Is Transylvania in Romania? Where is transylvania?

I am sure that after reading the Bram Stoker novel or seeing the movie made after this book you are wondering if Transylvania is a real place.

Yes, it is as real as possible!

Transylvania is in Romania

Transylvania is located in the heart of Romania, an ex-communist country located in the Balkan Peninsula, in the eastern part of Europe.

It is a very well preserved historical region with many beautiful attractions and a lot of things to experience.

This region is located inside the Carpathian arc on a wonderful plateau in a hillside area of Romania.

In ancient times, the area was inhabited by Geto-Dacians and was part of the Dacian Kingdom. After the Dacians were conquered by Romans, the province became part of the Roman Empire.

Over the years, the place was part of the Austro Hungarian Empire and was attached to the Kingdom of Hungary.

According to the historical sources between XI and XIII century in the area were brought Hungarians, Saxons, Teutonic Knights and Cumans to colonize the region. So this is why cultural diversity is so big in our days.

After the first World War, when the Austro Hungarian Empire was disintegrated, Transylvania was attached to Romania and remains part of this country even today.

So, the answer to the question where is Transylvania I would say is Transylvania in Romania! It has been part of Romania since the end of the First World War.

In our days it is one of the most-visited parts of the country because it has so many beautiful things to be discovered!

Medieval towns with Saxon influences, fortified churches and beautiful sceneries are just some of the reasons why you should visit this place! Not to mention about food and the people!

Most of the products are from local farms and the food is really good cooked and tasty. You have to try some of the local dishes because I am sure you’re gonna like them!

No matter how picky you are you will find something to like!
And the people! They are so friendly and welcoming! They do their best to help and guide you!

5 things to know before you go

1. Don’t expect to find vampires here

Thanks to movies as well as pop culture, most people quickly link Transylvania with vampires. There was very little connection between the region and also vampires prior to 1897.

Obviously, everything changed with the unique Dracula written by an Irishmen, Bram Stoker.

In the guide, Dracula is a vampire from Transylvania, and as the story expanded in appeal and was retold over and over, vampires, as well as Transylvania, came to be forever connected.

The various other connection to Transylvania with this story is the personality’s name, which was obtained from a real person, Vlad Dracula.

Much better referred to as Vlad the Impaler, he was a royal prince of close-by Wallachia, with fairly a ruthless online reputation.

Now, while you can’t go to any sights in Romania that are connected to the imaginary Dracula, there are many pertaining to Vlad the Impaler, many castles in Transylvania.

The city of Sighisoara is where Vlad was born, Corvin Castle is where he was supposedly held prisoner, and Poienari Castle is where he lived.

Yet one of the most well-known location connected to the Dracula legend is Bran Castle.

Despite the fact that it’s usually called “Dracula’s Castle”, Bran Castle has nearly absolutely nothing to do with the man or the legend, instead, is simply an extremely picturesque castle in Transylvania.

2. Food is extremely tasty!

You cannot come to Romania, knowing where is Transylvania without eating some of the traditional foods like:

• creamy beans (“fasole batuta/ facaluita”), vegetable stew (“zacusca”), pork fat with onion and pork cracklings (“jumari”) as appetizers
• Meatball soup (“ciorba de perisoare”), Chicken soup (“zeama de gaina”) or Tripe Soup (“ciorba de burta”)
• Pork stew with polenta, cheese and fried eggs (“ tochitura cu mamaliga, branza si ochi”), Goulash or Cabbage rolls with minced meat (“sarmale”) as main dish
• Papanasi as desert

3. Sleep in a castle or a traditional house

A tour of Transylvania is not complete if you don’t sleep in a castle in Transylvania and in a traditional house! Even if is Transylvania in Romania it has some special characteristics like these 2!

We have really great memories from these places!
We enjoyed a lot of our time spent at Zabola The Machine House .

This is a former boyar mansion refurbished and very well maintained, with great rooms and really good services.

We liked the food a lot, it was some kind of traditional food but adapted to this century. This experience made me feel like a princess!

And there was another experience we remember very well! We spend great moments in a traditional house in a beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site village located on our way from Sighisoara to Brasov.

This traditional house transformed into a guest house is located in Mesendorf and is called Messendorf Gasthaus .

The rooms are clean and have everything you need for a comfortable stay and the food is good, mainly consisting in different venison specialities.

You will be impressed by the atmosphere from the village and it is a great opportunity to see how countryside life is.

Now that you know if is Transylvania in Romania and how many hidden attractions this region has, I hope you will include it on your next holiday!

One more thing I want you to know! This country is extremely cheap and not yet explored and transformed by mass tourism! That is why I consider that this is the best time to visit Transylvania!