Foto: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES FOTO

Mănăstirea impresionează prin istoricul ei, dar și prin fenomenele misterioase care au avut loc sub acoperișul ei. În urmă cu câțiva ani icoanele din mănăstire au început să plângă cu lacrimi de mir și de sânge. Urmele sunt vizibile chiar și în prezent.

Foto: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES FOTO

Foto: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES FOTO

“Istoricul mânăstirii este destul de frumos. Am înțeles că în 1945 — 1947 s-au ridicat aceste clădiri și au devenit patru unități militare. Acestea au durat până când comandantul unității a pus drapelul în geantă și a plecat cu un avion în străinătate. În 48 de ore s-a desființat unitatea militară și a devenit casă de copii din 1960 până în 1988. Din 1988 partea de aici de la drum, deci una din unități, a rămas părăsită și în ’98 a fost preluată de Episcopia Alexandriei și Teleormanului. Preasfințitul a venit în Teleorman în ’96, când s-a înființat Episcopia”, a declarat pentru AGERPRES starețul Antonie Liță.

Foto: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES FOTO

Potrivit acestuia, în prezent există două clădiri ale mănăstirii în cele trei unități militare preluate. 

Foto: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES FOTO

“Mănăstirea a luat ființă în 1998. Pe 17 septembrie s-a ‘predat’ Episcopiei Alexandriei și Teleormanului și avem slujbă zilnică, Sfântă Liturghie. Rânduiala de slujbă nu se schimbă niciodată, doar că apar clădirile așa cum au fost ale unității. În timp o să le restaurăm. Vrem să punem acoperișurile ca să nu se deterioreze clădirile, mai avem câteva să le acoperim. Cu timpul va deveni o mănăstire bogată în personal și o să fie cea mai puternică din Teleorman, nu zicem din țară. În 2004 am cerut binecuvântarea Preasfințitului Galaction să citim la Psaltire încontinuu și ziua și noaptea și în 2 februarie au început să plângă icoanele, una din biserică ce este mai veche. Mai înainte, în 2003, era părintele Maximilian, care ar fi văzut câteva picături pe acea icoană. A venit să îmi spună că acea icoană este izvorâtoare de sfânt mir. Mai târziu, pe 2 februarie 2004, de întâmpinarea Mântuitorului Iisus Hristos, chiar în noaptea spre 3 februarie, a început să curgă mir din această icoană și a tot curs până s-a făcut o baltă de mir. Au venit să vadă preoți din Roșiori, poliția din sat, primarul, credincioși, că era Postul Paștelui. Apoi au început mai multe icoane să dea mir și lacrimi și trei icoane de la catapeteasmă au dat lacrimi de sânge plus o icoană pe care o avem aici în casă”, spune starețul Antonie Liță.

Foto: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES FOTO

Multe dintre clădirile fostei unități au fost renovate și întreținute, iar altele sunt în curs de renovare. Călugării stau acum în fostele dormitoare ale soldaților ori își desfășoară activitatea în vechile clădiri administrative. Chiar și după atâția ani, de jur împrejurul mânăstirii, construcțiile rămase în paragină transmit spiritul soldățesc de altădată. Din puținul lor călugării împart cu cei care le trec pragul. Turiștii sunt întâmpinați cu drag, iar cazarea este gratuită în limita locurilor disponibile. Turiști mai mulți vin la hram, de Sfântul Pantelimon și pe 13 noiembrie la Sfântul Ioan Gură de aur.

În preajma Mănăstirii Sfântul Pantelimon se află și un fost aeroport care făcea parte din unitatea militară. Turiștii au acces neîngrădit pe pistă, cât și la celelalte mănăstiri amplasate în aceeași zonă, pe terenul fostei baze militare.

