Many foreign travelers have traveled through the  Bran pass in the long run, either on the occasion of different  diplomatic missions carried out at voivodes' courts in Transylvania  and Wallachia, or on their way to Constantinople. These  voivodes have left concise, interesting and important documentary notes regarding the stronghold and the ancient road from  Bran. These notes are more frequent in the 16th century and they  belong to some western diplomats carrying out a missionary  deputy of spreading the Catholicism in a time when the religious  reformation extended all over Europe. Among these, we can  remember Giovani Andrea Gromo, the famous Sforza family's  descendant through his mother Isabella, the daughter of the king  of Poland and Bona Sforza, who arrived at the Transylvanian voivode's court and loan Zapolya in 1564. In his description of  Transylvania, written to present the military and material resources  illustrated through the natural assets of the autonomous County  and through the defense works system within the framework of  the general defense plan against the Ottoman's threats, he  registers with regard to Bran: "In the middle of a valley we find a  strong Bran Castle placed on a rock, with a small pleasing river  running at its foot, which the voivode leased to pull out the most  pure gold and where someone can find a lot of tasteful trout and  umber as well as appetizing crayfish". The Italian traveller  exaggerates, as it seems, stating that" the most pure gold "can  be found inside Bran's waters but this fact doesn't exclude the  possibility that the gold might have been blent with sand  formerly, the names of some valleys as "Rudarita" getting us to  this conclusion.

Ten years later, the French traveler Pierre Lescalopier,  the member of a family of parliamentary magisters in Paris, a deputy receiving from Constantinople the mission to negotiate  a marriage plotted by mother Queen, Catherine de Medici,  between the voivode of Transylvania, Stephen Bathory, and a  maid of honour, accompanied the Transylvanian messengers,  came to the Sublime Porte, on their way back to Alba Julia. After  having described the passing through Wallachia, Lescalopier  wrote down in his journey diary: "On June 24~" I passed over  another torrent at the foot of the first mountain in Transylvania  (Giuvala mountain). Then, I crossed the mountain aforesaid high, hard to climb, covered with extensive woods and on whose peak  we found the first watch in Transylvania inside a small castle,  having no doorway, where they entered using a draw ladder pulled  in after them.

Medieval buildings in Bran (stronghold, customs, quarantine) in the first half of the 19th century

This castle is called Bran”. The note of the French  traveler has a special documentary importance because it  describes the way they entered the Stronghold before the new  Gate Tower was built, where people can enter today.  

The Genovese Franco Sivori accompanied in 1583 the  voivode of Wallachia, Petru Cercel, on his way from Venice to  Constantinople and then on to Wallachia, serving as his secretary. In September 1584 he was sent to Transylvania to nego  tiate Petru Cercel's marriage to Griselda, Sigismund Bathory's  sister. While crossing the Giuvala mountains, the Italian traveller  noted that: "they are very steep and hard to climb so that the  carriages had to be pulled with ropes towards the peak of the  mountain, crossing over some wooden schaffoldings placed along  these mountain passes and used as ladders". In 1585, accom­panying Petru Cercel on his exile in Transylvania, Sivori passes  through Bran a second time and noted in his journal: "while crossing over the mountain 200 soldiers pulled with ropes all the  carriages, carts and coaches and then, with all the royal  procession, descended the windings from the "Carriage Road"  and halted at the "Royal Meadow" in Moeciu for the night.

Jacques Bongars (1554-1612), a feudal lord of Boundry,  who, starting his study journey in 1585, crossed Hungary, Transylvania and Wallachia on his way to Constantinople. A  fragment from his diary concerning Transylvania is interesting  because it records a lot of details concerning the political life of  this county at the end of the 16t" century. From Brasov, receiving  letters from a doctor, Paul Kertz, to Mihnea the Turkish and to the great official in charge, Mitrea from Hotarani, as well as a  "free passing ticket" through Bran, Bongard made his way to  Wallachia through Bran pass. In his diary he noted: "I left on  June 24th, on a Monday afternoon, with a town guide. I slept at Tarzschiwar (Bran stronghold) placed between the  mountains and built for defending this passage way. A part of the  castle garrison starts from the castle in the morning and another  one in the evening, to walk through the forest and mountain and  if they meet someone who doesn't belong to the whereabouts they take him as prisoner. 

Castle's entrance
This is done because everyone should  be forced to cross through the castle's passage-way which is the  only way for carriage and horse passage to go".  

Filippo Pigafetta, a historian and military architect from the  famous Antonio Pigafetta's family who had accompanied Magellan in his journey around the world, accompanying in 1595  the Tuscan expeditionary body sent by the great duke Ferdinand  to help Sigismund Bathory who was fighting together with Mihai Viteazul against the Ottomans, passed through Bran.  Describing the Bran passage way where the army was, Pigafetta  noted: "A castle was built, it almost bolted the valley because  with its artillery it closes the crossing of the passage way and there one pays the customs tax".

As regards the passing over the Giuvala mountain, the traveler noted: "I have crossed the  peak of a high and rocky mountain over which the carts are pulled  with the help of ropes".  

In 1657, the German Iacob Hiltebrandt, accompanying  Sternbach sent by the Swedish king in Transylvania to offer the  prince Gheorghe Rakoczi II the crown of Poland, noted in his  diary that at his arrival in Bran the Swedish messenger "was  welcomed and greeted when leaving with artillery salvos". "Bran  is: an impressive stronghold -the German traveler noted on- a  place of Brasov watching the passing that leads from the  Romanian County through the Bucegi mountains to Wallachia".

Mentioned here are only the foreign travelers' notes about the medieval stronghold that worth noticing as documentary evidence.

Prison entrance

 

 

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