The complex of monuments which form the Royal Court of Targoviste represents one of the most important
architectural group from Tara Romaneasca (the Romanian Country) and has a great artistical and historical
value. Being a royal residence for many centuries, the Royal Court offers the possibility of revealing a
chapter of the romanian medieval art and history.
Starting with the year 1967, the Royal Court was transformed into a museum ensemble of the Muzeul Judetean
Dambovita (the Museum of the County Dambovita) and now is part of the National Museum Ensemble "the Royal
Court" of Targoviste. Besides the outdoors museum there is an exhibition dedicated to Vlad Tepes (Vlad the
Impaler), founder of the fortifications; a lapidarium at the Royal Court's basement built by Petru Cercel
and an exhibition of religious art in the great Royal Church.
1. The southern gate.
The entrance, which is still used now, lies under the bell tower built at the end of the 16th century (1584)
and then reconstructed in the age of Matei Basarab and Constantin Brancoveanu. The bell tower has the same
constructional features as the inside wall of the enclosure (raised by Petru Cercel), to whom he is related
organically, not only as a structure, but from its settlement point of view, compared to the frontage wall.
The building of the tower was determined by the existence of the church, which didn't have the possibility of
accommodating a tower bell in its own steeples.
2. b. The royal house from the 15th century.
Raised in the third-fourth decade of the 15th century and following the model of the one in Arges,
it was placed very close to one of the sides of the enclosure wall. Built on a rectangular surface, which measured
32 x 29 m on the outside, the house had a cellar on the entire surface, with four parallel aisles, on which
rose the ground floor whith a large hall (about 6 x 12 m) - probably the ceremony hall and the
hall of the royal council - placed on the eastern side - and rooms intended for the accomodation
of the regnant and his family.
2. c. The royal house from the 16th century.
In the year 1584, the waivode Petru Cercel imagined the construction of a building inspired from the
composition principles of the palaces he saw during its peregrinations along Europe. The formation of
the house and the decoration of the building's frontages are new elements, but we can sense the local
tradition induced by the local manufacturers.
The Royal Court built by Petru Cercel, "a small, but beautiful and grand palace", situated near the south
side of the first royal house, but completely separated from it, was composed of cellars, the ground floor and
one other floor. The cellars, preserved until now in its incipient form, were placed on the axis of the
building, having a rectangular shape plane with a 12 m side, divided into four identical sections
placed around a massive pillar.
Initially the access was made through an underground arched proeminence of 25 m long and it was placed
on the west side. The ground floor sheltered the royal common room and it was constituted of 10
rooms, from which a large one was placed cross-cut at the southern extremity. The floor contained
the living chambers of the waivode and his family and it was completely separated from the ground
floor. The access to it was possible only from the outside through a staircase situated on the
western frontage and there was a direct connection with the great Church through a passage. The
houses were covered with enamelled tiles.
2. d. The palace from the 17th century.
Matei Basarab finished in 1654 the reconstruction of the royal houses, raising a floor above the house
from the 15th century and connecting it with the new one by a passage linkage, resulting a real palace,
uniform from the architectonical point of view. Destroyed in 1659, the palace is restored by Constantin
Brancoveanu. The vaults and the floors will be renewed and the rooms will be decorated with timber work
and paintings.
A loggia with access staircase from the garden was built on the east frontage of the Petru Cercel's house
and also a second one towards west, on a porch made by Matei Basarab, changing also the orientation of the
cellar's access on the side of the great royal church.
3. The Chapel-Church
The Chapel-Church is the oldest religious structure known in Targoviste until now and it was built along
with the first royal house, very close to it, by Mircea cel Batran (Mircea the Old). The church was
conceived after a plan influenced by the general features of the triconical type as they appear in the
church of the Cozia Monastery, but, unlike the previous raised buildings, a new element appears, namely
the elevation of a stoop with a bell tower above on the western extremity.
Nowadays the church preserves the consolidated walls of 2 m height, detached in the fourth decade of
the 20th century.

4. The Chindia tower
Located in the north-west side of the Royal Court and dominating the entire complex of monuments
from here, the Chindia tower became the town of Targoviste's emblem. Of 27 m tall, it is constituted
of a truncated pyramid shaped base of stone, from which rises a cylindrical strucure made of bricks
whose diameter measures 9 m.
