The process predates written history, and was first done by hand and with sticks. Spinning wheels are believed to have originated in India between 500 and 1000 A.D. By the 13th century, they were seen in Europe and were a standard piece of equipment for those making fiber into yarn.

The spinning wheel was probably invented in India, though its origins are obscure. It reached Europe via the Middle East in the European Middle Ages.

In 2006, Bran Castle was legally returned to the descendants of Princess Ileana. Today, it is owned by the Archduke Dominic von Habsburg of Austria-Tuscany and his two sisters, Archduchess Elisabeth and Archduchess Maria Magdalena.

Ileana died in 1991, and the postcommunist Romanian government handed over the castle to her son, Archduke Dominic of Habsburg, in 2009. The castle continued to operate as a museum. Bran Castle is often associated with the fictional vampire Count Dracula.