Română   English  

• register
• agenda
• maps
• promo
• files
• album

• Piteşti
• GeoKret
• Geocoin
• useful

Piteşti, city of the tulips

Piteşti is the largest city of Argeş county, România.

Piteşti is one of the oldest in Romania. Traces of human activity in the area dates back to the paleolithic era. Archeological finds have confirmed that the tribe of Dromihetes (IV-III b.c.) had roots in this area, being identified as "ordessenii" or "argessenii" (living on the banks of Argeşului). During the dacian and roma period, the city was part of Moesia Inferior and later of Dacia Malvensis. The most important monument of that time in the county is the roman castrum at Albota, a fortified military camp at the eastern border of Dacia.

Piteşti was temporary residence to Basarab Ţepeluş cel Tânăr, Mihnea cel Rău and Vlad cel Tânăr. Piteşti evolved gradually from village to fair, attaining the title of "city" in the 14th century. Earliest documents mention it on may 20th 1388 when Mircea the Bătrân strengthens the Cozia monastery, mentioned as „a mill on the border of Piteşti". This makes Piteşti, together with Câmpulung, Curtea de Argeş, Brăila and Slatina one of the oldest fairs.

În oraş au avut proprietăţi numeroşi boieri şi dregători, dintre aceştia cei mai de seamă au fost Goleştii, Izvoranii, Cantacuzinii, Craioveştii, dar şi doi domnitori, Mihai Viteazul (1593-1601) şi Neagoe Basarab, acesta din urmă construind între 1512 şi 1521 la Piteşti curtea voievodală. În anul 1656, sub domnia lui Constantin Şerban şi a doamnei Bălaşa, se construieşte, pe fundaţiile unui vechi lăcaş, Biserica Domnească Sfântul Gheorghe. Aflată în inima oraşului, biserica a fost prima compoziţie supraetajată pe coloane de cărămidă din Ţara Românească.

Between October 19th and November 8th 1714, the city was host to king Carol 12th of Sweeden, at the orders of Ştefan Cantacuzino. The king was returning from the Ottoman Empire, on his way to sweedish Pomerania together with his troops. This was very harsh on the locals, having to feed them, as that year had been particularly dry and many crops had been lost.

The city continued to florish after the unification of the romania principalities in 1859. Ion Luca Caragiale lived here for a short while and it has been presumed that Piteşti may be then unnamed city from his play "O scrisoare pierdută" ("A lost letter") because Piteşti was dominated by the liberals of that time, as the Brătianu family residence was nearby in Ştefăneşti.

In 1872 a railway is built between Piteşti and the capital (Bucureşti), at the same time as the railway segments linking it to Târgovişte and Ploieşti. Construction was supervised by Bethel Henry Strousberg on behalf of the German Empire and is the second railway in Romania (after the first one between Bucureşti and Giurgiu built in 1869). City hall was finished in 1886 and today is host to the Art Galler. The Argeş Prefecture building was designed by Dimitrie Maimarolu and build between 1898 and 1899 on the site of an old orthodox hermitage. Today is the museum of history and nature.

Din toamna lui 1916 Piteşti ws occupied by the Central Powers in the fall of 1916 after being abandoned by the romanian army. The german commander August von Mackensen captured the city once the front along the Olt river stabilized, before the capture of Bucharest and the south of the country.

After WWI, Piteşti becomes a a regional cultural center. The magazine Kalende was published between 1928 and 1929 (published by literary critics Vladimir Streinu, Şerban Cioculescu, Pompiliu Constantinescu and Tudor Şoimaru).

WWII and then the communist regime left a significant mark on the city. In 1940, right after the proclamation of the National Legionary State by the Iron Guard, the bronze bust of the former prime minister Armand Călinescu (also assassinated by the Iron Guard) was dragged by chains around the city. In December 1943, under marshal Ion Antonescu, many locals were deported to Transnistria, at the time occupied by the romanian army. The city was briefly bombed by the allies in 1944.

