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Vlad the Impaler cried real tears of blood. Source: Lama9838/CC BY-SA 3.0

Sadistic Vlad the Impaler Cried Real Tears of Blood, Study Reveals

Vlad Dracul, the infamous medieval Romanian ruler known as Vlad the Impaler and the inspiration for the character of Count Dracula , is considered one of the most bloodthirsty rulers in human history...
The Merry Cemetery in Romania. Source: cristianbalate / Adobe Stock.

Romania’s Merry Cemetery, the World’s Happiest Graveyard (Video)

In a remote corner of Romania lies the vibrant and unusual Merry Cemetery. Located in the small village of Săpânța and unconventional in every sense, this burial ground deviates from the solemnity...
Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II leading the Austrian army into battle in 1788. Source: Public domain

The Austrian Army Fought Itself and Lost at the Battle of Karánsebes

The Battle of Karánsebes has been remembered as one of the most absurd battles in history. During the infamous Ottoman-Hapsburg wars, troops from the Austrian Army of the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II...
Depiction of Death in an 18th-century Russian icon.

Ivan Turbinca – The Man Who Belonged in Neither Heaven Nor Hell

Myth, legend and literature are full of tales about people ending up in either Heaven or Hell. However, every now and then a story arises about someone who belongs in neither. Such is the tale of...
Lady making traditional decorated eggs in the Bukovina Region of Romania. Source: Matthew / Adobe Stock.

Eggsquisite Art: Romania’s Stunning Traditional Craft of Egg Painting

The small village of Ciocăneşti in Romania is known for its elaborate motifs that adorn its buildings, and these designs are reflected in the decorated eggs. The art of egg painting has elevated the...
Workers excavating the Hun warrior tomb which was discovered at one of several archaeological sites unearthed during the construction of a highway in Romania. Source: CNAIR / Vasile Pârvan Institute of Archaeology

Gold Laden Hun Warrior Tomb Uncovered by Romanian Highway Project

Amidst the buzz of a highway construction project in Romania, a team of workers accidentally stumbled upon a historic trove of buried treasure and a Hun warrior tomb. The archaeological site revealed...
Left: front view of the Helmet of Coțofenești Right: Side view of the mythological creatures on the helmet.      Source: Left: National Museum of Romanian History, GFDL Right: © Radu Oltean / Wikimedia Commons

Demystifying the Famous, Fierce, Golden Helmet of Coțofenești

In 1929, a small child discovered an intricate golden helmet in the Poiana Coțofenești village of Romania. Archaeologists determined that it was a stray find from a group of Thracian tribes that...
A spectacular example of the mysterious “living and moving” trovants of Romania, a rare and complex geological formation. Source: Nicu Buculei / CC BY-SA 3.0

Romania’s Enigmatic Trovants: Living Rocks That Grow and Move!

Roughly six million years ago, paleo-earthquakes created a type of geological phenomenon called trovants. They are also known as the stones of Costesti, after their most famous location in Romania,...
Legedzine in the Ukraine is home to the remains of remnants of the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture. Every year it hosts a festival organized by the Trypillian Culture State Historical and Cultural Reserve. Source: Александр Водолазский / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Mysterious House-Burning of the Forgotten Cucuteni-Trypillian Culture

The discovery of ancient cultures, and artifacts related to those cultures, often brings for new and surprising information about how our ancient ancestors once lived. Some cultures are found to have...
One of the Sinaia lead plates. Source: Vatra Stră-Rumînă

The Sinaia Lead Plates: Dacian Treasure Trove or Impressive Fakes?

It was 1875 when 200 mysterious artifacts known as the Sinaia lead plates unexpectedly turned up at the Museum of Antiquities in Bucharest, Romania. They were all rectangular, apart from one, and...
Corvin Castle, also known as Hunyadi Castle or Hunedoara Castle, is a Gothic-Renaissance castle in Hunedoara, Romania. Photo source: Adrianstanica.ro / CC BY-SA 4.0

Renaissance-Gothic Corvin Castle: One of the Seven Wonders of Romania

Corvin Castle is a castle in Hnedoara, a city in Transylvania, Romania. The castle dates to the 15th century and was built in the Renaissance-Gothic style. The builder of Corvin Castle was John...
Genetic Study of Romanian Skull Upends Previous Theories of Evolution

Genetic Study of Romanian Skull Upends Previous Theories of Evolution

A team of researchers led by the Swedish Uppsala University geneticist Mattias Jakobsson have fully sequenced the genome of a woman who lived in Europe at least 35,000 years ago. Her DNA was...
The Hoia Forest in Romania has become connected to paranormal activity in local legends and is said to be haunted by unfriendly spirits.

