[whip cracking] >> IN A COUNTRY TORN BY BLOODY CIVIL WAR, A YOUNG MAN SEIZES POWER. IN HIS NATIVE TONGUE, HE IS CALLED DRACULA. THIS IS NOT THE VAMPIRE, COUNT DRACULA, BUT A REAL HISTORICAL FIGURE, A ROMANIAN PRINCE. >> HE WAS CELEBRATED THROUGHOUT CHRISTENDOM FOR HIS ACHIEVEMENTS AGAINST THE TURKS. >> DRACULA WAS A WARLORD WHO BECAME KNOWN ALL ACROSS EUROPE FOR BOTH HIS BREATHTAKING COURAGE AND HIS TERRIFYING CRUELTY. >> WHAT DROVE HIM AGAIN AND AGAIN WAS A NEED FOR SURVIVAL, A NEED FOR AFFIRMATION, AND A DRIVING NEED TO TORTURE. >> KNOWN AS "THE IMPALER" AFTER HIS FAVORITE MEANS OF EXECUTION, DRACULA IS SAID TO HAVE BURNED, BOILED, DISEMBOWELED AND TORTURED HIS WAY INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS. BUT HE ALSO LEFT AN ENDURING LEGACY, NOT JUST IN BLOOD-- IN BRICK, MORTAR AND STONE. HE CONSTRUCTED PALACES. HE FOUNDED THE CITY THAT WAS TO BECOME HIS COUNTRY'S CAPITAL. HE ALSO BUILT ONE OF EASTERN EUROPE'S MOST BREATHTAKING MOUNTAINTOP CASTLES. NOW, WITH STATE-OF-THE-ART COMPUTER ANIMATION, THE LOST WORLD OF DRACULA WILL BE BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE. TRANSYLVANIA-- A LAND ON THE OUTERMOST FRINGES OF EUROPE. IT IS DOMINATED BY SWEEPING MOUNTAINS, SHROUDED IN MYSTERY AND LEGEND. >> THE ROMANTIC VERSION OF THE COUNTRY-- THE RUINED CASTLES, THE WHOLE VAMPIRE LEGEND-- IN A WAY, WE'VE HAD TO INVENT ALL THIS, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE REAL THING. [radar beeping] >> TODAY, TRANSYLVANIA IS A REGION WITHIN THE EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRY OF ROMANIA. IN THE 19th CENTURY, THE NOVELIST BRAM STOKER MADE IT THE HOME OF COUNT DRACULA, THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS VAMPIRE. BUT UNTIL THE 1970s, FEW READERS SUSPECTED THAT HE HAD TAKEN THE NAME FROM A REAL-LIFE WARLORD. >> FORGET HOLLYWOOD. FORGET VAMPIRE STORIES. THIS MAN REALLY EXISTED, AND HE REALLY WAS A VICIOUS, EXTRAORDINARILY CRUEL BUT EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL LEADER. >> THE WORLD OF THE REAL DRACULA WAS BLOOD-THIRSTY AND TREACHEROUS. BUT EVEN BY THE HORRIFIC STANDARDS OF HIS OWN TIME, HE EARNED A REPUTATION FOR BARBARITY. THERE ARE STORIES THAT HE DISEMBOWELED HIS OWN PREGNANT MISTRESS, THAT HE COLLECTED 24,000 NOSES FROM THE CORPSES OF VANQUISHED ENEMIES. >> EVEN AMONGST THE SICK, TWISTED, SADISTIC RULERS, VLAD STILL STANDS OUT AS A PSYCHOTIC MADMAN. >> VLAD DRACULA REMAINS AN ENIGMA, A FIGURE WHOSE DEEDS ARE STILL CONTROVERSIAL TODAY-- MADMAN OR SINGLE-MINDED WARRIOR. >> I WOULD SAY THAT HE WAS VERY MUCH A MAN OF HIS TIMES WHO DID WHAT HE HAD TO DO IN ORDER TO SURVIVE. >> NOW, OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS WILL SEARCH TO UNCOVER A WORLD THAT HAS BEEN ALMOST ENTIRELY LOST. >> THE WRITTEN RECORD IS VERY SPARSE. THE ARCHAEOLOGY BY COMPARISON WITH GREAT CIVILIZATIONS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD IS SPARSE AS WELL. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT ACTUALLY IS OUT THERE. >> USING CLUES ON THE GROUND AND CUTTING-EDGE ANIMATION, THE EXPERTS WILL RECONSTRUCT DRACULA'S MIGHTY PALACES, CASTLES, AND FORTIFICATIONS. THEY WILL BE SEEN AGAIN AS THEY WERE IN THE TIME OF THE INFAMOUS IMPALER. >> THE MODERN TECHNOLOGIES WE HAVE ENABLE US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S LEFT BEHIND A LOT BETTER THAN WE WERE ABLE TO IN THE PAST. SO WE CAN EXPLORE INSIDE THE WALLS AND DRAW CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THEIR CONSTRUCTION WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE THEM TO PIECES FIRST. IT MAKES IT A LOT QUICKER AND A LOT EASIER TO DO. >> THE TRAIL BEGINS AT VLAD'S BIRTHPLACE. IT IS A PICTURESQUE, FORTIFIED TOWN CALLED SIGHISOARA IN THE HEART OF TRANSYLVANIA. THE INVESTIGATORS START BY UNCOVERING CLUES FROM ONE OF SIGHISOARA'S OLDEST HOUSES. >> THIS IS THE HOUSE IN WHICH, IN 1431, PRINCE VLAD "THE IMPALER" DRACULA WAS BORN. >> BUT MUCH HAS CHANGED SINCE THE 15th CENTURY. >> IT WAS PROBABLY A SINGLE-STORY BUILDING AT THAT STAGE. WHAT