The construction has 3 floors, from which the last two are labelled on the outside by broken arch
openings and by balconies supported by stone consoles. The access to the upside of the tower can be made
through an inner spiral shaped staircase situated on the vertical axis of the building.
The Chindia tower was built in the second half of the 15th century, during Vlad Tepes's reign, over the
porch of the Chapel-Church raised by Mircea cel Batran. Initially the tower was composed of two floors
and the access was made through a turn bridge from the first level directly into the next house. The
transformations made to this building detains us from establishing the exact original shape, owing its
present aspect to the ruler Gheorghe Bibescu who arranged its rehabilitation in the year 1847.
5. The Royal Court's fortifications
In the first phase, the ensemble was defended towards the town at the beginning of the 15th century
by a large defence entrenchment of 20 m width and 250 m long, afterwards doubled on the inside by a
stone wall. In 1584, along with the new structures which tripled the surface of the complex, Petru
Cercel builds an eclosure wall provided on the outside with counterforts of triangular plane. After
1640, Matei Basarab doubles it externally with another one, punctured with five entrance towers and
provided with guard rooms.
6. The Sf. Vineri (St. Friday) Church
It was known until the beginning of the last century under the name "The Little Royal Church". The
church came into existence in the year 1517 (according to the memorial inscription in Slavonic from the
southern frontage of the church, which mentions Clucer Manea Persanu and his soul mate Vladaia) and it's
the only known monument in the Romanian Country's architecture dating from the middle of the 15th century
and preserved in its original shape until today.
The plan of the church belongs to the trifoliated type, of elongated shape. The spire is supported by four
semicylindrical arches belonging to the first period of the halidom to whom he is organically connected.
It shows analogies to the porch of the Chapel-Church which also sustains a bell tower.
7. The great Royal Church
An endowment of Petre Cercel (1583-1585), the great Royal Church was built in the year 1584, at the same
time with the Royal Court and next to it. The halidom bears the titular saint "The Virgin Mary's
sleep" and was carried out after the model of the inscribed greek cross type churches. The monument stands
out of the halidoms built at the end of the 16th century by its until then unencountered proportions,
as the rectangle in which is inscribed the external cone measuring 14 x 30 m.
Petru Cercel added a balcony above the nave entrance for the royal family, with direct access from the
palace through a passage which joined the two constructions.
The first painting from the end of the 16th century or beginning of the 17th, partially preserved on the
of the deacon's wall above the altar and on the southern wall of the pronaos was superposed on a second
layer of painting made between 1696-1698 on Constantin Brancoveanu's iniative.
The diversity of the iconographical themes; the colour harmonization sense as well as the expression of
the faces make of this church's painting one of the great achievements of the age. The detail abundance,
the great number of low proportions scenes, bound together by colouring and scale, creates a strong
expression of unity which also detaches itself from almost all the painting ensembles of the Brancoveanu
age.
We can find in the great Royal Church the largest gallery of Muntenia rulers' faces, preserved and
represented by the votive paintings of the church's pronaos, paintings of a great artistic and documentary
interest. Thus the western wall of the pronaos is decorated with the portaits of the waivodes Matei
Basarab, Neagoe Basarab, then Constantin Brancoveanu and Petru Cercel (in their places as founders,
holding the copy of the church), followed by Mihai Viteazu (it's his first presentation with the crown
on his head), Radu Serban, Constantin Carnul, Serban Cantacuzino and Radu Mihnea.
8. Lady Balasa's house
It was built in 1656, in the eastern side of the enclosure, near the church Sfanta Vineri, by the lady
Balasa, wife of Constantin Serban. The construction is composed of four rooms (living chambers), put together
on a single level, paved with bricks, covered with cross type vaults with splayed edges. According to the
memorial inscription from the southern wall, the building was meant "... for the peace of the christians
who fall in need..."

9. The Royal Gardens
Situated in the place of the town's current park, in the interspace between the enclosure wall from the
eastern side of the Royal Court and the river bed of Ialomita, the royal gardens where made, according to
Franco Siveri's information, by the ruler Petru Cercel; he "made beautiful gardens in the italian style in
front of the palace". The Royal Court garden reached over the other river bank of Ialomita, until the root
of the Monastery's hill with a hunting forest and was surrounded by a wall made of "brick boulders",
according to Anton Maria del Chiaro's description. The royal gardens were enlarged by the ruler Constantin
Brancoveanu who, in order to better enjoy "the exquisite gardens of the court", builds a pavilion for
"watching".
