression surrounded by the eastern wing of the Carpathians, a range of mountains stretching its arms into the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. The limestone Apuseni Mountains, part of Romania’s Occidental Carpathians, hold some of Transylvania’s most beautiful natural wonders: The Focul Viu (“Live Fire”) glacier; the Scărişoara Cave, the Vălul Miresei (“Bride’s Veil”) waterfall; and Lake Cinciş, an artificial lake engulfing a village whose church’s bell tower sinisterly emerges when water levels are low.
Transylvania’s history can be dated to the Dacians, or Getae (as the Greeks called them), a branch of the Thracian tribe. They were an Indo-European people who migrated to the region in approximately 3,000 B.C. The historian Herodotus referred to them as “the fairest and most courageous of men,” and their belief in the immortality of the soul made them (once they took their last breath, they believed they would meet their supreme god, Zamolxis) feared in battle.

The region of Transylvania played a vital role in the Dacians’ kingdom and was where Dacia had its religious capital, Sarmisegetuza Regia, and its political one, Ulpia Traiana Sarmisegetuza. Both can be visited today, the ruins being wonderful, educational stops in the scenic Orăştie Mountains.

The Romans attempted to subdue the region, which always put up a good fight. When Rome finally conquered it, under the reign of Trajan, the emperor built a column in honor of the two Dacian wars that still today can be seen in Rome.
Fifty years later, another emperor, Antoninus Pius, divided Dacia into three provinces: Dacia Porolissensis, Apulensis and Malvensis. Cluj-Napoca, where I grew up, was the capital of Dacia Porolissensis, while Alba Iulia, where I was born, was the chief seat of Apulensis. Today, visitors will find much of interest in both these Romanian cities.

Cluj-Napoca: Imperial Transylvania

The most developed Transylvanian city under the Austro-Hungarian occupation and a forum for intellectuals striving to obtain Romanian independence, Cluj-Napoca is a burgeoning university city of 340,000 inhabitants. Its name derives from its Latin name, Castrum Clus, which translates to “enclosed space,” and its Dacian name, Napuca, recorded in Greek geographer Ptolemy’s 2nd-century writings. The city has had various other monikers throughout the ages, including Klausenburg and Kolozsvár during the Austro-Hungarian occupation, which lasted until the advent of World War I.

During the Middle Ages, Cluj-Napoca established economic ties with other Romanian and European cities, and by 1475, the city’s trade guilds were successful enough to afford contributions to the creation of a fortification system spanning more than 110 acres of the citadel. The Tailors’ Tower, which stands today, was the most important piece of the bulwark and is close both to the high school I attended, Gheorghe Şincai, named for a historian, philologist, translator and poet, and member of the Transylvanian School, part of Transylvania’s Enlightenment movement. The other educational institution I frequented, a music school, is in a former Franciscan monastery in the city center. History here still weaves its way into its residents’ lives.

Cluj-Napoca, along with the rest of Transylvania, gained its independence from Austro-Hungary in 1918. A year later, the Romanian University was inaugurated, and Transylvania firmly implanted itself in the ethnic and cultural life of Greater Romania. In 1959, the Romanian university (Babeş) merged with the city’s Hungarian university (Bolyai), and Babeş-Bolyai University was established. Thirty years later, the city was one of the centers of the national revolution that liberated Romania from the communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu and made Romania what it is today, a constitutional democracy, Romania’s fourth largest city and a flourishing European metropolis entwining Roman, Austro-Hungarian and, most importantly, Romanian history.

A deeper delve into Cluj-Napoca

It’s not an easy task to pick out the must-see places in Cluj-Napoca, so I will showcase my favorites. Undoubtedly, the most beautiful attraction is Babeş-Bolyai University’s Alexandru Borza Botanical Garden, which was established in 1920, before the university even existed. Stretching over more than 30 acres, it contains a botanical museum and collections of rare plants from all over the world.

