An exhibition in Romania aims to debunk the myths surrounding Walachian prince Vlad Tepes (the Impaler), who inspired Bram Stoker's bloodsucking character Dracula.
"The exhibition is based on historical studies showing that the legends related to Vlad Dracula were aimed at presenting eastern Europe as a primitive land and a source of evil," Austrian curator Margot Rauch said.
Entitled Dracula - Voivode and Vampire, the exhibition for the first time puts on display in Romania portraits of Vlad Tepes (who reigned twice, between 1456-1462 and then in 1476) borrowed from the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna and the Schloss Ambras museum in Innsbruck.
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Manuscripts and engravings depicting him as a "blood-thirsty tyrant" are also on display.
"Vlad Dracula was doubtlessly cruel, but not more so than other princes of his time," Rauch said.
"In fact he was a victim of bad propaganda" from his western European peers.