10. The Royal Bathroom
Placed on the eastern side of the royal houses, between the enclosure wall from Ialomita's side and
the houses, the Royal Bathroom was built during the reign of Matei Basarab. Its plan has
rectangular shape and measures 5.50 x 14.7 m on the outside. It's composed of tree rooms placed in a row.
There is a small clothes closet in the first room, situated in the north side, which can be accessed from
the outside through a door in the western wall. This room is followed by another one, where they actually
took the bath. On the southside and with no connection to these two rooms was the room accommodating the
boiler and where the fire was made.
Foreign travellers about the Royal Court (16-18th century)
Franco Sivori, the italian secretary of the ruler Petru Cercel:
"As the month February of 1584 arrived, his Highness decided to change his residence and retire to a town
called Targoviste... The town is enriched with all kind of things, satiated with good water, with wells and
fountains and a lovely river flowed besides the prince's palace. His palace, built by his ancestors has large
proportions and an accurate architecure; it was immediately enlarged by his Highness who added beautiful
and grand chambers.
He had a fountain made on the esplanade, with great toil and expense, which brought the water from a spring
well from at least four miles far from the city, passing it underground through thick fir cradles; the prince
order at the same time to raise a beautiful church next to the palace, thus his Highness could pass over a
covered bridge and enter the church from his chambers without anybody seeing him....
He ordered to make unspeakably large and beautiful cages to keep wild beasts and italian gardens which were
placed next to this palace. And he made everything with such expedition that everything seemed like a
wonder. In less than six months everything was completed as more than 1000 people worked ceaseless." (1584)
Paul of Alep, syrian traveller:
"It is known that the Court of the Romanian Country's ruler is big and surrounded by a stone wall; a river
flowes besides its end. The church which you can reach through a staircase is very big; it's placed in the
middle of the court. The church is divided into three parts: the external part includes the arcades of
the narthex, then you reach to the second part of the church through a second door, where lies the rulers'
graves, then you enter through a third door in the nave of the church which is a very old hall. There are
high domes above it and it is surrounded by pews.
In the middle of this yard there is a tower made of stone, big and tall which astonished us by its height,
there you may see the horologe of the town and many guards keep sentry there... the ruler's throne
(from the church) is tall and gilded, behind it there are stairs that allow you to climb to a retiring
place with wooden latticed members, where lives the lady and her suite; from there you can go to the
ruler's council hall because they climb and descend frequently through there. There is also a
staircase reaching it through the place where lie the rulers' graves. In the upper part there is a window;
the prince sits there on festival days and on Sundays... We climbed the above-mentioned staircase that
went from the church to the dining room of his palace..." (1654).
Edmund Chishull, ambassador of the United Kingdom in Instanbul:
"30 of April. Today, around 12 o'clock we reached Targoviste where his Highness, along with its suite
are received in the ruler's palace. By its shape and pomp, it resembles very much to the one in
Bucharest, but this palace surpasses it by a more beautiful garden and by a beautiful stone kiosk inside
the garden. They are both harmonious and may stand besides those of the more enlightened christianity...
Here was the residence of the regnants until thirty years ago... when the ruler Ghica and its descendants
were forced to break it down and move back to Bucharest. But, since five years ago the current ruler received
the permission to rebuild it, on the condition of not raising enforcements in that place; therefor...
while the prince was organizing again the palace and adorning the gardens, he advised the boyars to build
also their houses."
"... these glorious walls, to escape the claws of that time and to serve as a caressing remembrance of the
heroes' earth who found them and as a strong impulse to our descendants to remember who they are and
who they can be."
"One single tower, a relic from the famous royal court rises sad and lonely above these stacks of
ruins. This tower is treasured by the romanians as a monument which speaks them about their time
of glory and greatness. He was a witness to so many triumphs. He saw, one by one, Mircea cel
Batran, Dracula-voda, Vlad Tepes, Radu cel Mare, Radu de la Afumati, Mihai Viteazul
and Mateiu Basarab, all our great waivodes, famous in times of peace and war."
"The royal courts, the grand courts from the bank of Ialomita, in which a part so important of our
country's history was plotted... But the harsh blizzard of the time blowed, fiercer than the wars and
the fire and ravaged the grand courts, and brokedown the walls of the glorious palace in the rooms
where no greek prince ever ruled."