More than 60 years after it was seized by communists, the Romanian government is returning ownership of the country's most popular tourist site, the Dracula Castle, to New York architect Dominic van Hapsburg.
The castle, worth an estimated $25 million, was owned by the late Queen Marie and bequeathed to her daughter Princess Ileana in 1938. It was confiscated by communists in 1948 and fell into disrepair. It will be transferred this afternoon to Mr. Hapsburg, who inherited the castle from Princess Ileana decades after the communists seized it.
While known and marketed as Dracula's Castle, (the proper name is Castle Bran) it never belonged to Prince Vlad the Impaler, but he MAY have visited the medieval fortress once or twice, which has been since been featured in numerous Dracula movies.
The hand-over ceremony will take place today at noon in the 14th century castle's museum deep within the fortress in Transylvania.
Under the agreement, Mr. van Hapsburg will not be allowed to make any changes to the castle for the next three years.
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