Royal Court in Târgovişte

The town of Târgovişte is one of Romania's foremost historic locations. The capital of Wallachia for approx. three centuries (14th - 17th), Târgovişte also hosted the residence of 33 rulers, from Mircea the Old to Constantin Brâncoveanu. Probably one of the reasons for its selection as Wallachia's administrative centre was its strategic location, on the main trade route connecting Wallachia to Transylvania and the Balkan Peninsula. Initially, it operated as a secondary capital (with Curtea de Argeş as the main one), to become the only capital city most likely under ruling prince Alexandru Aldea (1431-1436), historians believe.


The three-century long capital city status entailed a quite dynamic social and economic development for the town and the region. The progress concentrated around the Royal Court, an architectural complex erected in the 15th - 17th centuries. Ruler Mircea the Old is the founder of the royal residence, with construction works launched around 1400 and finalized in 1476. He is also the founder of the first royal residence and ordered the construction of the first towers.


The oldest reference to the Târgovişte settlement was found in a document by a Bavarian Crusade fighter, Hans Schiltberger, who took part in the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, and noted that Wallachia had two capital cities, Agrich (Argeş) and Turkoich (Târgovişte). Important details on what the Royal Court looked like in the 16th Century are provided by Francesco della Valle of Padua, who visited the city in 1532, and by Pierre Lescalopier, who passed through Târgovişte in 1574.


The museum includes the Royal Residence, the Great Royal Church, the Small Royal Church and the Chindia Tower. Only the ruins can now be seen of the Royal Residence, its gardens and fountains. The Great Royal Church still boasts its frescoes with portraits of Wallachian rulers, and a cannonball stuck in its walls, in testimony of past wars. In the Small Royal Church, visitors can see interesting pottery work and the oldest church porch in the country, built concurrently with the church in the 16th century.


Standing out in the museum complex, the Chindia (Sunset) Tower was built during the rule of Vlad the Impaler, better known today as the inspiration for the fictional character Dracula. The tower was erected during his second rule (1456-1462) and had multiple functions: a fort element, a watchtower, a repository for the State treasury, an access gate to the city. The main role of the construction was the military, defense role, although it served concurrently as a watchtower, a prison and a repository. The tower is built of red brick, shaped as a cylinder and having a pyramid-shaped stone basis. It is over 27m high, with a 9m diameter. The tower overlooks the church porch dating back to Mircea the Old's times. The upper platform is accessed through a flight of 122 stairs. The building has a door opening directly to the royal residence, via a mobile skyway.


Ruler Matei Basarab (1632-1654) renovates the entire complex, particularly the tower, doubles the inner walls and builds a Turkish bath. In 1660, ruler Gheorghe Ghica orders the demolition of the Târgovişte residence, on orders from the Ottoman Sublime Port. Constantin Brâncoveanu is the ruler who has the royal residence reconstructed (between 1692 and 1696). After his death, the capital of Wallachia will be moved. The most important restoration works on the Chindia Tower are carried out in mid-19th Century. The operation is particularly important, as not only was the complex overhauled, but also the initial architecture was substantially modified. The latest restoration works in the complex were reported in 1961, further to an initiative by the Directorate for Historic Sites, with only superficial repairs carried out since.

At present, the Chindia Tower is a museum, hosting an exhibition dedicated to the two reigns of Vlad the Impaler. Thus, history fans have an opportunity to come in touch with their forefathers' heritage and to experience unique feelings. Unfortunately, the museum is ever more seldom visited by Romanian tourists; many of those who still come here are foreigners (from Nine o'clock).

Deacon Coresi

Coresi (also known as deacon Coresi) (d. 1583, Braşov) was a Romanian deacon, translator and master printer of the 16th century, born in Târgovişte. He was the editor of the first printed books in the Romanian language. He published a total of about 35 titles, printed in hundreds of copies and spread in all Romanian territories, facilitating linguistic unity of the Romanian people and the emergence of literary language.