AGERPRES/(A — autor: Luiza Abu-Salem, editor: Cristian Anghelache)

Photo credit (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES PHOTO

However, the monastery impresses not only through its history, but also through the mysterious phenomena that have occurred right under its roof. For instance, a few years ago, when the icons at monastery started shedding tears of myrrh and blood. The tracks are still visible up to this day.

‘The history of the monastery is quite beautiful. For what I understood, the walls were erected in 1945-1947, meant for hosting four military units. But that only lasted until the commander of the unit folded the flag and with it in his bag fled abroad. Within 48 years since that episode, the military base was closed and the building became an orphanage, having been used for that purpose from 1960 until 1988. However, in 1988, one of the units, the one by the side of the road, was abandoned and in 1998 it was taken over by the Diocese of Alexandria and Teleorman. His Holiness came to Teleorman in 1996, when the Diocese got first established,’ abbot Antonie Lita told AGERPRES.

According to him, there are two buildings occupied by the monastery at the present, among the four of the former military base.

‘The Monastery was established in 1998. In 2004 I asked for the blessing of his Holiness Galaction to allow us to read from the Book of Psalms day and night without ever stopping and we started to do that, and on February the 2nd the icons started shedding tears, especially the one in the church that is older. Before, in 2003, it was father Maximilian who said that he saw teardrops on that icon. He came to tell me that was a myrrh streaming icon. Later, on February 2, 2004, on the day of the Presentation of the Redeemer Jesus Christ, precisely on the night between February 2 and 3, myrrh started to flow from this icon and it continued to flow until a small lake of myrrh was formed. They were priests who came from Rosiori, the police in the village, the mayor, the faithful, since it was during the Lent. Then there were several icons who started to shed myrrh and three icons from the iconostasis also started to shed tears plus an icons that we have here in the house,’ said abbot Antonie Lita.

The monks share the little that they have with those who crossed their threshold. Tourists are welcomed with love, accommodation is free of charge. Tourists come here in great number on St Pantelimon Day, when the church celebrates its patron saint and also on November 13, when we celebrate St John Chrysostom.

Around the St Pantelimon Monastery there is also a former airport that is part of the military base. Tourists are free to take a walk on the runaway and also they are free to visit the other monasteries in the area, situated on the field of the former military base.

AGERPRES

Photo credit: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES PHOTO

The 5 km of the road exiting Turnu Magurele quickly introduce the traveler into the misty atmosphere of the times of the 15th century, when the wilderness of this place was a major trump in the defense strategy against the Ottoman threat. From the port to the fortress, the cobbled, sometimes rugged and cumbersome path leads one directly to the site reigned by history.

The thick stone and brick walls of the Turnu Fortress were largely preserved to this day: the surrounding vegetation confers it an air of mystery, that is also an invite to explore and get to know it. It was built by voivode Mircea the Elder as defence against the Turks, but at the end of his reign it came under Ottoman rule.

The Turks left the Turnu fortress turned into a Turkish garrison only in 1829, when the structure — or more precisely what had been left of it after having been through a destructive fire — was returned to the Romanian Principality.

The Turnu Fortress is often confounded with the Turiss citadel, but the truth is that the two stand in no connection to each other.

The version according to which the Turris citadel would be Turnu results from the writings of historian Procopius of Caesarea, who in his ‘De Bello Gothico’ written in the sixth century said that it was founded by Roman Emperor Trajan.

Photo credit: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES PHOTO

“It is a theory that did not get the validation of reality. It starts from the book ‘De Bello Gothico’, based on which some historians assumed it would be this citadel. The Turiss citadel is mentioned there as being the same with Turnu. There is another theory according to which the fortress dates from the time of Constantine the Great, namely from the fourth century AD. Finally, a third theory that got validated by reality is related to archaeological evidence, as archaeological research produces the best proof. The oldest archaeological layer dates from the late fourteenth century. The Turnu Fortress, which is located near nowadays Turnu Magurele city, was built with certainty at the end of the 14th century. It is known that it already existed in 1397,” head of the Teleorman Directorate for Culture and National Heritage Constantin Tintariu told AGERPRES.