In the 50s the city becomes the capital of the newly formed "Argeş" region, then gains the the dark fame of it's own prison după care dobândeşte faima funestă pe care i-au adus-o propria închisoare, folosită de regimul comunist pentru "reeducarea" deţinuţilor politici. "Experimentul Piteşti" s-a aflat sub supravegherea lui Alexandru Nicolschi, care încuraja violenţa între deţinuţi, devenită chiar obligatorie, şi urmărea de fapt distrugerea psihologică a individualităţii, a convingerilor şi loialităţii deţinutului. Practic a fost o metodă brutală de spălare a creierului şi de transformare a deţinuţilor politici în "oameni noi", asa cum trebuiau să fie într-o societate leninistă. Experimentul a fost anulat după cinci ani, iar ulterior 22 de deţinuţi participanţi au fost judecaţi şi condamnaţi (dintre care 16 condamnaţi la moarte) pentru rolul lor în experiment. Un alt proces, avut loc în 1957, a condamnat pe unii gardieni şi angajaţi ai închisorii, dar aceştia au primit sentinţe uşoare, ulterior fiind graţiaţi.

Autostrada A1, prima de acest fel din România a fost terminată în anii '60, odată cu accelerarea industrializării regiunii, în special industria chimică şi a automobilelor. În jurul anului 1950, în zonă au fost primiţi refugiaţi greci, partizani ELAS în timpul războiului civil, iar clădirile în care au locuit aceştia au fost folosite apoi pentru ţărani strămutaţi la oraş. Vila Florica a fost devastată de activişti comunişti iar bustul lui Ion Brătianu din faţa bisericii Sf. Nicolae a fost luat şi topit, iar biserica demolată.

Piteşti este unul dintre cele mai puternic industrializate oraşe din România. Automobile Dacia, cel mai mare producător de automobile român se află la Mioveni, lângă Piteşti, iar în oraş activează o serie de alţi producători de piese auto (Dräxlmaier Group, Lear Corporation şi Valeo). Arpechim, membră a grupului Petrom, a moştenit rafinăria construită în perioada comunistă.

Piteşti lays in the mid-south of Romania between the Carpathian mountains and the Danube, also in the north-west of Muntenia. Within the city, the river Râul Doamnei flows into the river Argeş. Piteşti is situated at 250 m above sea level (Argeş river, in the south), and 356 m above sea level in Trivale neighborhood (in the west). The city covers 4.073 ha, as of 2003.

The city itself lays between high hills, mostly on the western bank of Argeş river. Climate is moderate, typical of valleys. Annual temperature varies between 9° and 10 °C, with a january average of -2,4 °C, and that of july being +20,8 °C. Rainfall is above the national average, about 680 to 700 mm.

The city is surrounded by hills with vineyards and plum orchards - hence the famous Piteşti plum brandy.

Some schools in Piteşti: Ion Brătianu and Zinca Golescu high schools, the State University of Piteşti and Constantin Brâncoveanu University (private college, founded in 1991).

The majority faith is orthodox christian. There are notable places of worship, some with a long history. Trivale Monastery dates from the 15th century and is well known for it's monks performing exorcism.

Each spring the city of Piteşti is the host of a flower festival and fair : "Simfonia Lalelelor" ("The Tulip Symphony"). Tulips were first brought to Piteşti around 1972-1973, when an amateur gardener planted in the city centre 3000 bulbs brought in from Arad and Oradea. Thus the city gained it's fame as the city of the tulips and the first flower festival took place in 1978.

Nicknamed "the king of sports", soccer is the sport here. "Nicolae Dobrin" stadium is host to FC Argeş team. Internaţional Piteşti, second league team trains at the "Ştrand" stadium. Among other sports, basketball, voleyball and swimming could be mentioned, including the olympic swimming pool of CSM Piteşti. The romanian national canoe team also trains on the nearby lake Bascov.

 

• Agenda
• Piteşti
• Maps
• Facebook
• OR017C
• GC71V83

© 2017 The Holy Tulip