The modern history of the Romanian
people came together in Curtea de Argeş as
the home of Romania's first princes in the 14th Century, and is the
burial place of Romania's 20th Century kings and queens.
Perched on
the right bank of the Argeş River as it flows out of the Făgăraş
chain of the Carpathian mountains, Curtea de Argeş developed
along the river, capitalising on it's position as a trade route
between the plains and the mountain passes to the north.
The city is one of the oldest in Romania and served
an important function as the capital of the nascent Wallachia
principality at the very birth of what is now a national Romania.
Founded early in the 14th century by Prince Radu
Negru,
Curtea succeeded Câmpulung as capital of Wallachia, with a full
palatial court and church complex built by Basarab I.
As a tourist, you've lucked out with the great road signs and
informative signs showing you the main sights of the town.
From your arrival at the great old 1900s train station or the
bus station nearby, once you hit the main boulevard, you'll find the
major attractions nicely marked in this tourist-friendly town.
Cool Curtea!
The town is on the railway
and on the road
from Piteşti to the Turnu Roşu Pass to the north, making
Curtea de Argeş the de facto gateway to
the beautiful Făgăraş mountains to the north.
Holding treasures like the
real Dracula
castle at Poienari, the deep emerald waters of Lake Vidraru and it's
dam, and of course, perched high atop the mountains, Bâlea
Lake, frozen through the summer months at over 2000 metres high!
Cool Curtea de Argeş!
Nothing better than a dip into the cool
waters of Lake Vidraru!
The main not-to-be missed attraction in this old town is indeed the
remains of Wallachia's oldest administrative building, dating from the
14th century, and the amazingly well preserved church (the oldest in
it's original form in Wallachia) adjacent to the court, also from the
mid 1300s.
A statue of Prince Basarab I stands guard over his creation, a great
old church. This court, palace and church complex in many ways marked
the incept of Romnanian nationalism, solidifying further the trend of a
strong administration for the region. The first Prince Basarab was
buried in his church in 1352, with his son completing the palatial court
complex soon after his death.
Don't miss the great old Byzantine frescoes painted during this time,
now being painstakingly restored by removing overlays of more recent
works.
A reasonable adjunct to your photo-taking at the old church and
court is the municipal museum, with informative panels and displays
showing what early Wallachia was like in this very important region in
Romania's history.
Curtea de Argeş served as the regional capital
for Wallachia during an important period of Romania's history, on
capital in a chain which lead out of the mountains, and down onto the
wide Wallachian plains to where it is today at Bucharest.
Open Daily Except Mondays, 9a - 3p. Str. Negru
Vodă, 0248 711446
See also the San Nicoara Ruins (behind the museum),
worth a quick look and some more photos!
Frescoes of the Curtea de Argeş Monastery Church
The Vibrant Colours of the French rehabilitation
showing the Coronation of Romania's first King and Queen in the 19th
Century.
Built by yet another in the succession of Princes
Basarab, the delightfully ornate and grand vision which is the
Curtea de Argeş monastery, complete with it's
centrepiece church is sure to impress.
About a kilometre up the main drag (busses run
frequently up B-dul Basarabilor) from the Princely Court is this
wondrous little church, part of the main monastery complex there.
Warning:
This is a Very Bad Day
to Forget Your Camera!
Just make sure you stand very still and look only at
small portions at one time of this astonishingly ornate church, or else
you will come dizzy from the elaborate details of small flowers and
wings, intricate lace-like patterns, and lavish twists and fanciful
trim.
All this architectural brou-ha-ha culminates in twin
towers equally festooned with giddy abandon by the clearly inspired architect. First finished in the early 1500s, the
current Monastery Church was "rehabilitated" in the late 1800s by French
workers. This makes much of the more recent mosaics and
woodwork as more of a French or Italian influence than being strictly
Romanian, but it's still a sight to behold.
Romania's royalty are buried here in white marble
tombs, including Romania's first modern King, Carol I and next to him
Queen Elizabeth, buried here in 1914 and 1916 respectively.
Ferdinand I and Queen Mary are also there, the last
Romanian monarchs to die, the English-born Mary in 1938.
Church of the Master
The main church in Curtea de Argeş
looking great with some mid-winter snows on the grounds
If you've already been to the beautiful Cotroceni
Palace in Bucharest, you will have seen that Mary was indeed a spiritual
and interesting woman. You may be surprised to learn her heart is
not buried in Curtea de Argeş at all, but is in
fact entombed in golden box at Castle Bran up the road a ways towards
Braşov!
In addition to the royal burial grounds and great old
frescoes, have a look at Manole's well in the small park across from the
church. The well is part of a natural spring there, although
some vaguely amusing folklore surrounds the well, supposedly made by the
builder of the Monastery Church as he jumped off (or was pushed off, the story
varies slightly).
If you like what you see, there is another church in
Ceahlau in the Moldova region which
has similar tours and figures on it, although built in wood, it's
typical of the era.
Open Daily, 9am - 6pm, 60 lei admission, 30 lei
cameras
Another important church is the Biserica
Domnească (Church of the Master, meaning the Prince or Lord
of the Local Ruling Family) built by Mircea cel Bătrân, completely
renovated in 2003-2004.
It resembles a stone fortress, connected through
catacombs to a guard tower on a nearby hill.
Other Interesting Stops in town: sBiserica Olari, and the Dumitru Norocea memorial
residence.
The Real Dracula's Castle
Perched eerily in it's aerie atop a strategic
crest, it was built by the "real" Dracula, Vlad
Ţepeş using forced Turk labour. The views from the
battlements are stunning.
Most tourists will be shocked to find out that Poienari
is actually the real castle home of Dracula. If indeed you believe
that Vlad Ţepeş was actually Dracula of course!