WE SEE BEHIND US IS A 17th-CENTURY ADDITION TO THE BUILDING. IT'S NOT AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN VLAD'S DAY. >> WE CAN NOW REVEAL DRACULA'S BIRTHPLACE AS IT LOOKED WHEN HE WAS BORN. A ONE-STORY BUILDING IN THE HEART OF THE CITADEL, IT LACKED SEWERS, PLUMBING, THE MOST BASIC AMENITIES. YET THE THICK RIVER STONE IT WAS BUILT FROM PROVIDED ITS MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE-- SECURITY. VLAD'S HOMETOWN WAS ONE OF THE SAFEST IN ALL TRANSYLVANIA. THE WALLS YIELD THE FIRST CLUE TO THE SPECTACULAR FORTIFICATIONS THAT EXISTED HERE WHEN VLAD DRACULA WAS BORN. >> THIS EFFECTIVELY WAS THE TOWN WALL. AND IT'S PUNCTUATED WITH DEFENSIVE TOWERS. AND BEHIND US WE HAVE ONE OF THE MOST ELABORATE. >> THE WALLS AND DEFENSIVE TOWERS, CALLED BASTIONS, WERE UP TO 10 FEET THICK. THEY WERE THERE SIMPLY TO PREVENT ANY ENEMY FROM SACKING THE CITY. >> IF YOU LOOK AT THE LOWER AREA, WE HAVE THE CRENELS WHERE THEY POURED THE BOILING OIL AND HOT WATER ON PEOPLE WHO WERE ATTACKING THE FORTRESS. AND IN THE UPPER PART, WE HAVE AN ARROW SLIT. >> SIGHISOARA WAS HEAVILY FORTIFIED BECAUSE IT WAS ONE OF TRANSYLVANIA'S RICHEST TOWNS. BUT THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED WITHIN ITS WALLS WERE NOT ROMANIANS. THEY WERE SAXONS, MEN AND WOMEN OF GERMAN DESCENT. PIONEERING SAXONS HAD MIGRATED TO TRANSYLVANIA IN THE 12th CENTURY TO BECOME MERCHANTS AND CRAFTSMEN. IN RETURN, THEY WERE GRANTED SPECIAL TRADING PRIVILEGES. >> THEY WERE VERY MUCH A RACE APART. THE SAXONS WERE VERY MUCH ASSOCIATED WITH GREED, TYPIFYING THE MIDDLE CLASSES IN ANY ERA. THEY MADE MONEY AT THE EXPENSE OF THE NATIVE WALLACHIANS. >> VLAD DRACULA'S FATHER, A ROMANIAN PRINCE, STRUCK A SPECIAL TRADING DEAL WITH THE SAXONS OF SIGHISOARA. IN RETURN, HE AND HIS FAMILY WERE PERMITTED TO LIVE WITHIN THE CITY WALLS IN THE APPARENT SAFETY OF THE CITADEL. BUT IN 1447, DRACULA'S FATHER WAS ASSASSINATED BY A RIVAL CLAN WHO SEIZED THE THRONE OF WALLACHIA, ROMANIA'S SOUTHERN PROVINCE. VLAD FLED NORTH. [horse hoofs clomping] HE VOWED TO RETURN. ONE OF THE PLACES HE STAYED WAS THE SPECTACULAR BRAN CASTLE. TODAY, TOURISTS FLOCK TO BRAN CASTLE IN THE BELIEF THAT IT WAS THE HOME OF COUNT DRACULA, THE VILLAIN DEPICTED IN BRAM STOKER'S NOVEL. THE FICTIONAL VAMPIRE DWELT HERE AMONGST THE UNDEAD UNTIL HE WAS KILLED WITH A STAKE THROUGH THE HEART. THIS PLACE WAS PAINTED AS THE HOME OF EVIL. THE REAL DRACULA DID COME HERE IN THE 1450s, AND BENEATH THE GOTHIC SPLENDOR, THE EXPERTS UNCOVER WHAT THE CASTLE REALLY LOOKED LIKE IN HIS TIME. MODERNIZED BY ROMANIAN ROYALTY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20th CENTURY, THE CASTLE'S INTERIOR IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT IT WAS. BUT BY USING RARELY SEEN FLOOR PLANS OF THE CASTLE, THE EXPERTS PIECE TOGETHER HOW IT MUST HAVE LOOKED 500 YEARS AGO. >> THE TOWER THAT YOU WERE TELLING ME ABOUT, THIS ONE, THIS IS ACTUALLY THIS ONE BEHIND US. >> EXACTLY. THE ROUND TOWER. >> BUT THE STRATEGIC USE OF THIS TOWER-- THIS WAS THE GUNPOWDER TOWER. >> THE GUNPOWDER TOWER, YEAH. >> YEAH, YEAH. SO IF WE ORIENTATE THIS WAY, WE HAVE THE-- >> TOWER BEHIND US. >> THE TOWER HERE, YEAH. AND THE ORIGINAL ENTRANCE TO THE CASTLE WAS FURTHER... >> USING BRAN'S MEDIEVAL FLOOR PLANS AND CUTTING-EDGE ANIMATION TECHNIQUES, IT'S POSSIBLE TO OPEN A WINDOW ONTO THE CASTLE IN THE 15th CENTURY-- NOT A FAIRYTALE GOTHIC CASTLE, BUT THE MOST SECURE AND IMPOSING FORTRESS ON THE TRANSYLVANIAN BORDER. IT WAS A MAJOR FEAT OF CONSTRUCTION. >> THE TERRITORY AROUND HERE ISN'T CONDUCIVE TO SIGNIFICANT ROAD-BASED TRAVEL. SO, JUST GETTING THE STUFF THERE IS A HUGE, HUGE UNDERTAKING. AND THEN WHEN YOU'RE THERE, TO GET UP THIS HIGH WITHOUT THE SORT OF LIFTING TECHNOLOGY WE HAVE TODAY, THEY WOULD HAVE BUILT UP SCAFFOLDING SYSTEMS USING TIMBER. THEY WOULD HAVE BUILT OFF THE STRUCTURE AS THEY GO ALONG. ALL VERY, VERY BIG CHALLENGES. >> FOR VLAD DRACULA, BRAN CASTLE WAS THE IDEAL SPRINGBOARD FROM WHICH HE'D LAUNCH HIS BID FOR