According to him, the fortress was part of a fortification system built by ruler Mircea the Elder to fend off the Ottoman danger.

“It was erected as part of a plan of Wallachian voivode Mircea the Elder, in a move intended to strengthen, actually create a chain of fortifications with a defensive role against the Ottoman Empire. Mircea the Elder wanted to strengthen this fortification system in the current Teleorman County. Apart from the Turnu Fortress, there were another two hill forts that backed this defensive plan — the Zimnicea and the Frumoasa citadels,” said Constantin Tintariu.

Preserved to this day of the old fortress is a keep with diameter of 17.40 m, circular and polygonal enceinte walls, a curtain wall and a counterscarp.

The construction walls had a thickness ranging from 4 to 5 meters, were built of stone mixed with brick and reinforced with wooden beams.

According to the locals, the ruins of the fortress and the unspoiled wilderness of the landscape are a real tourist attraction. AGERPRES

Foto: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES FOTO

Cei 5 kilometri din drumul parcurs de la ieșirea din Turnu Măgurele introduc rapid călătorul în atmosfera acelor vremurilor secolului al XIV-lea, când sălbăticia locului constituia unul din principalele atuuri în strategia de apărare împotriva amenințării otomane. Din port până la cetate, cărarea pietruită și pe alocuri aproape inaccesibilă te conduce direct în locul aflat sub domnia istoriei.

Zidurile groase din piatră și cărămidă ale cetății Turnu se păstrează în mare parte și astăzi, iar vegetația crescută de jur împrejurul acesteia o învăluie într-un aer de mister care îndeamnă la cunoaștere. Construcția a fost ridicată de voievodul Mircea cel Bătrân pentru a se apăra de turci, dar la sfârșitul domniei sale a intrat sub stăpânire otomană.

Abia în 1829 cetatea Turnu a fost părăsită de turci și restituită Țării Românești, după ce trecuse printr-un incendiu care a distrus-o.

Cetatea Turnu este confundată adesea cu cetatea Turiss, însă între cele două construcții se pare că nu există nicio legătură.

Varianta potrivit căreia cetatea Turris ar fi Turnu rezultă din scrierile istoricului Procopius din Cezareea, în lucrarea De Bello Gothico, care îl arată pe împăratul Traian întemeietor al acesteia.

Foto: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES FOTO

“Este o teorie care nu s-a validat în realitate. Teoria pornește de la lucrarea De Bello Gothico în care unii istorici au considerat că ar fi această cetate. Se vorbește acolo despre această cetate Turiss că ar fi Turnu Măgurele. Mai este o teorie potrivit căreia cetatea ar fi de pe vremea lui Constantin cel Mare, din secolul IV d.Hr. A treia teorie care este validată are legătură cu cercetările arheologice, dovezile cele mai bune fiind cercetările arheologice. Cel mai vechi strat arheologic datează de la sfârșitul secolului al XIV-lea. Cetatea Turnu, care se află în vecinătatea orașului Turnu Măgurele de astăzi, a fost ridicată cu siguranță la sfârșitul secolului al XIV-lea. Se știe că la 1397 ea exista”, a explicat pentru AGERPRES directorul Direcției pentru Cultură și Patrimoniu Național Teleorman, Constantin Țînțariu.

Conform acestuia, cetatea a făcut parte dintr-un sistem de fortificații ridicat de domnitorul Mircea cel Bătrân împotriva pericolului otoman.

“Ridicarea ei s-a făcut ca parte a unui plan al domnitorului Țării Românești, Mircea cel Bătrân, prin care acesta încerca să fortifice, să creeze, de fapt, un lanț de fortificații cu rol de apărare împotriva imperiului otoman. De altfel, în actualul județ Teleorman, Mircea cel Bătrân a vrut să întărească acest sistem de fortificații. Pe lângă cetatea Turnu, cum spuneam, ridicată la ordinul lui mai existau două cetăți de pământ care susțineau acest plan defensiv, este vorba de cetatea de la Zimnicea și cetatea de pământ de la Frumoasa”, a spus Constantin Țînțariu.

