Castle revamp

I donned my long johns and visited Corvin Castle. It's one Europe's largest castles and very atmospheric yet is monumentally incongruous in Hunedoara town, one of the bleakest places you'll come across. On most sides of the castle there are rusting hulks of communist era industry in various stages of dereliction or dismantlement. I was told that the longtime dictator Nicolae Ceausescu deliberately ordered industrial development next to the castle as part of his plans to erode cultural heritage. He saw it as the purview of the bourgeoisie and that it had no place in a communist state. I was also told that during the communist era the site was understandably used for many film shoots but that a particular director would smash windows during the filming, and think nothing of it. That's more idiocy than pushing an anti-heritage agenda.

Due to fires, conflicts and poorly executed rendering the castle has undergone various renovations and is a mishmash of styles. It hasn't been replicated to perfection but is imposing in its grandeur and brutally atmospheric on a freezing winter's day. Vlad the Impaler was said to have been imprisoned here for a period, and legends of Count Dracula are associated with the castle and the stories of Bram Stoker.

Long johns, when you get warm, make you feel like you've soiled yourself.