POWER. THE BLOODY REIGN OF DRACULA WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN. TO CONSOLIDATE HIS RULE, HE WOULD EMBARK ON ONE OF THE BIGGEST BUILDING PROGRAMS IN THE HISTORY OF HIS COUNTRY. >> IN 1456, THE THRONE OF THE ROMANIAN PRINCEDOM OF WALLACHIA WAS SEIZED BY VLAD DRACULA, THE MAN WHO GAVE HIS NAME TO THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS VAMPIRE. UNCOVERING THIS LOST WORLD IS A TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS. THEY WANT TO EXPOSE THE EXTENSIVE BUILDING PROJECTS HE BEGAN AT THE START OF HIS REIGN. HE WAS TRYING TO IMPOSE ORDER ON AN UNRULY LAND. VLAD DRACULA HAS A NAME TO LIVE UP TO. HE INHERITED IT FROM HIS FATHER, VLAD DRACUL, THE FORMER RULER OF WALLACHIA AND A KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF THE DRAGON. THE DRAGON BECAME PART OF THE FAMILY CREST. >> DRACULA, HE WAS THE SON OF VLAD DRACUL. AND ALSO THERE'S A CONNECTION WITH DRACUL ITSELF, WHICH MEANS "THE DEVIL." >> FOLLOWING TRADITION, DRACULA, SON OF THE DEVIL, TAKES TIRGOVISTE AS HIS CAPITAL CITY. IT IS A PLACE OF LEGENDARY TERROR. SOME OF DRACULA'S WORST ATROCITIES TAKE PLACE HERE. BUT WHEN HE ARRIVES, IT IS HIS LIFE THAT IS IN IMMINENT DANGER. >> THIS IS NOT ONLY THE CAPITAL OF HIS REALM, BUT IT'S ALSO THE CAPITAL OF POLITICAL ASSASSINATIONS. IT'S ALSO THE CAPITAL OF INTRIGUE. >> HE EXPECTS TO BE MURDERED. HE FEARS POISONING. EVERYTHING HE EATS IS TASTED FIRST BY A TRUSTED SERVANT. RIVAL PRINCES CALLED BOYARS TRADITIONALLY DOMINATE POLITICS IN WALLACHIA. THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET RID OF HIM FORCES VLAD'S HAND. IT IS KILL, OR BE KILLED. >> FOR GENERATIONS, THE WALLACHIAN LAND OWNERS HAD CHANGED THEIR LOYALTY BACK AND FORTH AND BACK AND FORTH. AND IN ORDER TO RETAIN POWER, VLAD HAS GOT TO GET RID OF THE BOYAR. >> VLAD'S ANTIPATHY TOWARD THE BOYAR IS ALSO DEEPLY PERSONAL. >> HIS FATHER HAS BEEN MURDERED BY THE BOYARS, AND SO HERE IS A MAN, I THINK, BENT ON VENGEANCE. HE'S GOT A SCORE TO SETTLE, AND HE DOES. >> BUT BEFORE DRACULA CAN BE RID OF HIS BOYAR ENEMIES, HE NEEDS PROTECTION, AND IN THE PRESENT-DAY RUINS LIE CLUES TO A MASSIVE BUILDING PROJECT THAT TOOK PLACE HERE MORE THAN 500 YEARS AGO. >> IT'S ALL PART OF HIS CUNNING PLAN TO BUILD THIS IMAGE, IF YOU LIKE, THIS IMAGE OF POWER, THIS IMAGE THAT HE'S IN CONTROL, THE IMPRESSION THAT HE IS THE GREAT LEADER, THE MIGHTY VOIVODE OF WALLACHIA. >> THE PALACE COMPLEX AT TIRGOVISTE WAS BEGUN BY DRACULA'S GRANDFATHER. IN HIS FATHER'S TIME, A 60-FOOT-WIDE DEFENSIVE MOAT WAS ADDED. BUT DRACULA HIMSELF WAS TO BUILD A PALACE COMPLEX THAT SURPASSED ALL THAT HAD GONE BEFORE. THE GREAT HALL WAS REBUILT TO ENCOMPASS A VAST AREA OF MORE THAN 3,000 SQUARE FEET, AND AN IMPOSING WATCHTOWER GAVE DRACULA A PANORAMIC VIEW OF HIS TERRITORY. THE WHOLE PALACE COMPLEX WAS ENCASED IN WALLS THAT WERE AS MUCH AS 5 FEET THICK. THE VAST CELLARS BENEATH THE GREAT HALL REVEAL THE SHEER SCALE OF VLAD'S AMBITION. >> WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS A HUGE VOLUME OF SPACE. AND THAT VOLUME WAS CREATED THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION OF BARREL-VAULTED CELLARS. >> THE ARCHES ARE TYPICAL OF WHAT'S CALLED THE BYZANTINE STYLE OF BUILDING. THEY WERE CONSTRUCTED USING A TIMBER FRAMEWORK CALLED A FORMER. THE BRICKS WERE BUILT AROUND IT. IT WAS A FEAT THAT HAD TO BE SUPERVISED BY A MASTER MASON. HIS VERY LIFE DEPENDED ON GETTING IT RIGHT. >> TRADITIONALLY, WHEN YOU REMOVE THE FORMWORK FROM A FRESH ARCH, THE MASTER MASON HAS TO STAND UNDERNEATH AND BE THE FIRST ONE THERE WHEN THE FORMWORK'S REMOVED. SO IF IT'S EVER GOING TO FALL ON ANYONE, IT WILL FALL ON HIM. >> ALTHOUGH FEW CLUES REMAIN, SOME STILL BELIEVE THE CELLARS HOUSED NOT JUST PALACE SUPPLIES BUT FAR DARKER SECRETS... LIKE VLAD'S OWN PRIVATE TORTURE CHAMBERS. RESTORED IN THE 19th CENTURY, THIS TOWER WAS PERHAPS THE MOST STRIKING FEATURE THAT VLAD DRACULA ADDED TO TIRGOVISTE. BUILT OF A RIVER STONE BASE WITH UPPER STORIES OF BRICK, IT SOARED MORE THAN 60 