Dambovita County
Targoviste, where archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic,
was first mentioned in written documents during the Middle Ages; in
1396, during the reign of Mircea the Old it became the capital city
of Wallachia. This piece of information is found in Johannes Schiltberger’s
dairy. Lying on the commercial route that linked Transylvania to the
Danube, on the Rucar–Bran road, 75 km far from Bucharest, Targoviste
had a strategic position during the mediaeval conflicts. Today, it
is an important industrial centre as well as a starting point to picturesque
tourist places. Its history as a capital spelled three centuries
of glorious feats of arms and cultural achievements. During 1396 and
1714, thirty-three ruling princes, from Mircea the Old to Constantin
Brancoveanu, ascended the throne of Wallachia in Targoviste. Among
them, Radu the Great, who encouraged the first printing activities,
Vlad the Impaler, a fascinating personality in our history, the learned
prince Neagoe Basarab, Petru Cercel, a true man of the Renaissance,
Michael the Brave and others. During those times the Princely Court
and Chindia Tower were built, which became an emblem of Targoviste.
Targoviste fully deserves its nickname of Wallachian Florence. Here
the first books in Slavonic, and then in Latin, were printed, the
town being, alongside Brasov, one of the birthplaces of the Romanian
literary language. Visitors can find here cultural and religious sites
of great value: Stelea Monastery, Dealu Monastery, the Metropolitan
Church, the Printing and Old Romanian Books Museum, Petrascu Museum.
Educational establishments in Targoviste and Dambovita county have
an old tradition and indisputable standard. At present, in the county
there are 270 kindergarten, a home for pre-school children, 952 schools.
45,500 pupils attend secondary and high schools staffed with 6,550
teachers. Since 1991, Targoviste has been the seat of Valahia University,
whose faculties of technology, economics, law and the Humanities are
attended by some five thousand students. The University has won a
name for itself in Romania and abroad by the thoroughly scientific
work of both its students and its professors.
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Geographical
Outline
Dambovita county lies south of the Southern Carpathians, in the zone
where the Romanian Plain meets the Wallachian Sub-Carpathians, covering
the hydrographic basins of the rivers Ialomita and Dambovita. Its
neighbours are the Arges county in the west, the Prahova county in
the east, the Ilfov county in the south-east, the Giurgiu and Teleorman
counties in the south and the Brasov county in the north. Its area
is of 4,054 sq km (1.7 per cent of the country’s area). From the viewpoint
of territorial-administrative organisation, the county comprises one
municipality, five towns, 76 communes and 361 villages. The relief
looks like three steps running from north to south, with 2,400 m difference
between levels. It is made up of mountains (9 per cent), hills (41
per cent) and plains (50 per cent). The main rivers are the Ialomita,
the Arges and the Dambovita with their tributaries. There are lakes
for fisheries and storage lakes. Most of the county has a continental
climate with hot summers, average rainfalls and mild winters. In the
mountain area crystalline schist, limestone, grit stone and marl are
predominant and provide building materials. The marl and plaster stone
near Dieni and the limestone north of Moroienu are used for producing
cement and lime. There are sulphur deposits and plaster stone accumulations
at Pucioasa. At Ocnita, there are big deposits of salt accompanying
oil structures. Oil is one of the main riches. Big deposits of oil
are to be found in the southern and central area.There are also natural
gas fields, especially in the southern part. Coal (lignite) is mined
in Sotanga-Margineanca, serving as fuel to the power station at Doicesti.
The ashes obtained from burning are used in the production of cement
prefabs. The sub-Carpathian zone is rich in mineral springs, the best
among them being those in the Pucioasa zone, which contain sulphurous,
chlorosodic-sulphate and bicarbonated water; there are also springs
with a high content of salt, iodite and bromide. The soil in the plain
area was formed under the influence of oak forests and, therefore,
it is very fertile. Vegetation and fauna are both rich and diversified.
On 1 January 1997 the population of the county was 554,000 inhabitants,
of which 31.4 per cent in urban area; density was 136.8 inhabitants/sq
km. Active population accounts for 40 per cent and is distributed
as follows: industry – 77.6 thou., agriculture – 91.1 thou., building
– 4.6 thou., trade and services – 39.5 thou. Lying on a 28o-m high
terrace situated at the limit between hills and plains, Targoviste
is placed in the natural corridor formed by the rivers Ialomita and
Dambovita; the latter lent its name to the county whose seat Targoviste
is.
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Touristic
Information
Situated
in the central-Southern part of Romania, the Dambovita County
has its roots in the old Romanian prestate structure, and takes
its name from the main river which crosses it medianly from
North to South. With a surface of 4,036 sq.km, the Dambovita
is one of Romanian counties where there are all types of relief
from the Leaota and Bucegi Massive to the plain - a part of
the Romanian Plain. The forests covers about 30 per cent of
its surface forming with the relief on attractive landscape
with a rich flora and fauna. Crossed by the Parallel 45° Northern
latitude and situated to the West of the Meridional Carphatians
Curvature, the Dambovita county has a warm climate with higher
temperatures during the cold season and well-balanced temperatures
in sultry season. The rainfalls are rarely too much. The main
rivers of this county are the Arges, the Ialomita and the Dambovita.
Upstream of the Ialomita River which springs from the Bucegi
Mountains there are the Padina, Pestera, Bolboci, Zanoaga and
Scropoasa chalets. Along the centuries, the water carved quay,
caves and ice circuses as the Ialomicioara Cave, Quay of Bears,
Quay of Tartar and Zanoaga Quay. On the plateau of the Bucegi
Mountains, the two works of nature named Babele and Sfinx fascinate
the tourists. A lot of summits of over 2,000 m above sea level
as Doamnele, Obarsia, Deleanu and others offer to tourists different
routes as well as wonderful landscapes. On the same Valley of
Ialomita there is also Pucioasa Spa with a center of cure and
a recovering clinic which use the sulphurous, chlorosodic and
bicarbonate waters from here, and to the South, there is a seasonal
spa named Vulcana Bai with springs of brominated and iodided
waters. The Southern part of the county offers, as a point of
interest for tourists, the residence of Voivode Ghica, in Racari,
and the Brancoveanu's Palace in Potlogi - the most valuable
Brancoveanu's architectural monument. Municipality of Targoviste
(98,752 inhabitants), the capital city of the Dimbovita county,
is a town documentary certified by Johner Schiltberger in 1396.
It's a former capital city of Wallachia, with a prosperous ruler's
place according to the avowals of numerous foreign (Turks, Italians,
Frenchmen, Swedes) travellers and chroniclers. The town preserves
the mark of old times with its imposing architectural monuments
and ruins of the Curtea Domneasca (Rulers' Place) which inspired
the romantic poets. Museums with rich collections, memorial
houses (among them being the one of painter Gh. Petrascu) show
a long cultural tradition. Not far from Tagoviste, situated
on a little hill, there is the Dealu Monastery, a nice monastic
place in whose church Voivode Mihai the Brave's head is buried.
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Economy
Profile
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