Poienari Castle looms in a convincing and dramatic
manner over the deep cuts of the valley walls, looking very much the
part for all things sinister. Whilst not as ornate as the more
visited name-sake castles to the east and north, Poienari is nonetheless
the actual home and fortification built by the Dark Prince.
See where the Bride of Dracula
Leapt to Her
Death!
The wife of Vlad the Impaler
supposedly threw herself out the window at Poienari Castle rather than
allow herself to be captured by the Turks besieging the castle at the
time.
Vlad escaped by affixing horseshoes which looked like
cowprints in the riverbank mud of the Argeş
river, vexing his Ottoman trackers.
Ţepeş managed to take quite a
few Turk invaders as hostage, and forced them into building much of the
building's foundations. A long series of steps (about 15
minutes) lead up from
the hydroelectric facility along the lake, with an attendant charging 1€
per person.
Catch a maxi-taxi from near the train station or along
the main boulevard (Basarabilor), and you'll be delivered right to the
steps of the castle (about 40 lei each). It's open 9am - 5pm
daily, and entry is 20 lei, with an extra 10 lei camera fee.
The maxi-taxi stop is down the road a bit from the steps if there is not
one waiting at the steps.
Although not quite a natural lake as it was formed by
damming the Argeş river for a hydroelectric plant
in the early 1960s, Vidraru is nonetheless a rather stunning
mountain valley lake, a favourite of locals and tourists alike.
An afternoon swim after a day of sightseeing is a great
mid-afternoon pastime in the summer months before returning to
Curtea de Argeş.
There are several great chalets, cabins and roadside
inns around Lake Vidraru, offering everything from a quick bite to eat
or a week-long holiday resort.
For those continuing north,
beyond Vidraru the road turns into the rather amazing
Transfăgărăşean highway, which climbs and twists
and turns it's way north to crest the Făgăraş
mountain chain in a long tunnel which breaks into a surreal Alpine
landscape.
The dam took 5˝ years to complete, entering service
in 1965, and was actually quite advanced for it's day, only the fifth
such dam to be built in Europe and the ninth in the world.
Today
the dam produces around 450GW annually, contributing to the roughly 20%
Romania gets from it's many hydroelectric plants -- an admirably high
percentage when compared to the hydroelectric production of
English-speaking countries (Australia is less than 1% for example).
The road situation is posted before you go to far, as
it's often closed, even in summer months due to snow berms across the
road on the Sibiu side. See more on
our County Sibiu page.
Lake Vidraru
The deep river gorge of the Argeş river was effectively dammed with a short
span to form Lake Vidraru in 1961
Vidraru Waterfall
Ask locals for directions to the waterfall
near Lake Vidraru! Or EMail Us Now!
Just north of Curtea de Argeş, with stunning
views
of the mountains and plains below, this was
where the real Dracula fought off Turkish invaders. About a
third of the castle collapsed down the steep mountain, but most of
it remains, including the residence section.
This delightful region is typified by gorgeous little villages at
the foot of forested mountains as the rivers and streams climb higher
into the stunning Făgăraş mountains to the north.
Countless river valleys follow one another in bucolic idyll, and
some of the best accommodation options and values are hidden in small
pensiunes where the family may run one, two or three rooms, in a sort of
farmstay arrangement.
On your way back from Vidraru, the great little village
of Arefu can offer a glimpse into the Argeşean
way of life.
Supposedly inhabited by descendants of the servants and
courtiers of the original Dracula, Vlad Ţepeş,
the villagers are fairly well-rehearsed in their standard lore, which
can be rather entertaining if you stay there long enough for a good
chat.
If you have time to stay with some villagers, check in
at the library in town or with some of the properties listed with
Antrec for some good homestays.
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Maxi-taxis and busses both leave from just next to the train station in
Curtea de Argeş, with services locally and to all
major near destinations such as Piteşti and Braşov, and all stops along
the way. Maxi-taxis also depart from next to the
monastery church as
well.
HINT: Be nice to your local taxi or maxi taxi driver! This
is the best way for you to get to nearby villages and sites, and a
little tip might help to get some good information on where to find a
taxi for your return trip! Tipping is an art form in Romania, so
learn it fast, and you will have great transportation everywhere.
You can use the bus service to go up to Arefu village, and of course,
busses depart for Braşov, Piteşti, Râmnicu-Vâlcea and
Bucureşti daily.
If you are flying in from Vienna or
Munich, Sibiu is slightly closer to Curtea de Argeş
than Bucharest, and probably makes a more interesting stopover in
Romania too!
You can maxi-taxi, bus or train to Curtea de
Argeş from either airport in Bucharest or in Sibiu.
Both airports have
domestic non-stop flights
from Timişoara as well, and non-stop
international flights to Vienna and Munich from Sibiu, and all major
capitals from Bucharest.
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The Hotel Posada
Centrally located with all the western-style
amenities English-speaking travellers expect.
The chalet at Cabana Pârâul Capra (Chamois Brook Lodge) was once the hunting chalet of Nicolae Ceausescu, the mad dictator. A truly fabulous location in the summer months.
The lodge sports a day bar, restaurant and camping with 26 cabins. Located at the edge of Lake Vidraru with great views, there are 3000 square metres reserved for trailers and tents.
The town is on the railway
and on the road
from Piteşti to the Turnu Roşu Pass to the north, making
the
Upper Argeş
River Region
On your way back from Vidraru, the great little village
of Arefu can offer a glimpse into the Argeşean
way of life.
Sol Turism Ag, Str. Banu Maracine, Bl. E14, Sc. A, Ap.1 in Curtea de Argeş
See a Road Map of the Curtea de Argeş Area
Transportation
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