Romania’s Bermuda Triangle: The Creepy Hoia Forest of Transylvania

Outside of Romania , especially in the English-speaking world, Transylvania is a land associated with vampires. Inside Romania, where Vlad Dracul , or Vlad the Impaler , is a national hero, the story...
Subterranean Secrets at the Temple of Sinca Veche

Subterranean Secrets at the Temple of Sinca Veche

The forested hills and craggy mountains of Romania offer both archaeological and supernatural tourists a wide range of stunning gothic churches and medieval monasteries. One Romanian site that serves...
Vlad the Impaler as Dracula

Vlad the Impaler: The Real Count Dracula?

In 1897, Bram Stoker, an Irish writer, wrote a novel called Dracula , which has since become one of the classics of the Gothic horror genre. Despite the fact that Dracula is a fictional character,...
Dacian draco, symbol of Dacia, the warrior realm who attached the Romans. Source: Craitza / Adobe Stock.

The Wolves of Dacia Take On the Roman Empire

In ancient times, Dacia was the name given to the area of Central Europe bounded by the Carpathian Mountains . This area corresponds roughly to the modern countries of Romania and Moldovia...
Left: Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps - Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany. (Leonid Andronov / Adobe stock). Right: Crest of the House of Hohenzollern. (Public domain)

The House of Hohenzollern – The Rise and Fall of German Emperors

In the history of the European Middle Ages, noble families and powerful feudal lords always played a very important role. The wealthier, influential aristocratic families rose to great heights and...
Sarmizegetusa Regia, Romania. Dacian Fortress ruins.           Source: emperorcosar/ Adobe Stock

Spectacular and Ancient Dacian fortresses in the Mountains of Romania

The mighty Dacian civilization once rivalled Rome in power and prestige. Today little remains of this empire apart from the six Dacian fortresses which are located across several sites in the...
There are numerous hidden Romanian treasures. Source: samiramay / Adobe.

Hidden Romanian Treasures– A Cursed History

People have spoken of hidden Romanian treasures for generations. Some of these stories are terrible, but each tale involves mystery, curses , and legends. Some even speak of how entire subterranean...
A dark wizard (venerala / Adobe Stock)

Involuntary Initiation: Tales of Demonic Powers of Sorcery Transmitted to the Unsuspecting

It is said that in certain cases and under certain circumstances an individual can obtain special powers at the mere contact with a sorcerer without any kind of previous initiation. Such ancient...
A selection of possible food in a Neolithic diet in the Iron Gates region, where people were still more reliant on aquatic resources.

New Insights Into what Neolithic People Ate in Southeastern Europe

With the dawn of the Neolithic age, farming became established across Europe and people turned their back on aquatic resources, a food source more typical of the earlier Mesolithic period, instead...
Aerial view of the excavations of the huge Bronze Age citadel found in Romania.

Huge Bronze Age Citadel, Three Times Larger than Troy, Found in Romania

Archaeologists had no idea of the immensity of the project they had begun when they started excavating an archaeological site in Sântana, Arad county, Romania almost a decade ago. They’ve now...
The marital prison in Biertan, Romania

Locked into a Relationship: The Medieval Remedy for Divorce Still Requested in Romania

Global divorce rates are on the rise. Some people see this as a social issue. But the small Romanian village of Biertan has a unique method to remedy this problem. They follow a tradition which has...
Romanian Postage stamp design 1989 with Conrad Hass, Austrian military engineer with an early rocket design.

Conrad Haas’ Flying Javelin: Yes, It Is 16th Century Rocket Science

Conrad Haas was a military engineer who lived during the 16 th century. Not much is known for certain about Haas’ life, in fact, he was largely forgotten by history. But this changed in 1961, when a...

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