Curtea de Argeş

From World travel guide

Template:Otherusesof Downtown Mendoza.jpg Curtea de Argeş is a city in Romania, situated on the right bank of the Argeş River, where it flows through a valley of the lower Carpathians (the Făgăraş Mountains), on the railway from Piteşti to the Turnu Roşu Pass. It is part of the Argeş County.

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Population

1900: 4,210
2000: 32,628
2004: 32,500

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History

The city is one of the oldest in Romania. According to tradition it was founded early in the 13th century by Negru Vodă (or Radu Negru), succeeding Câmpulung as capital of Wallachia. Hence its name (The Court). During the 14th it was the siege of a Roman Catholic Diocese under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Esztergom, that later was taken over by the Orthodox Church.

The city is the site of several medieval churches (among them the Curtea de Argeş Cathedral) having been a bishopric since the close of the 18th century.

Another important church is the Biserica Domnească (Royal Church) built by Basarab I, completely renovated in 2003-2004. It resembles a stone fortress, connected through catacombs to a guard tower on a nearby hill. Ruins of the Prince's Palace Complex are still visible. It is mentioned in Alexandru Odobescu's Doamna Chiajna. One of the most enduring and famous Romanian legends, the legend of Meşterul Manole, is related to the monastery's construction.

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