Târgovişte
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- For the Bulgarian city see Targovishte.
Târgovişte (also spelled Tîrgovişte; IPA: [tɨr.ˈgo.viʃ.te]) is a city in the Dâmboviţa county of Romania. It is situated on the right bank of the Ialomiţa River. As of 2003, it has an estimated population of 89,000.
History
First attested in 1396, in the Travel Accounts of Johannes Schiltberger, it became the capital of the Wallachian voivodship, probably during the reign of Mircea cel Bătrân, when the Royal Court ("Curtea Domnească") was built. Vlad III Dracula later added the Chindia Tower, now a symbol of the city.In 1597 Mihai Viteazul fought and won a decisive battle against the Ottoman Empire in Târgovişte.
After Constantin Brâncoveanu moved the capital to Bucharest, Târgovişte lost its importance, decaying economically as its population decreased.
Târgovişte was the site of the trial and execution of Nicolae Ceauşescu and his wife Elena in December 1989.
Interestingly, there are towns with the same name (albeit with different spellings) in both Bulgaria and Serbia. The Romanian and Bulgarian towns are twinned.
Population
- 16th century: 60,000
- 1900: 9,400
- 1977: 61,300
- 2002: 89,930
Twin towns
- Targovishte, Bulgaria
- Trakai, Lithuania
- Orvault, France
- Corbetta, Italy
- Santarem, Portugal
- Vellinge, Sweden
- Castellon de la Plana, Spain
Famous natives
- Alexandru Brătescu-Voineşti (1868 - 1946), writer
- Ion Heliade Rădulescu (1802 - 1872), writer, philologist, politician
- Theodor Stolojan (1943), economist, politician
External links
- [A presentation of the Medieval Princely Court of Târgovişte] - includes 25 contemporary photos, 3 ancient images, 2 layouts, a reconstruction of the Court, bibliography and many other info (in Romanian).
- [Map of the city]
- [Târgovişte Online]
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