Bulgaria is now laying claim to the iconic brand of Count Dracula, alongside its long-established rival, Romania. Following archaeological research in the town of Svishtvov, which borders Romania along the Danube River, scientists have confirmed the hypothesis of the presence of the semi-mystical figure - Count Vlad the Impaler, also known as Dracula. It was he who besieged and captured the medieval Kaleto Fortress in Svishtvov, Bulgaria in 1461, and then lived there for some time.
The municipality of Svishtvov has allocated 5.9 million Bulgarian levs (3,018,882 million euros) for archaeological research and subsequent reconstruction of the fortress. The city authorities did not hesitate to spend such an amount of money, as the dark figure of Count Dracula attracts a huge number of tourists.
After the completion of the restoration work, the Ministry of Finance of Bulgaria will also join the sponsorship of the promising tourist object: it is planned to allocate an additional 2.5 million levs (1,279 million euros). These funds will be used to house a museum exposition in the fortress and create a natural-historical park in the adjacent territory. The concept of the new tourist zone has been agreed upon with the National Institute of Natural Resources and the Environment of the Republic of Bulgaria.
But what about Romania? After all, for decades, crowds of fans of the bloodthirsty vampire have flocked to Transylvania to visit places supposedly associated with Count Vlad the Impaler. There, in the town of Bran, stands the 13th-century castle where Vlad Dracula is said to have stayed. And in neighboring Sighisoara, tourists are offered to visit the house where Vlad III the Impaler was born on December 7, 1431. However, there are no reliable sources to confirm these facts.
On the other hand, it is known for sure that as a teenager, Vlad the Impaler spent five years in the Ottoman Empire as a hostage. And in his more mature years, he was a prisoner of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus in Visegrad for 13 years. So modern Turkey and Hungary, as well as Bulgaria, have more evidence of the presence of the famous Count Dracula on their territory. And it is possible that the number of tourist attractions associated with the name of the legendary vampire will soon increase significantly.
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