FEET INTO THE AIR AND PROVIDED A COMMANDING VIEW. ONCE FINISHED, VLAD'S PALACE WAS A HIGHLY DEFENSIBLE SERIES OF BARRIERS. >> AS A DEFENSIVE POSITION, THIS STRUCTURE APPEARS TO BE WELL-SET. YOU CAN DEFEND PROGRESSIVELY BACKWARDS. SO YOU HAVE A SUCCESSION OF HURDLES TO OVERCOME. ONCE YOU'VE GOT OVER THAT ONE, YOU'RE IN THE MOAT, AND PEOPLE ARE STILL LOBBING STUFF AT YOU. ONCE YOU'VE GOT OVER THAT ONE, EVERYONE RUNS BACK INSIDE THERE, AND THEY'RE FIRING AT YOU FROM THE TOWER AND FROM THE ROOFS AND FROM EVERYWHERE ELSE. YOU CAN IMAGINE THE LIFE TOLL WOULD BE FAIRLY SEVERE FOR THE PEOPLE ATTACKING IT. >> WITH TIRGOVISTE TRANSFORMED INTO A HIGH-SECURITY HEADQUARTERS, DRACULA BEGAN EXTERMINATING HIS BOYAR ENEMIES. HE SHOWED RUTHLESSNESS THAT HAS BECOME LEGENDARY. >> THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THE ONLY WAY VLAD COULD GET RID OF THE BOYAR AND CEMENT HIMSELF IN POWER WAS TO KILL THEM ALL. >> ON EASTER SUNDAY 1457, DRACULA COMMITTED ONE OF HIS MOST INFAMOUS ATROCITIES. HE SET HIS TRAP BY INVITING THE BOYARS TO A MEAL IN THE GREAT HALL. >> VLAD ASKED THEM RATHER POINTEDLY HOW MANY LORDS THEY HAD HAD OVER A 50-YEAR PERIOD, AND MOST OF THEM COULDN'T ANSWER HIM, BECAUSE THEY'D HAD SO MANY. AND THE REASON THEY'D HAD SO MANY IS THAT THEY HAD BEEN REMOVED BY FORCE BY THOSE VERY BOYARS. I'M SURE IT'S EXACTLY THE ANSWER THAT VLAD WANTED. THEY WERE CONDEMNING THEMSELVES OUT OF THEIR OWN MOUTHS, AND SO, ACCORDING TO LEGEND ANYWAY, HE HAD THEM IMPALED, 500 OF THEM. >> IMPALEMENT WAS A TERRIFYING METHOD OF EXECUTION. >> NOW, THE COMMON WAY WOULD BE TO PUT YOUR ENEMY ON THE END, THE SHARPENED END OF THE STAKE, PIERCE THEM THROUGH THE NAVEL OR THROUGH THE HEART, AND HOIST THEM UP AND LEAVE THEM TO DIE A RELATIVELY QUICK DEATH. THAT WAS FOR THE MORE FORTUNATE, BECAUSE IF HE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF YOU, HE'D TAKE THIS ROUNDED END, AND HE'D GREASE IT, AND THEN HE'D PULL YOUR LEGS APART AND INSERT IT INTO YOUR RECTUM. SO THROUGH YOUR BOTTOM, AND GRADUALLY THE STAKE WOULD WORK ITS WAY THROUGH YOUR BODY. THIS MIGHT TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS, OK? SO YOU'D BE LITERALLY DYING FOR HOURS. >> TIRGOVISTE WAS LITTERED WITH THE IMPALED BODIES OF THE DEAD AND DYING. BUT DRACULA DIDN'T KILL EVERYONE IMMEDIATELY. FOR SOME, HE INTENDED A LONGER, MORE PRODUCTIVE DEATH. AND HERE ON THIS HIGH, INACCESSIBLE MOUNTAIN TOP ON THE BORDER OF TRANSYLVANIA, THEY WERE FORCED TO BUILD A FORTRESS THAT IS THE REAL CASTLE DRACULA. IT IS A PLACE THAT WOULD SERVE AS VLAD'S SANCTUARY IN A COMING CAMPAIGN OF TERROR. >> 1500 FEET ABOVE THE RIVER ARGES ON A PERILOUSLY STEEP MOUNTAIN LIE THE RUINS OF AN ANCIENT FORTRESS CALLED CASTLE POENARI. THE CASTLE'S SITE WAS KEY. ON THE EDGE OF VLAD DRACULA'S OWN REALM OF WALLACHIA, THE CASTLE ALSO BORDERED THE MOUNTAINOUS TERRITORY OF TRANSYLVANIA. EVEN TODAY, IT REMAINS A REMOTE AND FORBIDDING PLACE. AND THE INVESTIGATORS NEED TO CLIMB 1480 STEPS JUST TO GET TO IT. WITHIN THESE RUINS LIE REMARKABLE ARCHAEOLOGICAL CLUES WHICH WILL HELP THE INVESTIGATORS BRING THE CASTLE BACK TO LIFE. FOR A PRINCE BENT ON ACHIEVING ABSOLUTE POWER, THIS WAS A PRIME STRATEGIC LOCATION. >> AND YOU SEE HERE TO THE SOUTH WE HAVE VLAD'S LANDS, HIS WALLACHIA. AND, OF COURSE, 50 MILES BEYOND THOSE MOUNTAINS, YOU HAVE TIRGOVISTE, HIS VERY OWN CAPITAL CITY. BUT OF EQUAL IMPORTANCE AND OVER HERE TO THE NORTH, YOU HAVE TRANSYLVANIA-- TRANSYLVANIA, WHICH, OF COURSE, INCLUDED A COUPLE OF VLAD'S STRONGHOLDS. AND EQUALLY IMPORTANTLY, THIS WAS THE PRIME POSITION FROM WHICH HE COULD DEAL WITH THOSE PESKY TRANSYLVANIAN SAXONS. >> TRANSYLVANIA IS HOME TO THE RICH SAXON MERCHANTS WHOSE WHEELING AND DEALING THREATENS VLAD DRACULA'S GRIP ON POWER. SINCE HE NEEDS TO ACT SWIFTLY IN BUILDING THE CASTLE, HE RESORTS TO UNCONVENTIONAL TECHNIQUES AND SLAVE LABOR. CONSTRUCTION BEGINS AROUND A WATCHTOWER DATING BACK TO THE TIME OF HIS GRANDFATHER. BUT VLAD ENVISAGES SOMETHING FAR GREATER, A FORTRESS THAT WILL NOT JUST OCCUPY THE