Curtea de Argeș

Curtea de Argeş [ ˌkurte̯a de ˈard͡ʒeʃ ] ( pronunciation ^?^/^I , German Argish ) is a Romanian city in the Argeş district . It is located on the right bank of the Argeș River , which flows here through a valley in the Southern Carpathians .

population

Demographic development
1900	1912	1930	1956	1966	1977	1992	2002	2008	2011
4210	6279	6809	10,746	16,424	24,645	35,824	32,510	33,243	27,359

history

Curtea de Argeș is one of the oldest cities in Romania. According to tradition, it was founded in the 14th century by Prince Radu Negru , who subsequently named it the first capital of the Principality of Wallachia . That is why it was given the name Curtea (dt. Court ). There are several historical church buildings in the city. At the end of the 18th century a bishopric was built.

coat of arms

Blazon : "In gold a soaring, left-looking, red-armored, gray eagle with a left-turned golden sword in a gold-tipped red scabbard in the claws and a golden toe-tip cross in the beak." a growing black eagle with a cross in its beak and black windows in two rows. "

Art monuments and sights

cathedral

Altar of the cathedral

Curtea de Argeș Cathedral around 1880

The Cathedral 2010

The Curtea de Argeş Cathedral (Mănăstirea Curtea de Argeş, Catedrala Curtea de Argeş) is one of the most famous buildings in Romania. It stands on the foundations of a monastery and is about one and a half kilometers north of the city. It resembles a very large and ornate mausoleum and was built in the Byzantine style with Moorish arabesques .

Its floor plan is rectangular, but there are many additions to the rear. A dome rises in the center of the building, two smaller domed towers on the front side, while a second dome, wider and higher than the central one, rises from the annex. An inverted, pear-shaped stone sits enthroned on each tip. It symbolizes a triple cross that represents the Trinity .

The cathedral is also the burial place of the Romanian royal family. The following members of the family were buried here:

Princess Maria (1870–1874) - (daughter of King Charles I )
Charles I, King of Romania (1839–1914)
Elisabeth zu Wied , Queen of Romania (1843-1916) - (wife of King Charles I )
Prince Mircea (1913–1916) - (son of King Ferdinand I )
Ferdinand I, King of Romania (1865–1927)
Marie of Edinburgh , Queen of Romania (1875–1938) - (wife of King Ferdinand I )
Charles II, King of Romania (1893–1953), the remains were transferred from Lisbon in 2003
Anna of Bourbon-Parma , (1923-2016) - (wife of King Michael I )
Michael I, King of Romania (1921-2017)

There is a large royal palace in the Moorish style near the cathedral. The inventory of the cathedral was looted by Hungarians and Turks , but some inscriptions by the Greeks , Slavs and Romanians have been preserved.

A stone tablet says that Prince Neagoe Basarab built the cathedral from 1512 to 1521. Another reports that Prince Ioan Radu completed the work in 1526. A third description from 1681 tells of repairs carried out by Prince Șerban I. Cantacuzino . The fourth panel documents a restoration by the first bishop Joseph in 1804. Between 1875 and 1885 the cathedral was reconstructed and in 1886 it was restored.

The Princely Church (Biserica Domnească)

More art monuments

Princely Church "Saint Nicholas of Curtea de Argeș" (Biserica Domnească "Sfântul Nicolae din Curtea de Argeș")
Church "Saint Nicholas the Little" (Biserica "Sân Nicoară" or Biserica "Sfântul Nicolae cel Mic")

traffic

Curtea de Argeş is located on the railway line that runs from Piteşti over the Rotenturm Pass .

Legends

The legends have inspired many Romanian poets, including award-winning artist Vasile Alecsandri . One story describes how Neagoe Basarab , while in captivity in Constantinople , designed a great mosque for the Sultan and then built the cathedral with the leftover material on his return.

Another version describes that Radu Negru employed an architect Meșterul Manole (Master Manole) or Manoli. Manole failed to complete the walls, so the prince threatened him and his assistant with death. Finally, according to an ancient Roman custom, Manole suggested that a living woman "work" into the foundations and that the one who would appear first the following morning should be walled in. The other stonemasons then warned their families, and Manole was forced to sacrifice his own wife. Then the cathedral could be completed. When Manole and his stonemasons reported to the prince that they could even build a larger building, Radu Negru set them on the roof so that they could no longer accomplish anything. They then constructed wooden wings to fly down from the roof. But one by one they crashed. A source of clear water was named after Manole because legend has it that it crashed at this point.

sons and daughters of the town

Dincă Brătianu (1788–1844), Wallachian boyar
Gabriel Matei (* 1990), Romanian football player

Web links

Commons : Curtea de Argeș - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ 2011 census in Romania ( MS Excel ; 1.3 MB)
^ Johann Christian von Engel: General World History , Johann Jacob Gebauer, Halle, 1804. Online at Google Books
^ Curtea de Argeș, 1930 census
↑ ^a ^b Curtea de Argeș, census at citypopulation.de
↑ Înmormântarea Reginei Ana sa încheiat , Adevărul August 13, 2016
↑ Ziua despărţirii de Regele Mihai , Adevărul December 16, 2017

[vz2011-1] 2011 census in Romania ( MS Excel ; 1.3 MB)

[2] Johann Christian von Engel: General World History , Johann Jacob Gebauer, Halle, 1804. Online at Google Books

[3] Curtea de Argeș, 1930 census

[VZ-4] Curtea de Argeș, census at citypopulation.de

[5] Înmormântarea Reginei Ana sa încheiat , Adevărul August 13, 2016

[6] Ziua despărţirii de Regele Mihai , Adevărul December 16, 2017