Coresi started his printing work in Târgovişte. In 1559 or 1560 he moved to Braşov, where he was offered the possibility to print not only in Slavonic, but also in Romanian, which was impossible at the time in Wallachia, because of opposition of the Wallachian Metropolitan. His prints, occurring mostly in Braşov between 1556 and 1583 under the influence of the Calvinist and Lutheran religious reform which spread in Transylvania at the time, are true monuments of old Romanian language, important also by the predosloviile he written, which ask for first time, with determination and clarity, the use of the Romanian language in the religious worship. Coresi's prints used the language from Wallachia and South-East of Transylvania and had a great importance for the development and unification of the Romanian language. They formed the basis of the modern Romanian literary language.


Coresi learned the technique of printing from Dimitrij Ljubav, who was himself working for the Metropolitanate of Wallachia. The first book printed in Romanian was Tetraevanghelul (1561 - a translation of the four Gospels from the New Testament), Întrebare creştinească (Christian Questions, work known as Catechism, published in 1560 - oldest studies dates it 1559), Liturghierul (1570), Psaltirea (1570). The books were used in both church and school. Coresi was followed by his son Şerban, it was in his printing shop where in 1588 the last book printed in Transylvania with Cyrillic script in the XVIth century was issued.


The printing work required special efforts and consisted in lithography. Each page had to be carved in wood. Coresi used 10-20 apprentices, who were reminded in the preface to books edited by him. The printing press of Coresi is exposed today at the Museum "The first Romanian school" located in the historic district of Şchei, now part of the city of Braşov.


Only 39 books were made by this press, which is hardly surprising given the labour required, however the work it did produce included plenty more firsts. The first Romanian letter in Latin was produced by the press, the first Romanian schoolbook and the first Bible, which was printed on goatskin and had a cover weighing a hefty seven kilograms. The building comprises "The Coresi room" where are held printings telling the story of the beginning of the typography in Brasov and " The Anton Pann classroom". The museum hosts a compelling legacy: more than four thousands of rare books (many of them printed or copied by handwriting right here), 100 thousands rare documents, the oldest bible, the oldest letter written in Romanian language using the Latin alphabet (previously, Romanian was written with Cyrillic letters) and much more.

Dealu Monastery

Dealu Monastery is a 15th century monastery in Dâmboviţa County, Romania. The name of the monastery is given by its geographical position. At the beginning it was frequently called in the medieval sources “Saint Nicholas Church from the hill” (hill = deal) or “The Church at Dealu”. One of the most remarkable architectonic edifices from our country, the monastery was built in a time of great artistic prosperity and reflects both from the structural point of view and decorative plastic art point of view the creative contribution brought by the native artists in order for them to promote the Romanian architecture. It lies near Târgovişte, 4 km North-West away from the city, on the opposite bank of Ialomiţa Valley. At present Dealu is a monastery for nuns, the celebration day of the church being St. Nicholas Day and the celebration day of the chapel being The Refuge of the Virgin.


The monastery existed at 17 November 1431, when the ruling prince Alexandru Vodă Aldea give to it two villages, Alexeni and Răzvad, for the remembrance of Mircea the Old, the father of the intending builder. At 28 March 1451, Vladislav II gave to the monastery other 3 halfs of villages, as well as the Bratei Mountain, wich prove that, from this era, existed here a great and rich monastery. At his death, in 1456, he was buried in this monastery, becomed afterward a regency necropolis. The sanctuary at Dealu was from the beginning a royal necropolis probably because of its position near the city Târgovişte (former capital of Wallachia). This first building from Dealu vanished, being replaced with another in the time of ruling prince Radu the Great (1495 - 1508). So, Radu the Great "begun to build and to renew and from the foundation he raised with all the wealth and with great beauty he beautified this titular saint". The workmanship begun at 26 august 1499, like it's showed on a inscription remained from the old bell tower of the monastery ; at first were reconstructed the buildings of the monastery and the after the minster(monastery church). The halidom was sanctified at 4 December 1501. Radu the Great died before the completion of the magnificent building of Dealu; those that continued the workmanship were the voivodes (ruling princes) Vlăduţ and, afterward, Neagoe Basarab (1512 - 1521), the regnant so linked to the Târgovişte history trought his buildings. In this period the church amazed contemporaneity trough its splendor.