The Roman Garden showcases a statue of the mythical deity Ceres, also known as Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture, and a collection of archeological artifacts and plants dating back to the Roman occupation, while the Japanese Garden, arranged in a traditional style called gyo-no-niwa, features a Japanese house suspended over a canal. On hot summer days, this is a particularly beautiful spot, which can take you effortlessly on an imaginary trip to the Far East. A stone bridge leads to a small island where sculptures hide behind tall shrubs. This has always reminded me of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. A second bridge, this time made of wood, arches to a greenhouse complex with six zones, including equatorial, subtropical and tropical. Among the favorite plants on show are orchids, palm trees, tropical ferns and Amazonian water lilies.

Eroilor Boulevard is the city’s main thoroughfare. Start at Union Square to see the statue of Matthias Corvinus (a king of Hungary, who was born in Cluj-Napoca) in front of St. Michael’s Church and then walk past colorful stores and posh cafés in baroque buildings until you reach Avram Iancu Square. Here is the Orthodox Cathedral and an imposing statue of Avram Iancu, a Transylvanian lawyer who led the revolt against the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1848, standing on a massive rock. Across the street is the Romanian National Theater and Opera House, where prices are meager.

One of Cluj-Napoca’s most romantic scenes is its Central Park. Built in 1830 by Asociaţia de Binefacere a Femeilor (the Association of Women’s Wellness), it features a lake with row and pedal boats. The park’s main avenue begins across from the Hungarian Theater (initially known as the “Summer Theater”) and ends at the city’s largest outdoor children’s playground. Pebbles line both sides of the avenue, in a nod to the 19th century, when people enjoyed the green scenery by horse and carriage.

Perhaps your heart is set on hiking and breathtaking cityscapes? Then visit Dealul Cetăţuia (Fortress Hill), and your wish for wonderful panoramas will be granted. Even though the 18th-century fortress is more than 1,300 feet above sea level, the view of the city’s historical center and surrounding rivers are well worth the effort.

The Transylvanian History Museum includes Egyptian mummies, Dacian and Roman artifacts, Romanian medieval armor and objects ranging from the Renaissance to the Belle Époque. Additionally, Cluj-Napoca’s Museum of Art, in Bánffy Palace and designed by the 18th-century German architect Johann Eberhard Blaumann, is a work of art in itself, considered one of the finest Baroque buildings in Transylvania.
 
Alba Iulia: The City of the Great Unification

This former ancient settlement and medieval citadel has burgeoned into an intricate, modern city with its own stories to tell. Measuring four square miles, it has a population of only 67,000 inhabitants. Greek historian Ptolemy mentions it in his 2nd-century Geographical Guide, and today, it is Romania’s spiritual capital, mainly because it hosted the country’s political, territorial and cultural unification in 1918.

The name of the city originates from the ancient Dacian name Apoulon, which under the Romans was changed to Apulum. “Alba” means “white” in Romanian, while “Iulia” comes from the name of a Romanian prince, Gelu (Iulius in Latin), who ruled here in the 10th century. During the Austro-Hungarian occupation, the Hapsburg Austrian Imperial family attempted to impose the names Alba Carolina and Karlsburg on the city, in honor of the emperor Charles VI. In 1918, the city changed its name to its current one, Alba Iulia.

During the Roman occupation of Dacia, Alba Iulia flourished economically, socially and politically. Temples, polychrome mosaics, thermal baths, amphitheaters and a spectacular governor’s palace, the Daciarum Trium, from this period can still be seen today.

In the 16th century the city became the capital of the independent Principality of Transylvania, while in the century following it opened the region’s first center of higher education, the Collegium Academicum.

But the thing that residents of Alba Iulia are most proud of is that the city was influential in the full political unification of Romania in 1918, a process that started in 1599, when prince Mihai Viteazul (Michael the Brave), entered the city triumphantly and briefly united Romania’s historic provinces.

On Foot in Alba Iulia

Alba Iulia’s three fortifications—the Roman castrum, the medieval citadel and the former Alba Carolina citadel—are snippets of the numerous stories the city will reveal to those willing to stretch their legs and open their ears.

