Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wallachia Highlights
Knowing the misery of captured Turks as you gasp up 1480 steps to Vlad
Ţepeş' Poienari Citadel (
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)
, the real 'Dracula's castle'
Gaping at the original 14th-century frescoes at St Nicholas Church (
Click
here
) in Curtea de Argeş
Enjoying Constantin Brâncuşi's ornamental contributions to Târgu Jiu (
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)
, including his
Endless Column
Admiring the dramatic beauty of the Danube as it breaks through the
Carpathians at the Iron Gates National Park (
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)
Wondering at the ruins of the Roman bridge (
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)
that once
spanned the Danube at Drobeta-Turnu Severin almost 2000 years ago
Stroll the bustling streets of central Piteşti (
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)
History
The principality of Wallachia was founded by Radu Negru in 1290. It was originally con-
ceived as a vassal state of the Hungarian kingdom to serve as a buffer between Hungary
and the growing influence of the Ottoman Turks.
As Hungarian power waned in the 13th and 14th centuries after a wave of Mongol inva-
sions, Wallachian prince Basarab I (r 1310-52) defeated the Hungarian king Charles I in
