Named after the valley of Barovia, the village lay in the shadow of Castle Ravenloft miles above, buried under fog but still unable to hide from the Vampire lord Strahd von Zarovich's sight. It was described by many as a "ghost town", both figuratively and literally. A long-forgotten truth of the barren village was that it was, at one point, a larger town, and was considered to be the gateway to the entire Zarovich Valley from the Giantlands.
Governed by the noble house of the von Zarovich, the town was a hub for both travelers as well as cheats and criminals fleeing into the mountains. Inequality festered under their rule, until Barovia was presided over by Count Barov von Zarovich. His son Strahd coordinated many attacks to consolidate the valley under his rule, which ultimately led to a counterattack on Barovia by the Order of the Silver Dragon; Barov and his wife Ravenovia van Roeyen were killed, and the royal houses burned. After the Wedding That Never Was, the village became a source of disgust for Strahd; he continued haunting its people long after he had grown bored with terrorizing the rest of the valley.
Over four hundred years into Strahd's rule, there were 500-odd residents still living in Barovia, unable to leave for fear of death in the Svalich Woods. They were governed by a hereditary Burgomaster, who lived in the Barovia Burgomaster's Mansion. While the depressed village was technically made up of 118 residences, much of these homes were abandoned, and many Undead were cordoned off into vacated old houses; many of the houses were still "occupied" by Ghosts or Zombies.