Parcursă de la un capăt la altul, în lung și în lat, cetatea își dezvăluie la exterior laturile inegale, ușor rotunjite la capete, măcinate de timp. Câteva bucăți de piatră încă păstrează modelul original.

Zidurile construcției aveau o grosime care variază între 4 și 5 metri. Aceasta era mai exact un turn hexagonal, construit din piatră amestecată cu caramidă și întărit cu grinzi de lemn.

Conform localnicilor, ruinele cetății atrag turiștii mai ales pentru sălbăticia locului, aici putând fi văzuți scorpioni neveninoși.

AGERPRES/(AS-autor: Luiza Abu-Salem, editor: Diana Dumitru)

Photo credit: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES PHOTO

‘The Plaviceni Monastery was certainly built under ruler Matei Basarab by high-ranking court official Dragomir and his wife, a next of kin of the ruler. The monastery operated for quite some time, but toward the end of the 18th century and then in the 19th century it was greatly damaged, especially by a strong earthquake of 1802, when part of the building collapsed. Little by little, it was turned in a church and then it became a ruin. Its reconstruction started only in 1990, but it was hard to carry out. The Plaviceni Monastery is unique in this part of Teleorman because we did not have such monasteries and it is also the best preserved. It is located more than 12km from the village of Dudu, on the banks of the Olt,’ says Director of the Teleorman Directorate for Culture and Heritage Constantin Tantariu.

The Plaviceni Monastery is also known as the Alunisul Monastery. Legend has it that the monastery was founded by Lady Stanca, the wife of ruler Michael the Brave who, as she was fleeing from the Ottomans, she climbed up a tall hazelnut tree in the area to hide. To show her gratitude to God, she erected the church and she left the trunk of the hazelnut tree there to be used as an altar, and later on governor Dragomir had the church built on the site. Hence the name of the Alunis Monastery [alunis is Romanian for hazelnut tree forest]. Some occurrences have made the believers believe in the existence of a tomb in the monastery’s yard that would contain remains of the Michael the Brave’s body.

Archaeological diggings have revealed that the monastery founded by Dragomir was built atop of the foundation of an old, probably wooden church. With the death of the founder in 1652 who had no heirs, the monastery was handed over to the care of his relative Radu Cretulescu, who owned land in the area.

‘It was built toward mid-17th century, but because of the vicissitudes of weather and location, it was abandoned and re-founded in the early 19th century. The monastery and the land earmarked went into the possession of the Cretulescu Foundation, and later on, after the time of ruler Cuza, it was abandoned again and fell into disrepair. Left of the old monastery now are only the ruins of its church with traces of paintings, a part of the interior wall and the belfry at the entrance. The rest of the monastery’s building is no more. There are no more traces of its walls. Because of the wish to capitalise on this historical building, the Culture Ministry has invested in remaking the monastic life of the place, and currently there is only a small community of monks living and protecting the investment conducted,’ says Bishop Galaction Stanga of Alexandria and Teleorman.

Believers who dare to head for the Plaviceni Monastery have a hard journey ahead. Coming from Alexandria to Turnu Magureal, beyond the commune of Plopii Slavitesti, the monastery lies at the end of a road that crosses a nearby forest. Some kilometres before reaching the monastery, an old cross mentions the name and the age of the monastery that lies right in the middle of a field. AGERPRES

Foto: (c) LUIZA ABU-SALEM/AGERPRES FLUX

”Mănăstirea de la Plăviceni a fost ridicată cu siguranță în vremea domniei lui Matei Basarab de către marele vornic Dragomir și soția acestuia care era rudă foarte apropiată cu domnitorul. Mănăstirea a funcționat multă vreme, dar la finalul secolului XVIII și apoi în secolul XIX a fost grav afectată în special de cutremurul din 1802, când o parte din construcție s-a prăbușit.