In 1603 here was brought, trought the care of boyar Radu Buzescu, the head of ruling prince Mihai the Brave, killed dastardly at Câmpia Turzii. On the ledger that covers the head of the great hero, clucerul (title) Buzescu put to be carved this beautiful inscription : "Here lie the honest and defunct head of the christian Mihail , the great voivode, that was the lord of The Romanian Country and Transilvania and Moldova; the honorable body lie on Câmpia Turzii. And when the Germanes killed him the years were (1601), in the month of august 8 days. This ledger was put by jupan (title) Radu Buzescu and jupăniţa (title) ego Preda".


After the regency of Mihai the Brave, Dealu Monastery suffered because of the armies of the transylvanian prince Gabriel Báthory, that entered unexpected in the country, in december 1610. How tell the ex-metropolitan Matei, the egumen of the monastery at that time, the soldiers stole "all the jewels" of the church, "breaking the regnant graves... and spoiling the church ledgers", hoping to find treasures here; with the same opportunity was taken also the lead that covered the church. At 1614 Radu Vodă Mihnea (1611 - 1616) visited the monastery and found the local "decayed and crecked and depleted and lootered and caving with all by the Hungarians". Hereby the voivode gave the monastery Satul Nou, tax-free, from which revenue (100 golden coins each year) the monks should "reinforce and refit the holy monastery". The great voivode Constantin Brîncoveanu didn't undervalued the Dealu Monastery, he made to the church a new paint "all over", as well as a new carpentry. After a harsh period for the monastery, in the first half of the XIX century, when it was affected by the earthquakes from 1802 and 1838, was restored by voivode George Bibescu between the years 1844 - 1854. During the Independence War in 1877 a camp for a detachment of Turkish prisoners functioned here. In the year 1879, in the new monastery buildings, was opened "The Officer Division School", after that, at 1890 - 1891 "The Army Arsenal", at the beginning of the XIX century "The Troop Children School", and in 1912 "The Military High School Nicolae Filipescu". With this last opportunity, the sanctums were replaced with new buildings, from the old buildings remaining only the church.


The only thing of great value that has lasted over the years is the church, whose external aspect catches the visitors’ attention because it’s attractive and tremendous. The sanctuary was conceived after the traditional type of building known in Wallachia in the second half of the 14th century, type that was used in the construction of the Vodiţa and Cozia monasteries. The local master masons succeeded in bringing innovative changes to the style of building through their skillful processing. The church is built of bricks and mortar, with lasting walls which are more than 1 meter thick. The proportions of the sanctuary are also impressing.


The altar (being heptagonal on the outside and semicircular on the inside) is arched in a shape of a semi-acolade extended with a cradle. The chamber is delimited from the nave through a catapetasma made of carved wood, done after the model of the one from the Episcopal Church in Argeş. Sidewise to it, the wall withdraws on its both sides, which end at the limit of the two arches joined to the walls at the Northern and Southern side from the nave. In the Eastern part, one may see a large stone girdle, with a decorative motif, girdle which can be a pedestal for various items.


In the nave (naos), on its Southern and Northern sides, one may see two circular apses on the inside and two pentagonal apses on the outside which are also arched with a semi-acolade. The nave is delimited from the pronaos through a wall on which a marble ornamented frame is kept, frame which is looks like the one at the entrance door in the church. The pronaos has a rectangular prism shape and it’s divided in two unequal parts through a double-transverse arch. Above the pronaos there are two towers, built on both sides of the longitudinal axle of the church, characteristic that hadn’t occurred in Romanian architecture till the time the church was built. On the outside, the decorative plastic art was totally new for the edifices from Wallachia at that time.


An important moment for the monastery was the bringing of the royal printing office, which was moved afterward to Târgovişte. Beside manuscripts and printed works, just a few items offered by founders were kept at Dealu Monastery, because of the robberies of the foreign troops.


Today, in the church, one may see a big carved wood cross, covered with golden silver, cross which was offered by the ruler Matei Basarab in 1648-1649 (from Romanian Monasteries and Hotel Dâmboviţa).