Dracula's Castle

Dracula's Castle, also known as Demon Castle Dracula or Castlevania, is the lair of Dracula and houses an army of his supernatural minions. The castle tends to collapse when Dracula is defeated but somehow appears completely restored in later games, even the ones where Dracula has not yet revived himself.

The exact location of the castle is uncertain. It is most likely located in northeast Transylvania (going by Dracula) or northern Wallachia (the location of Vlad the Impaler's Poenari Castle). In Circle of the Moon, Dracula is resurrected in a castle in Austria. The appearance of the castle also varies; in artwork for Castlevania it appears to be on top of a mountain, while in Symphony of the Night it is located off the shore of a lake. In Symphony of the Night, Maria Renard remarks that the castle is different from how she remembers it (she had fought in it five years earlier in Rondo of Blood). Alucard, who had probably once lived there, notes that the castle is "a creature of Chaos", implying that it is constantly changing. A fallen soldier from the Brotherhood of Light in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, leaves behind a a diary in Carmilla's castle, stating a legend that the castle was made from a pact with the devil by the Bernhard family (the previous ruler's of the castle), and that because of it's chaotic nature, the castle is always changing.

It is possible that the castle originally belonged to Walter Bernhard. His castle had the familiar strange keep structure present in Castlevania. If this were the case, the castle dates back to at least the 11th century. In 1094, the castle appeared more like a traditional mediaeval castle than the more elaborate Gothic architecture seen elsewhere. One factor against the theory of Walter's castle becoming Castlevania is that at the end of Lament of Innocence, Mathias Cronqvist (Dracula) leaves the castle in the form of a bat. It is not known where he went, or if he ever returned.

Following Dracula's defeat in 1999, the castle was sealed into an eclipse, and was visited by Soma Cruz in 2035. In 2036, Celia Fortner and her cult built an exact replica of the castle to aid in their plans. How Celia was able to construct an exact replica of a castle which is constantly shifting its shape and dimensions is unknown.

Rooms and features
Castlevania's interior constantly shifts between games, below are a few of the rooms that have appeared.
 * Entrance
 * Great Stairway
 * Olrox's Quarters
 * Marble Corridor
 * Outer Wall
 * Dungeon
 * Clock Tower
 * Castle Keep

Recreation

 * Royal Chapel
 * Dance Hall
 * Art Tower
 * Long Library
 * Observation Tower

Research

 * Tower of Science
 * Alchemy Laboratory

Underground

 * Nest of Evil
 * Underground Waterway
 * Underground Tunnel
 * Buried Chamber
 * Abandoned Mine
 * Underground Labyrinth
 * Arms Depot
 * Underground Garden
 * Catacombs

Other Castles

 * Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow is set in a castle which serves as the base of operations for Celia Fortner. This castle was destroyed after Menace is killed by Soma Cruz.
 * Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is set in a castle belonging to Walter Bernhard. Wherever Dracula now owns this castle or if it is another castle altogether is unconfirmed.
 * Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is set in an Austrian castle owned by Camilla and used as the site for a resurrection ritual for Dracula.
 * Castlevania: Lords of Shadow has a castle belonging to Carmilla. She took control of the castle after driving away the previous ruler's, the Bernhard family and Fredrick Von Frankenstein (it is implied, that because the Bernhard family made a pact with the devil to create the castle, they were the first owner's. While Frankenstein himself was either given a piece of the castle by the Bernhard's for his experiments, or he took over the castle for a short period of time after the Bernhard's left, and just shortly before Carmilla took over.). After the ending of the game and in the post-credits video it is shown that Dracula (Gabriel Belmont) now lives in that castle probably making it the Castlevania of the reboot.

Simon's Quest
Dracula's Castle has been collapse, ruined, and unoccupied. Simon Belmont enters the Castle from the West Bridge, which will only allow passage if he has all of Dracula's Relics with him along with the Magic Cross. He descends the empty underground area in order to reassemble Dracula in order to burn him. Dracula revives and uses the final relic Dracula's Fang to attack Simon, but he is soon put down. The ending depends on how much time it took Simon to beat the game.