Treptat, ea nu a mai fost mănăstire ci a devenit biserică și apoi a ajuns ruină cu totul. Abia după 1990 au început activitățile de refacere, din nefericire însă extrem de greoaie. Mănăstirea de la Plăviceni, pentru zona asta a Teleormanului, practic a rămas cu un aspect de unicitate pentru că nu am avut asemenea mănăstiri și este cea care se păstrează cel mai bine.

Este și amplasată extraordinar de bine la 12 kilometri de satul Dudu, pe malul Oltului”, a declarat directorul Direcției pentru Cultură și Patrimoniu Național Teleorman, Constantin Țînțariu.

Mănăstirea Plăviceni este cunoscută și sub denumirea de Mănăstirea Alunișul. O legendă spune că lăcașul ar fi fost ridicat de Doamna Stanca, soția lui Mihai Viteazul, care a fost urmărită de turci și care, pentru a scăpa, s-a ascuns într-un alun mare, în această zonă. Pentru a-i mulțumi lui Dumnezeu, ea a ridicat biserica, iar trunchiul alunului l-a lăsat ca altar de rugăciune, pentru ca mai târziu vornicul Dragomir să ridice mănăstirea.

De aici și numele de Mănăstirea Aluniș. Câteva întâmplări i-au făcut, în timp, pe credincioși să creadă în existența, în curtea mănăstirii, a unui mormânt în care s-ar regăsi o parte din osemintele domnitorului Mihai Viteazul.

Săpăturile arheologice au indicat faptul că lăcașul de cult ctitorit de Dragomir vornicul a fost ridicat peste o altă fundație de biserică probabil de lemn. Odată cu moartea ctitorului, în 1652, în lipsa urmașilor, a trecut în grija rudei sale, Radu Crețulescu care avea moșii în zonă.

”Mănăstirea Plăviceni este una dintre singurele mănăstiri ale cărei ruine au rămas până astăzi în proporție mai mare. Se păstrează astfel zidurile bisericii până la centura ferestrelor și pe aceste ziduri o parte din pictura originală a bisericii care are o valoarea deosebită.

A fost ridicată la începutul către jumătatea secolului al XVII-lea însă din cauza vitregiilor vremii și zonei în care este amplasată a rămas în părăsire fiind rectitorită la începutul secolului al XIX-lea. Ea a ajuns, împreună cu moșiile care îi erau arondate, la Fundația Crețulescu și mai târziu, după perioada lui Cuza, a rămas în părăsire și s-a ruinat, în prezent existând din vechea mănăstire doar ruinele bisericii păstrând urme de pictură, o parte din zidul din incintă și turnul clopotniță de la intrare. Restul clădirilor aferente mănăstirii au dispărut. Nu se mai văd urme ale zidurilor, ale ruinelor acestei mănăstiri.

Datorită dorinței de a pune în valoare acest monument istoric s-a investit din partea Ministerului Culturii și pentru a se da o finalitate investiției s-a reorganizat viața monahală în această mănăstire, în prezent fiind o mică obște de călugări care se ostenesc cu rugăciunea după rânduiala vieții monahale dar și cu protejarea investițiilor făcute”, a declarat PS Galaction Stângă, Episcop al Alexandriei și Teleormanului.

Credincioșii care se încumetă să ajungă la mănăstirea Plăviceni au de parcurs un drum dificil. Pe direcția de mers Alexandria — Turnu Măgurele, dincolo de comuna Plopii Slăvitești, mănăstirea se regăsește la capătul unui drum ce străbate pădurea din zonă. Cu câțiva kilometri înainte de obiectiv, într-o intersecție, o cruce veche indică atât destinația cât și vechimea lăcașului de cult aflat chiar în mijlocul unui câmp.