WHOLE SUMMIT OF POENARI BUT ENLARGE IT. CLUES TO HOW HE DID IT ARE ENCODED IN THE RUIN WALLS THAT STILL SURROUND THE CASTLE. THEY GIVE IT ITS STRANGE TWO-TONE APPEARANCE, WITH RED BRICK SITTING ON TOP OF A GRAY STONE BASE. >> IT IS A VERY, VERY UNUSUAL STRUCTURE BECAUSE OF THE COMBINATION OF THE STONE AND THE BRICK. I WOULD HAVE EXPECTED HERE TO HAVE SEEN THE WHOLE THING CONSTRUCTED IN STONE. PERHAPS IT WAS ACTUALLY EASIER TO BUILD IN BRICK. IT CERTAINLY WOULD HAVE BEEN AN AWFUL LOT QUICKER. >> THOUGH THEY STAND ON A NARROW MOUNTAIN SUMMIT, THESE WALLS ARE A STAGGERING 9 FEET THICK. >> [low mumbling] >> THIS WAS ACHIEVED BY USING THE BYZANTINE CONSTRUCTION METHOD. >> THE BYZANTINE STYLE WAS FIRST OF ALL TO BUILD THE 2 EXTERNAL WALLS IN BRICK AND THEN TO IN-FILL THOSE WALLS WITH RUBBLE. THE COMBINATION OF THE OUTER WALL, THE INNER CORE, AND THE INNER WALL TOGETHER MAKE THIS AN ABSOLUTELY SOLID STRUCTURE. >> WHAT HELD THE WALLS TOGETHER WAS ALSO THE SECRET OF THE CASTLE'S SURVIVAL IN AN AREA THAT WAS ACTUALLY AN EARTHQUAKE ZONE. THEY USED LIME MORTAR. >> THIS IS WHAT LIME IN ITS PUTTY FORM ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE. IT'S LIKE A VERY RICH WHIPPED CREAM, EFFECTIVELY. BUT BECAUSE IT'S LIME, IT WON'T COMPLETELY SET IN THIS SORT OF SITUATION. AND, THEREFORE, IT ALLOWS FLEXIBILITY. IT ALLOWS THE WALLS TO MOVE, WHICH, OF COURSE, IS GOING TO BE VERY USEFUL IN AN EARTHQUAKE SITUATION. WE WON'T SUFFER SEVERE CRACKS AND DAMAGE IN THE SAME WAY THAT YOU WOULD IF YOU WERE TO USE CEMENT. >> THOUGH THEY HAVE BEEN STRUCK BY NUMEROUS VIOLENT EARTHQUAKES, MANY OF CASTLE DRACULA'S WALLS STILL STAND TODAY. THEY WERE CONSTRUCTED BY SLAVE LABOR, THE NOBLES THAT HAD BEEN SPARED FROM IMPALEMENT DURING THE EASTER MASSACRE AT TIRGOVISTE. FORCE MARCHED TO POENARI, THEY WERE NOW TO SUFFER A FAR LONGER, LINGERING DEATH. BUT THE CASTLE WASN'T BUILT JUST BY SLAVES. ONE INGENIOUS PIECE OF ENGINEERING PROVES THAT MASTER CRAFTSMEN MUST HAVE BEEN INVOLVED. THE CASTLE'S ROOTS GATHER RAINFALL INTO THE CISTERN. >> IT'S CONSTRUCTED IN STONE, WHICH IS CALLED RABBETING. AND BASICALLY IT'S CUTTING THE ANGLES OF THE STONE SO THAT THE NEXT STONE SITS IN EXACTLY AGAINST THIS ONE. BUT WHAT THIS ACTUALLY SHOWS IS THAT WHEN THIS WAS CONSTRUCTED, WHOEVER WAS INVOLVED IN THE ENGINEERING SIDE OF THINGS REALLY UNDERSTOOD THE WHOLE PROCESS OF STONE CONSTRUCTION, OF WHAT WAS NEEDED TO HOLD WATER FOR A CASTLE OF THIS SIZE AND QUALITY. >> EVERYTHING NEEDED TO BUILD CASTLE DRACULA WAS AVAILABLE IN THE RIVER VALLEY BELOW. THERE WAS SAND FOR MORTAR, GRAVEL AND SMALL ROCKS FOR THE BYZANTINE WALL FILLER. THERE WERE ALSO STURDY RIVER STONES THAT FORMED THE CASTLE'S BASE. EVEN THE BRICKS WERE FIRED AND MADE LOCALLY. THIS WAS THE SPECTACULAR RESULT. WHEN IT WAS FINISHED, THE CASTLE FILLED THE ENTIRE SUMMIT, APPROXIMATELY 32 FEET WIDE BY 180 FEET LONG. AN EAGLE'S NEST, DRACULA'S CASTLE OFFERED EXCELLENT SECURITY AND THE CONTROL OF A KEY STRATEGIC PASS BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS. BUT JUST OVER THE BORDER IN TRANSYLVANIA, THE TROUBLESOME SAXON MERCHANTS WERE HATCHING A CONSPIRACY AGAINST HIM. TO PROTECT THEIR PROFITS, THEY WERE SUPPORTING A RIVAL CLAIMANT TO VLAD'S THRONE. >> YOU COULD ARGUE THAT THIS CASTLE PROVIDED VLAD WITH THE ESSENTIAL SPRINGBOARD VIA WHICH HE COULD GO AND DEAL WITH THE TRANSYLVANIAN SAXONS. HE MADE THEM REALIZE THAT IF THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE THEIR COMMERCIAL WAYS, THEY WERE FIRST AND FOREMOST GOING TO DO WHAT HE SAID. >> A MAJOR CONFRONTATION LAY AHEAD. VLAD DRACULA WOULD NEED ALL HIS CUNNING TO OVERCOME THE DEFENSES OF ONE OF THE BEST FORTIFIED TOWNS IN ALL EUROPE. HE WOULD EXACT A TERRIBLE REVENGE. >> GERMAN CHRONICLES REPORT THAT IN 1459, VLAD DRACULA, THE REAL-LIFE ROMANIAN PRINCE, EMBARKED ON A CAMPAIGN OF TERROR. IT WAS SO SAVAGE THAT THE NAME OF DRACULA WOULD NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. RALLYING HIS TROOPS AT BRAN CASTLE, HE MARCHED INTO TRANSYLVANIA. SAXON