Curtea Veche – Old Princely Court

Medieval princely palace of Vlad Drăculea in Bucharest's old town, now an open-air archaeological museum.

Curtea Veche, the Old Princely Court, was the residence of Vlad III Drăculea – the historical Vlad the Impaler – in the centre of Bucharest. The palace was built around 1459 and served as the seat of Wallachian princes until the 18th century. Archaeological excavations begun in 1953 uncovered walls, floor plans and medieval finds. The ruins are now a public museum of Bucharest city history. For those interested in the real history behind the Dracula myth, this is where it begins.