AGERPRES/(AS — autor: Luiza Abu Salem, editor: Adrian Drăguț)

Photo credit: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES STREAM

After earthquakes and floods which affected it, but couldn’t ruin it, the church has made it in the past years through an ample process of restoration so that its threshold could currently be passed through by the tourists interested in the story of the building. The church was originally made of wood, but it needed consolidation, so it got added brick walls.

“Of the few wooden churches of the Teleorman county, only two were restored: the church of Bujoreni and the one in Videle. The other wooden churches face a precarious state due to the time’s hostility. The Videle church, also named the Cartojanca (after the name of the neighbourhood), was erected at the beginning of the 17th century of oak beams and was coated on its outside with bricks. It was endowed, initially with a belfry tower which never exists anymore, as it has disappeared and could have never been rebuilt. The revamped church is special due to its architecture and traces of painting which it preserves inside its walls. Presently, it is not used anymore, only occasionally for the religious services for the dead, as it is placed in the cemetery at the margin of the city. But, through its presence it attests that in the county of Teleorman wooden churches were erected, too, some of which are still up and in use, such as the church at Scurtu Dracesti. Yet, the church in Videle, for those who wish to visit this part of the county, an objective which deserves to be seen thanks to the architectonic beauty and to those special jointing used in its construction, the wooden edifice being protected with the brick construction and due to the paintings which are still preserved inside the church,” says His Grace Galaction Stanga, Bishop of Alexandria and Teleorman.

The church with modest dimensions and garmentless shapes, still preserves a genuine trait. In front of it stands a cross of stone dating from 1819.

Photo credit: (c) Luiza ABU-SALEM / AGERPRES STREAM

”Currently, in Teleorman there are ten wooden churches. And, very curious they all lay in the Eastern side of the county. Why so? Not accidentally that part of the county belonged to the former county of Vlasca. There was a county called Vlasca, torn apart into several pieces. These ten wooden churches were brought in particularly from Arges and Dambovita. Not by chance these areas were localities of free peasants. They have had the money to bring them here, too. There are two theories as regards the church’s construction. The historical reality says it has been erected before 1782, we don’t know exactly the year. But, why 1782? Firstly, because, on a religious book dated 1782, there is a note referring to the church, so the church already existed in that period. Secondly….in 1819, this is where the confusion starts, it has been restored and modified. Portions of wall have been added. With portions of wall, it was also painted on those sides. An extremely well done painting and extremely resistant. Then, it degraded and was restored through the National Restoration Programme where the Culture Department of the county played an important role because otherwise it wouldn’t have existed. The 1977 earthquake has very much affected it, followed by the 2005 floods. It was one step of total collapse, but it has been restored, re-introduced within the cult,” the director of the Teleorman Culture and National Heritage Department, Constantin Tintariu, says.

Another worship place which impresses through architecture and grandeur, is the Assumption Church, located in the NW of the county, on the road to Pitesti, in the Balaci commune, a locality with tourist potential.

Of the official records we learn that the erection of this worship place began in 1684, but was only finished in 1825 because of some hard periods through which the Balaceanu family has crossed, the one which actually has been busy with the erection of this edifice.

The church is different from the other constructions of this kind erected in the rural area. Its tower is octagonal and its porch has three arcades. The painting degraded in time, remaining visible just a small part of it.

”The Assumption Church of Balaci is a place of special historical value, yet it is also remarkable through its architecture. It is built in the second part of the 17th century by Constantin Balaceanu, and its architecture is special. Unfortunately, as the time passed by and due to the hardships it endured, the interior painting is not visible anymore but in fragments. Still, even these fragments of painting speak to us about the beauty this worship place has had when it was garnished inside on its entire surface with paintings. The edifice needs refurbishment, but due to the high costs, its reparation is delayed. The roof was only repaired so that the water could not infiltrate inside the building. The Balaci Church is a tourist objective worthy to be searched by the travelers and pilgrims, keen to see special places and holy places in the South of our county,” his Grace Galaction Stanga, Bishop of Alexandria and Teleorman, says. AGERPRES