MERCHANTS WERE PLOTTING TO OVERTHROW HIM. HE INTENDED TO PUNISH THEM. THEIR BASE WAS IN BRASOV. CONCEALED WITHIN THE MODERN-DAY CITY ARE THE FORTIFICATIONS OF WHAT WAS MEDIEVAL TRANSYLVANIA'S RICHEST AND MOST WELL-DEFENDED TOWN. >> THE SAXONS HAD BEEN SIDING WITH VLAD'S ENEMIES. THEY WERE UNTRUSTWORTHY, AND THEY WERE FOREIGN ANYWAY. SO, IN VLAD'S BOOK, THAT'S A FAIR DEAL. >> TODAY, THE PICTURESQUE TOWN GIVES FEW CLUES TO THE BLOODY EVENTS THAT UNFOLDED HERE 5 1/2 CENTURIES AGO. [horses whinnying] VLAD'S ATTACK ON BRASOV WAS NOT EASY. THE CITY'S MILITARY DEFENSES WERE FORMIDABLE. A HUGE WALL, NEARLY 14 FEET THICK IN SOME PLACES, RAN AROUND THE ENTIRE SAXON CITY. THERE WERE BASTIONS AT REGULAR INTERVALS. THIS BASTION WAS RUN BY THE WEAVERS' GUILD. >> THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FORTIFICATIONS THAT HAS SURVIVED FAIRLY INTACT. AND, IN TERMS OF ITS ARCHITECTURE AND FORM, IT'S EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN UNDERSTANDING THE DEFENSIVE SYSTEMS OF THE EARLY 15th CENTURY. >> A MULTI-LEVELED WOODEN GALLERY WAS BUILT ONTO THE INSIDE OF THE WALL. >> WHAT WE SEE HERE IS VERY, VERY HIGH-QUALITY WORK IN OAK. AND WE HAVE THE ROOFS, AT THE MOMENT THEY'RE COVERED IN SNOW, BUT UNDERNEATH THAT SNOW IS TIMBER ROOFING. >> CUT INTO THE OUTSIDE WALLS ARE ARROW SLITS AND LOOPHOLES. THEY WOULD LATER BE USED FOR CANNON AND MUSKETS. THE SAXONS BELIEVE THAT THEY ARE SAFE BEHIND THEIR MIGHTY FORTIFICATIONS, BUT THEY UNDERESTIMATE DRACULA'S CUNNING. DRACULA GREW UP IN A SAXON TOWN. HE KNOWS THEIR WAY OF FIGHTING. HE KNOWS A FRONTAL ASSAULT IS DOOMED TO FAILURE. SO HE TAKES BRASOV BY SURPRISE, ATTACKING BY NIGHT AND RANSACKING ITS SUBURBS BEFORE PEOPLE CAN RETREAT TO SAFETY BEHIND THE WALLS. EVERYONE HE CATCHES IS IMPALED ON THE SURROUNDING HILLS. ACCORDING TO LATER SAXON ACCOUNTS, THOUSANDS DIE. >> THE EXECUTIONS TOOK PLACE ON THE HANGING HILL, WHICH IS BEHIND THIS MOUNTAIN. >> THE ATTACK ON BRASOV INSPIRES THE MOST INFAMOUS OF ALL THE IMAGES OF VLAD-- THE FOREST OF THE IMPALED. IT DEPICTS THE PRINCE EATING HIS DINNER AMID CORPSES. SOME SUGGEST THIS PICTURE IS THE FIRST TO MAKE A LINK BETWEEN VLAD DRACULA AND VAMPIRISM. >> IMPALEMENT IS A SLOW PROCESS. IT CAN'T BE DONE QUICKLY, ESPECIALLY WITH LARGE NUMBERS. THEN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN HAVING A MEAL WHILE HE WAS WATCHING IT. BUT HE'S NOT ACTUALLY DRINKING THEIR BLOOD, AND HE'S NOT EATING THEIR FLESH. THERE WAS NOTHING CANNIBALISTIC, I DON'T THINK, ABOUT VLAD. >> CREATED BY SAXON STORYTELLERS, THE PURPOSE OF THESE PICTURES IS CLEAR-- TO FOREVER ASSOCIATE THE NAME OF DRACULA WITH EVIL. >> THE WOODCUTS THEMSELVES, OF COURSE, ARE PROPAGANDA. THEY ARE THE EARLY VERSION OF VIDEO NASTIES, AND PEOPLE WANTED TO LOOK AT THEM AND GAWK. AND THEY PAID GOOD MONEY TO DO IT. >> WITH BRASOV SUBDUED, VLAD TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE. THE MUSLIM SUPERPOWER OF HIS DAY, ITS VAST BORDERS REACH VLAD'S OWN TERRITORY. >> THE OTTOMAN-TURKISH EMPIRE WERE CONTINUING TO LOOK WESTWARD, LOOK TOWARDS EUROPE AS THE NEXT PLACE THEY WERE GOING TO CONQUER. AND ASIDE FROM A FEW HILL TRIBES LIKE THE WALLACHIANS, THERE WAS NOTHING TO STOP THEM. >> BUT VLAD DRACULA IS DETERMINED TO RESIST. HE BEGINS TO CONCENTRATE HIS BUILDING EFFORTS IN THE SOUTH OF HIS REALM. HERE, HE ERECTS A STUNNING NEW PALACE OF BRICK AND STONE. FOR 5 CENTURIES, IT HAS BEEN LOST TO TIME, UNTIL NOW. HIDDEN BENEATH BUCHAREST'S STREETS IS THE SECRET WORLD OF THIS ONCE GREAT RESIDENCE. THESE ANCIENT WALLS CONCEAL EVIDENCE OF PAST GLORIES FEW EVEN KNOW EXISTED. >> WE'RE ALWAYS THINKING OF, YOU KNOW, VLAD AS DEFENDING AND FIGHTING. BUT DON'T FORGET HE WAS A MAN WITH A GREAT DEAL OF COMMERCIAL NOUS, AND THIS WAS AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ECONOMIC ROUTE. >> VLAD KNEW THE TURKS COULD THREATEN THESE TRADE ROUTES AND AT ANY MOMENT. HE BUILT HIS PALACE IN A HURRY WITH THE BEST SPECIALISTS AVAILABLE. >> HE CALLED IN TRANSYLVANIAN STONEMASONS. HE ALSO CALLED IN