| 英国小说家布拉姆•斯托克创作的吸血鬼小说《德古拉》，让罗马尼亚布拉索夫地区的布朗城堡名扬世界，成为众多游客的必访之地。自从罗马尼亚政府去年将布朗城堡归还给哈布斯堡王朝的子孙后，布朗城堡再次回到人们的视线。近日，罗马尼亚议会还就王室后人是否有权利出售布朗城堡展开了一场辩论。 |
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Lawmakers began debating whether the
Transylvanian fortress commonly known as Dracula's Castle was legally returned to a North Salem architect and heir of Romania's royal family and whether he is allowed to sell it.
Bran Castle, which has been featured in many movies, was returned to Archduke Dominic Habsburg, the son of Princess Ileana, last year. The princess had been given the castle in exchange for good deeds done by the royal family, which ruled Romania since 1866.
The 14th-century castle was confiscated in 1948. Habsburg, 69, pledged to keep it open as a museum until 2009. He offered to sell it last year to local authorities for $80 million, but the offer was rejected because of the high price.
Opposition lawmaker Dumitru Ioan Puchianu said during a parliamentary debate that the return of the castle to Habsburg was illegal due to procedural errors. He said Habsburg is legally not allowed to sell it. Lawmakers ended the debate without voting on the issue.
In a letter released last week, Habsburg's lawyers said he would file a lawsuit for $210 million in damages if parliament voted that the restitution and sale plans were illegal.
"I live once more with the feeling of dread in which I once lived, as a child, when my family and I were forced out of our home and thrown out into the streets in midwinter," he said in a letter addressed to parliament and urging lawmakers not to allow "such a dreadful injustice to happen."
Bran Castle, perched on a cliff near Brasov in mountainous central Romania, is a major tourist attraction because of its ties to Prince Vlad the Impaler, the warlord whose inspired Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, "Dracula."
About 450,000 tourists visit the castle every year.
(Agencies)
Vocabulary:
Transylvanian fortress：特兰西瓦尼亚堡垒（特兰西瓦尼亚：历史上罗马尼亚西部的一个地区，以特兰西瓦尼亚阿尔卑斯山脉和喀巴阡山脉为边界。）
warlord：军阀
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