Foto: (c) Cristian NISTOR / AGERPRES ARHIVĂ

În timpul iernii, atmosfera creată de râul Vedea întregește un tablou perfect natural, iar în timpul verii reprezintă sursă de inspirație pentru cuplurile romantice care se plimbă pe malul apei ori motiv de distracție pentru tinerii care se decid să facă grătare în locurile special amenajate. Pasionații sportului au la dispoziție terenuri de baschet, de fotbal, dotate cu nocturnă și pistă de role, iar părinții au un spațiu generos în care se pot delecta și își pot ține sub observație copiii care își consumă energia la locul de joacă. În parcul pădurea Vedea se regăsește și o suprafață generoasă pusă la dispoziția animalelor și păsărilor rare care se lasă admirate și chiar mângâiate prin gard de trecători. Aleile asfaltate și băncile renovate vin să completeze cerințele oamenilor.

În prezent, pădurea Vedea se află într-o continuă schimbare. În viitorul apropiat primarul municipiului Alexandria dorește să dezvolte zona de agrement și propune realizarea unei oaze de liniște și verdeață, a unor trasee pentru plimbări cu bărcuța ori cu hidrobicicleta, piscine tip aqua-land și pescuit sportiv.

‘Pădurea Vedea a început deja. Realizăm cu forțe proprii asta înseamnă cu ADP-ul și cu Societatea de Infrastructură a municipiului. Lucrările au început. Totalul se ridică la un 65 de miliarde de lei vechi deci șase milioane și jumătate de lei. Proiectul respectă pașii speciali pe care îi regăsim atunci când vorbim de păduri și despre transformarea lor în pădure-parc. Așa cum intenționăm, vor fi realizate, spații noi de joacă, vor fi realizate spații noi de socializare, de picnic, grup sanitar cu iluminat atât ambiental, dar și un iluminat artizanal, foarte multe bănci, alei ecologice, plantări de foarte mulți arbori, arbori de esență tare cu o creștere mai lentă, dar și arbori ornamentali, aici colaborăm cu Ocolul Silvic, singura instituție care poate să facă astfel de plantări, toaletarea arborilor existenți, sistem de irigare subteran. Să fie un parc așa cum vedem, ca exemplu așa, în filmele occidentale. Am început lucrările, sunt lucrări realizate în momentul de față pe partea de infrastructură de 4 miliarde de lei vechi și vor fi și lucrări pe partea de peisagistică în ceea ce înseamnă defrișări și plantări de arbori’, a declarat, pentru AGERPRES, primarul Victor Drăgușin.

Înainte de a realiza Complexul de agrement, primăria municipiului Alexandria a luat măsurile necesare pentru ca siguranța celor care doresc să își petreacă timpul liber în incintă să nu fie pusă sub semnul întrebării. La complex, printre altele, poți înota în bazinul acoperit a cărui adâncime este de 1,80 metri. Apa este menținută constat la o anumită temperatură astfel încât să corespundă nevoilor de adaptare ale organismului uman. Bazinul cu dimensiuni semiolimpice este destinat și orelor de curs pe care instructorii de înot le predau teoretic și practic copiilor care doresc să facă performanță în acest domeniu ori vor să învețe să înoate. În același cadru, un jacuzzi de șase persoane, perfect încălzit și igienizat este pus la dispoziția celor care preferă metoda de relaxare fără a depune efort.

Deoarece alexăndrenii ori trecătorii prin zonă nu se pot bucura de un bazin în aer liber, municipalitatea dorește să extindă proiectul pentru realizarea unui astfel de obiectiv în exterior.

AGERPRES/(AS — autor: Luiza Abu-Salem, editor: Marius Frățilă)

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The earliest traces of human settlers in the area date back to the Neolithic, in two settlements — Palanca and Livezi — located in today’s area of the town.