APPROXIMATELY A THOUSAND WORKERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS WAS ERECTED, AND THIS WAS ERECTED QUITE QUICKLY. >> EXCAVATIONS IN THESE TUNNELS REVEAL A BUILDING OF A COMPACT DESIGN BORN OUT OF URGENT NECESSITY. >> ALL TOGETHER, IT WAS A FUNCTIONAL FORTRESS AS OPPOSED TO A SORT OF EXOTIC PALACE. >> LATER RULERS WOULD REBUILD AND EXTEND IT, BUT HIDDEN IN THE BUILDING'S FOUNDATIONS ARE CLUES TO ITS HISTORY. >> TAKE THIS PIECE OF WALL HERE. YOU HAVE IN THE MIDDLE BRICKWORK THAT DATES BACK TO VLAD'S TIME. NOW, ON EITHER SIDE OF THAT, YOU SEE BRICKWORK THAT'S BEEN ADDED ON AT LATER DATES. AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT'S SORT OF THE MOST FASCINATING PART, IF YOU LIKE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FROM THE 14th CENTURY, ALSO THE 15th CENTURY, THE 16th CENTURY, THE 17th CENTURY, THE 18th CENTURY, AND THE 19th CENTURY. >> NOW, WITH ANIMATION BASED ON THIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL DETECTIVE WORK, DRACULA'S ORIGINAL PALACE CAN BE SEEN ONCE MORE. IT IS A COMMANDING FORTRESS, AND IT WOULD HAVE SERVED AS AN ESSENTIAL BULWARK TO VLAD'S SOUTHERN FRONTIER. DRACULA NOW HAS HIS DOMAIN OF WALLACHIA IN AN IRON GRIP, BUT HIS GREATEST ENEMY, THE CONQUERING OTTOMAN EMPIRE, IS WAITING AT THE BORDER. THE BLOOD-THIRSTY TYRANT DRACULA NOW NEEDS TO TRANSFORM HIMSELF INTO THE HEROIC DEFENDER OF CHRISTIAN EUROPE. AND THE FORTIFICATIONS HE'S BUILT WILL NOW BE TESTED TO THEIR LIMITS. WITH HIS COUNTRY SECURED BY A SERIES OF FORTIFIED PALACES, VLAD DRACULA, PRINCE OF WALLACHIA, BEGINS PLANNING FOR WAR. AMID THE MASSIVE 5-FOOT-THICK WALLS OF HIS PALACE AT TIRGOVISTE, VLAD RECEIVES A DELEGATION FROM THE OTTOMAN TURKS. THE TURKS' ALL-CONQUERING ARMIES HAVE REACHED HIS BORDERS, AND THEY NOW THREATEN CHRISTIAN EUROPE. ACCORDING TO LEGEND, THE ENVOY DEMANDS VLAD PAY A TRIBUTE, BUT HE REFUSES, CLAIMING THE ENVOY HAD INSULTED HIM. >> THEY DON'T REMOVE THEIR TURBANS. AND VLAD ASKED THEM WHY THEY WERE BEING SO INSULTING, AND THEY SAID, "IT'S NOT OUR CUSTOM. WE NEVER REMOVE OUR TURBANS." SO HE ORDERED THEM THAT THEY COULD NEVER REMOVE THEIR TURBANS BECAUSE THEY WERE TO BE NAILED TO THEIR HEADS. >> BY THE WINTER OF 1461, DRACULA AND THE TURKS ARE AT WAR. [whip lashing] WITH AN UNEXPECTED SPEED AND BOLDNESS, DRACULA LEADS HIS SOLDIERS ON A BRILLIANT CAMPAIGN INTO ENEMY TERRITORY. EVERYONE WHO GETS IN HIS WAY IS PUT TO THE SWORD. >> A NOBLEMAN LIKE VLAD COULD NOT HANG BACK IN BATTLE. HE HAD TO BE PHYSICALLY COURAGEOUS. OTHERWISE, HE WAS NOBODY. >> VLAD RETURNS TO THE SAFETY OF TIRGOVISTE'S FORTIFICATIONS. IN 1462, HE WRITES TO NEIGHBORING KINGDOMS DEMANDING HELP FROM HIS FELLOW CHRISTIANS. WITH ONE DISPATCH, HE SENDS A DEMONSTRATION OF HIS MILITARY PROWESS-- 23,884 SEVERED NOSES CUT FROM THE FACES OF HIS FALLEN ENEMIES. THE TURKISH SULTAN MEHMED, HIMSELF A FEROCIOUS GENERAL, SETS OUT TO MEET HIM IN BATTLE. HE BRINGS AN ARMY THAT DWARFS VLAD'S BY 3 TO 1. THOUGH TIRGOVISTE HAS FORMIDABLE DEFENSES, VLAD KNOWS THE PALACE CANNOT WITHSTAND A PROTRACTED SIEGE. >> THE WAY YOU BROKE DOWN DEFENSIVE POSITIONS LIKE THIS WAS EITHER INTRIGUE, WHERE YOU PAID SOMEONE TO LET YOU IN, OPEN THE DOOR, OR YOU STARVED THEM OUT. THEY ARE A GOOD ANSWER IF ALL YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT IS SOMEONE KNOCKING ON YOUR DOOR FOR A FEW WEEKS. IF YOU HAVE TO HIDE HERE FOR 3 YEARS, IT'S NOT QUITE SO GOOD. >> VLAD IS FORCED TO CHANGE HIS TACTICS AND GO ON THE RUN. >> MEHMED WAS A MASTER OF PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE. BUT WHAT HE ENCOUNTERED WAS AN EVEN MORE POWERFUL PSYCHOLOGICAL WARRIOR. >> VLAD USES SAVAGE GUERILLA TACTICS. HE KEEPS TO ROMANIA'S THICK FORESTS, VENTURING OUT TO STRIKE QUICKLY AND BRUTALLY, THEN VANISHING. AS THE TURKS ADVANCE, VLAD USES EVERY CONCEIVABLE TACTIC TO BREAK THEIR MORALE. HE ATTACKS BY NIGHT. HE POISONS THEIR WELLS. HE BURNS THEIR CROPS. HE EVEN PAYS DISEASED MEN TO INFILTRATE THE TURKISH RANKS AND PASS ON INFECTIONS. VLAD'S CAMPAIGN OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TERROR REACHES ITS CLIMAX OUTSIDE THE WALLS OF TIRGOVISTE. WHEN HE ABANDONS HIS PALACE, HE LEAVES BEHIND A SIGHT THAT WILL HAUNT THE SULTAN FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE. IT GIVES RISE TO VLAD'S TURKISH NICKNAME. THEY CALL HIM KAZIKLI BEY, "THE IMPALER LORD." >> MEHMED HIMSELF, WHO WAS A FRIGHTENINGLY CRUEL MAN, TURNS AWAY. THE SIGHT OF 20,000 CORPSES WITH THEIR BOWELS SPILLED OUT DOWN POLES WAS ENOUGH TO TAKE A SEASONED, YOUNG, FIT SOLDIER LIKE MEHMED THE SECOND AND SEND HIM RUNNING. >> THE TRAUMATIZED SULTAN RETREATS TO HIS HOMELAND, LEAVING OTHERS TO FIGHT DRACULA. THEY DRIVE HIM BACK. HE IS FORCED TO RETREAT TO HIS SANCTUARY AT POENARI, CASTLE DRACULA. THE CASTLE'S POSITION AND DEFENSES MAKE A FRONTAL ASSAULT IMPOSSIBLE. BUT FOR SOME OF THOSE TRAPPED INSIDE, LIFE BECOMES UNBEARABLE. PANIC-STRICKEN BY THE IDEA OF BEING TORTURED TO DEATH BY THE TURKS, DRACULA'S WIFE THROWS HERSELF FROM THE BATTLEMENTS. HER BODY FALLS INTO THE RIVER FAR BELOW. TO THIS DAY, IT IS CALLED THE PRINCESS'S RIVER. BUT VLAD DOES NOT GIVE UP. HE WILL GET OUT AND LIVE TO KEEP FIGHTING. IN THE VILLAGE OF AREFU, ONLY A FEW MILES FROM THE CASTLE, THE EXPERTS UNCOVER A PIECE OF LOCAL FOLKLORE CONCERNING DRACULA'S DARING ESCAPE. >> [speaking Romanian] >> THE VILLAGERS TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN THE WAY IN WHICH THEY'VE HELPED SHAPE HISTORY, HOW THEY HELPED TRICK THE TURKS. AND, BASICALLY, THEY DEVISED A PLAN WHEREBY THEY TURNED THEIR HORSESHOES THE WRONG WAY ROUND AND REATTACHED THEM ONTO THEIR HORSES. AND THEN THEY LED VLAD AWAY ON THESE HORSES IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT. >> [speaking Romanian] >> SO, OF COURSE, THE TURKS, WHEN THEY SAW THE FOOTPRINTS, THOUGHT HE'D GONE INTO THE CASTLE. BUT, IN FACT, HE HAD ACTUALLY LEFT THE CASTLE UNBEKNOWNST TO THEM. >> [speaking Romanian] [applause] >> DRACULA FLEES INTO TRANSYLVANIA AND EXILE. TEN YEARS LATER, HE RETURNS AND RECLAIMS HIS THRONE. HE COMES BACK TO HIS PALACE IN BUCHAREST AND, AGAIN, BEGINS PREPARING DEFENSES TO REPEL A TURKISH INVASION. BUT BEFORE WORK GETS UNDERWAY, DRACULA'S REIGN ENDS. >> VLAD'S DEATH IS SHROUDED IN MYSTERY. HE WAS ALMOST CERTAINLY KILLED IN BATTLE. ALTHOUGH WHETHER THAT WAS IN A FAIR FIGHT IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT OR WHETHER IT WAS MURDER, WE DON'T KNOW. I PERSONALLY SUBSCRIBE TO MURDER. >> LOCAL FOLKLORE HAS IT THAT HE WAS BURIED HERE IN THE BEAUTIFUL ISLAND MONASTERY OF SNAGOV. ONCE SURROUNDED BY HEAVILY FORTIFIED STONE WALLS, THE MONASTERY WAS LATER USED AS A PRISON. HIGH-RANKING TRAITORS WERE HELD HERE, AND THE ISLAND IS SAID TO BE LITTERED WITH COUNTLESS HUMAN BONES. TODAY, THE MONASTERY IS A PLACE OF PILGRIMAGE FOR DRACULA'S FANS. IT IS SAID HIS BODY LIES IN A GRAVE AT THE ALTAR BUT THAT HIS HEAD WAS CUT OFF AND SENT TO THE SULTAN TO PROVE HE WAS FINALLY DEAD. >> TRADITION AND WISHFUL THINKING PLACES VLAD IN THIS TOMB AT THE MONASTERY OF SNAGOV. BUT THE TOMB IS EMPTY. THERE IS NOTHING INSIDE. >> PAST EXCAVATIONS HAVE FOUND NO PROOF THAT VLAD'S BODY WAS BURIED IN SNAGOV. HIS LAST RESTING PLACE REMAINS A MYSTERY. IN ROMANIA TODAY, VLAD DRACULA REMAINS A NATIONAL HERO DESPITE HIS BRUTALITY. >> VLAD IS VERY MUCH THE GUY ON THE WHITE HORSE. I THINK ROMANIANS TODAY SEE HIM AS THAT. HE'S A FREEDOM FIGHTER. HE IS A NATIONALIST. HE'S A MAN OF THE PEOPLE. >> DRACULA WAS THE LAST GREAT BUILDER OF AN INDEPENDENT WALLACHIA. SOON AFTER HIS DEATH, THE TURKS BROUGHT THE COUNTRY FIRMLY UNDER THEIR CONTROL. IT WAS FORBIDDEN TO BUILD FORTIFICATIONS. BUT DRACULA'S CASTLES REMAIN AS A REMINDER OF A GLORIOUS AND FREE PAST-- THE ROYAL PALACE OF TIRGOVISTE THAT HE COMPLETELY RE-DESIGNED; THE FOUNDING OF BUCHAREST AND ITS CASTLE; AND THE INACCESSIBLE SANCTUARY OF POENARI, THE REAL CASTLE DRACULA, EACH A SYMBOL OF THE INDELIBLE MARK VLAD DRACULA LEFT ON HIS COUNTRY. IT IS NOT JUST IN THE RUINS OF HIS ONCE GREAT PALACES, BUT ALSO IN THE MEMORIES OF HIS PEOPLE.