Begin your trek through history at the Poarta Monetăriei (Mint Gate), which was built on the site of a 13th-century Benedictine monastery. During the 18th century, the building hosted the Imperial Mint. Later it saw life as a tribunal and a prison. A little farther along is the south gate of the Roman castrum, dating to 106 and where the Roman XIII Legion Gemina was stationed.

A medieval military camp is your next stop, and inns here still serve wine made with the same techniques employed by Dacians. Legend has it that the Dacian King Burebista ordered the torching of vines because he worried the people were enjoying the beverage, which here has a slight savory taste, a little too much. Romanian wine remains excellent.

The Belvedere Spot offers an astonishing view of Alba Iulia’s fortified walls, as well as magnificent panoramas of the city’s center and River Mureş. Moving along, a tunnel at the artillery platform of the St. Eugeniu Bastion takes strollers directly to the city walls. In its heyday, this tunnel, also known as the Escape Tunnel, helped troops get from the artillery to the upper section of the fortification walls and thus bewilder enemies with adroit maneuvers.

Visit the artillery platform at noon on a Saturday and you’ll see the ceremonial firing of cannons to honor the city’s flag, an event that started in the 18th century.

The final few stops before lunch could include the former Alba Carolina bastion, which covers more than 170 acres and was built between 1715 and 1738 under the rule of Charles VI and the architectural plans of the Italian Giovanni Morando Visconti. Another worthwhile visit is to the 1922 Reunification Cathedral, which features a 190-foot bell tower. It was also the site of Ferdinand the First’s coronation as king of unified Romania in 1922. Close by is the 13th-century St. Michael’s Roman-Catholic Cathedral, built in the late Romanesque architectural style and a contemporary of Paris’ Notre Dame.

Farther Afield

By all means start of with Cluj-Napoca and Alba Iulia, but not to be ignored are other Transylvanian cities: Timişoara, Braşov, Deva and Sibiu. All await to be discovered. If you’re looking for mythical creatures, you probably won’t find any vampires, but you might see another local legend, the presence of iele (fairies) dancing by a river in the Apuseni Mountains.

TRAVEL TIPS
Cluj-Napoca
Air: Cluj-Napoca’s International Airport (www.airportcluj.ro) is two and a half miles from the city center. Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Tarom and Malev fly there, but there are no directs flights from the United States, from which the usual connection airports are Bucharest (Rumania), Budapest (Hungary), Frankfurt (Germany) or Paris (France).

Taxi and Bus: The easiest way to reach the city is by taxi, but the #8 bus, departing from Piaţa Mihai Viteazul, will also take you there.

Train: Cluj-Napoca’s main train station (Gara Cluj-Napoca) offers daily departures to Bucharest and then to other European cities, via Budapest (for more information, visit www.romaniatourism.com/Transportation.html#ByTrain). Within Romania, trains from Cluj-Napoca go to Brasov, Iasi, Oradea, Satu Mare, Sighetu Marmatiei, Suceava and Timisoara, among other places (for domestic train schedules, www.infofer.ro/default_engleza.asp?lng=2).

Alba Iulia
Air: The closest international airport to Alba Iulia is Cluj-Napoca (see above), 56 miles away. Bus: Offering domestic service, Alba Iulia’s bus station (www.autogari.ro/AlbaIulia/?sbd=AlbaIulia&lang=UK) connects the city with Cluj-Napoca and its airport, as well as to Bucharest, Sibiu and Timisoara, among other cities).
Train: Probably the most comfortable way to reach Cluj-Napoca is by train, but you will need to take a taxi from its main train station to the airport.

CURRENCY
Romania uses the Romanian Leu (RON): $1 = RON 3.01

For more information, visit www.AAA.com/Travel.
Romanian National Tourist Office: www.romaniatourism.com

Ana Barbu was an intern with Car & Travel during summer 2009.