What Country is Transylvania In?

The region of Transylvania is located in the country of Romania and has a long history of being exchanged back and forth between Hungary, Romania, and even the Turks at one point in its history. The south of Transylvania is home to the Carpathian Mountain range, while the west is dominated by the Apuseni Mountains.

This lends to the beauty of the region and also all that the region has to offer its many tourists today. In addition to being known as the home of the original Vlad Dracula, Transylvania is known for being Romania’s fourth largest region and is also home to a wide number of Romania’s Heritage Sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site lists.

History of Transylvania

The history of Transylvania goes back thousands of years, as far back as 82 BC to 106 AD when it was first considered the Kingdom of Dacia. By 106 AD, the region was occupied by the Roman Empire, who ultimately withdrew by 271 AD after which it was in the control of the Slavs.

The region underwent multiple other occupations until the eleventh century, after which it was under the control of Hungary. By the Battle of the Mohacs in 1526, Transylvania became Turk territory, a situation that stayed in effect through the Ottoman Empire and into the first half of the twentieth century.

It was during this early portion of the 1900s when Transylvanian territory came under Romanian domain and was incorporated as an important region in the country of Romania.

Transylvania Today

Transylvania today is a bustling tourist location for many Europeans and millions all over the world. One of its most famous tourist spots is the infamous Bran Castle, which was the location for the 1897 Bram Stoker novel on Count Dracula. The novel itself is inspired by folklore and superstition, which jested that the Count of the castle would skewer its enemies and suck their blood for sport.

At the time, the nocturnal Count Vlad Dracula III was a hero to the people of Transylvania, who wouldn’t have objected to a little metaphorical blood-sucking of their enemies. The bloodsucking was a dramatization of a leader who wanted his enemies skewered on stakes. Today, it is a story that still scares and delights vampire audiences all over the world.

At the time of the novel, the region of Transylvania was under the Hungarian domain. This has resulted in much confusion over what country Transylvania is located in.

Today, Transylvania is home to many beautiful landscapes and tourist locations. Its mountain climate lends to a thriving spa industry where thermal springs and mud baths are enjoyed often. It is also famous for its bear spotting and lynx population, a population that thrived during communism when the dictator of Nicolae Ceausescu was the only citizen of the land permitted to hunt.