Description of the attraction
Kurtya Veke is a fortress, the residence of the princes of Wallachia. In the middle of the 15th century, Vlad III Tepes built it on the site of the former military fortifications erected a century earlier. It is in this fortress that an official document is signed on September 20, 1459, which is considered the birth certificate of Bucharest.
A century later, the ruler Mircea Chobanul built in the fortress the Church of St. Anthony and the Annunciation - the temple in which the rulers of Romania were later crowned. Today it is the oldest church in Bucharest. Each of the princes contributed to the expansion and improvement of Kurtya-Veche. The most significant changes date back to the 18th century, when the boundaries of the fortress expanded. On behalf of the ruler Alexander Ypsilanti, another palace is being built - for the governor. And Kurtya-Veke has one more name - Knyazhiy or Stary Dvor. However, by the end of the same century, the territories of the palace and the fortress were sold out and the history of Kurtya-Veke ends.
Contemporaries received this monument thanks to archaeological excavations of 1967-1972. The remains of the residence are now an open-air museum. For the people of Romania, this place is part of history. For our contemporaries, Kurtya-Veke is interesting to a large extent because it was erected by the Lord of Wallachia Vlad Tepes, the prototype of Dracula - a character in literary works and films.
The Church of St. Anthony, the only well-preserved building, deserves special attention. Ornamental masonry of multi-colored bricks and stone carvings from the 16th century still adorn this working Orthodox church.
