The story of Corvin Castle

Look for a painting of a raven inside the castle: it tells the legend behind the name Corvinus, borne by the descendants of John Hunyadi. In 1409 King Sigismund gave this estate to Hunyadi's father, Voicu, and in 1446 Hunyadi, then Voivode of Transylvania, began turning the old keep into the grand castle you see, perched on a rock above the small Zlaști River.

Its most unchanged part is the last defence tower, called Neboisa, meaning “Don't be afraid”. Other towers served as prisons, among them one named after Saint John of Capistrano, a friar from the Battle of Belgrade in 1456. Guides say Vlad the Impaler was once held prisoner here by Hunyadi, and the castle is sometimes named as an inspiration for Castle Dracula, though Bram Stoker did not know of the link.

Much of today's romantic look comes from a fanciful restoration after a disastrous fire. Film crews love it too: The Nun was shot here.