Dramatizations of Rhine Valley peasants drinking four liters of wine a day, breathtaking aerial footage of Mad King Ludwig’s “Cinderella” castle, and old drawings of people skewered on stakes by Vlad the Impaler are just some of the treats in store for viewers of this three-episode installment of the Learning Channel’s Great Castles of Europe series. First up are the toll castles erected along the Rhine by “noble” men to extort money from those traveling by boat.
Next is the story of Bavaria’s eccentric young king who built Neuschwanstein as a shrine to his friend composer Richard Wagner. The exterior inspired Walt Disney, but in the end, the castle bankrupted the royal family’s 800-year-old fortune and got the king thrown out of office and his beloved castle.
Then on to Wallachia–an old province in what is now Romania–better known as Transylvania. Unlike the legend, the real Dracul wasn’t a bloodsucker; he was an impaler. In the 1400s he used the castle Bran to plan his holy war against the Ottoman Empire and to carry out the murders of thousands of Turks and 100,000 of his own people–one fifth of Wallachia’s population. This 71-minute tape combines history, human interest, and a good dollop of gruesomeness to keep the viewer entertainingly informed throughout. –Kimberly Heinrichs
Customer Review: Solidly interesting; not the usual fluff
Plenty of travel videos might as well be written by the local chamber of commerce, with no depth and way too many superlatives. This video, put together by The Learning Channel, is quite different. It doesn’t simply show the castles, but explains the historical context in which they were important. There’s also plenty of anecdotes, such as the minor “miracle” that caused the Marksburg on the Rhine to be so named.
If you’re planning a trip to any of these areas, watching this video will both show you the region and give you some background with which to appreciate it.
Customer Review: What do you know?
Your editorial review said: “Then, on Wallachia […] better known as Transylvania”. That’s like saying: Nevada, better known as California. Romania had three major provinces: Moldavia was the third one. Vlad Tepes/ Vlad The Impaler/ Dracula ruled in Wallachia. However, he was born in Transylvania.