Jonathan Harker stays in Bistritz before traveling onward to Castle Dracula. In Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, Harker is a newly qualified English solicitor sent to Transylvania on business for Count Dracula, who wants to purchase an English estate. Harker’s journey takes him by train to Bistritz, a town in the historical region of Transylvania, where he spends the night before continuing toward the Borgo Pass.
At Bistritz, local residents react fearfully when they learn that Harker is traveling to Dracula’s castle. Several give him warnings and religious protections, including a crucifix, but Harker initially treats their concerns as superstition. The next stage of his trip takes him by coach toward the Borgo Pass, where Dracula’s mysterious driver collects him at midnight.
A common mix-up is confusing Bistritz with the Borgo Pass. Bistritz is the town where Harker stays; the Borgo Pass is the mountain route near the castle. Harker’s arrival at the castle begins the novel’s central horror, as he gradually realizes that Dracula has made him a prisoner.