One of the most popular tourist attractions in Romania, the castle, south of the historic city of Brasov, is popularly known as “Dracula’s castle” because of its association with Prince Vlad Tepes, also known as Vlad the Impaler, who ruled the province of Wallachia during the 15th century and, according to various legends, either stayed in the castle or was incarcerated in its dungeons.

Officials will return the title to Dominic von Habsburg, 68, a US-based industrial designer and grandson of Queen Marie of Romania, along with his sisters, Maria Magdalena and Elizabeth. The handover is seen as a means of demonstrating Romania’s political stability and commitment to the rule of law, especially while questions remain over its likely membership of the EU next year.

Mr von Habsburg grew up in Bran Castle but he and his family were expelled from Romania in January 1948 after the Communist takeover. The family lived in Switzerland and Argentina before Mr von Habsburg settled in Westchester County, New York. “I have very warm memories of my childhood,” he told The Times. “Even now the smell of wood takes me back to those days.”

Looming above a wooded hillside, Bran Castle has featured in several Dracula films. A maze of vaulted corridors and winding passages trace a path through kitchens, bedrooms, dining areas and dank dungeons, where many people were held and tortured.

The castle has been open to the public as a museum for 40 years. The walls are bedecked with hunting trophies, medieval weapons and fine art. It was built in the 13th century by Teutonic knights to protect Brasov, whose inhabitants gave the castle to Queen Marie in 1920. It was nationalised after the Communist takeover.

Mr von Habsburg said that the family planned to keep the castle as a museum. “I don’t plan to come and live here,” he said. “We have to be realistic; times have changed. We want to be honourable, both to our family and to Romania. A house that my mother used to own is now an orphanage, but we will not kick people out, and we will not behave like the Communists.”

Although the handover assures the Romanian Government of good publicity, critics argue that returning one of the country’s many historic castles to aristocrats, who had possession for only a few decades, is a diversion from the much more serious question of restitution.

Mr von Habsburg denied that his family had received special treatment. “Only 12 of 300 hectares [741 acres] of the grounds have been returned,” he said. “If anything, we have had bigger difficulties. You can’t change everything overnight but all of these issues can be solved.”

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