A Mycenaean bronze sword has been found here belonging to the Tei civilisation. In the village of Meri in the environs of Rosiorii de Vede a mound cemetery has been discovered going back to the 13th century BC, where the skeleton of a chieftain along with a large quantity of pottery and an iron knife were unearthed.

In the 2nd-1st centuries BC the presence of Scordici from the region of Sava was recorded.

The autochthonous Geto-Dacian civilisation in the area had links to the Roman civilisation going back to the 1st century BC — 1st century AD, when the Roman Empire had expanded to the right bank of the Danube, as proved by coins discovered in today’s town.

In the same area, traces of a Roman earth camp with a defence wall and ditch, located 7.5km SW of the town’s centre, on the old limes transalutanus , a continual earth border wall accompanied by a castrum line was also found.

After the withdrawal of Roman armies and administration from Dacia (271/275), Slavs took over as the most influential in the history of the land on the left bank of the Danube River, according to the Rosiorii de Vede Town Hall website. They were recorded near the town by Procopius of Caesarea in 546.

Between the 9th and the 11th centuries, more barbaric invasions ensued: the Pechenegs of Turkish extraction and then the Cumans, who gave the toponym of Teleorman County, meaning thick forest, which reign over the land extended to the 1241 Tartar invasion.

On the site of today’s municipality, bronze coins have been found from the 9th and the 11th centuries, which attest to the existence of a population that was very busy trading domestically and externally.

The first written record of the Rusii de Vede burg, the name under which the settlement was mentioned in Middle Ages documents, dates back to 1385. Over the centuries, it became famous as a commercial centre for trading in agricultural produce and craft objects, with the local merchants having strong connections with Brasov City.

In the 16th century, the headquarters of a captainship of calarasi soldiers were established here, with the settlement becoming officially the capital of Teleorman County, which it stayed until 1838. Wallachian ruler Michael the Brave (1593-1601) presented part of Rusii de Vede to the calarasi soldiers, who were settled here to defend the area against the Ottomans from the Turnu Ottoman land, in exchange for their obligation to engage in war alongside the ruler. Once the captainship was established here, the place lost its rural nature, becoming a true burg, and in 1677 it was among 25 burgs of Wallachia mentioned by chronicler Miron Costin in his ‘Polish Chronicles.’

Starting in 1768, the largest part of the town’s hearth and its entire estate were awarded by the ruler to the St. Spiridon the New monastery of Bucharest, with all the local merchants becoming serfs. Consequently, the merchants would start fighting against the claims of the monastery, a fight that would last 100 years.

In his proclamation to Bucharesters of March 16, 1821, revolutionary leader Tudor Vladimirescu said that Rosiorii de Vede was one of the settlements that had joined the revolution. After the assassination of the leader of the 1821 Revolution, on May 27, 1821, the Ottomans started a slaughter of Vladimirescu’s followers known as pandurs, who took refuge to Oltenia. The town is conquered by Ottomans and burned down, the same as Caracal and Slatina were.

The dismantling of the Ottoman and of Turnu under the 1829 Treaty of Adrianople had lasting effects on the consequent development of Rosiorii de Vede. In Wallachia, it was known as one of the most important commercial and crafty centres, a reason why Article 1 in the Organic Regulation mentioned its right to send two delegates for the election of the ruler. Nevertheless, the adoption of the Organic Regulations led to worsening contradictions between the local merchants and the monastery that owned their land. Given the circumstances, traders, merchants, small boyars and the soldiers of Rosiorii de Vede joined the 1848 Revolution.

Prominent among the local militants for the Union of Romanian Principalities would be Alecu Petrescu, a former propaganda commissioner of the 1848 Revolution, who in 1855 joined the editorial desk of the Patria newspaper, a standard bearer of the unionist movement in Wallachia. Later on, following the revolutionary changes under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza (1859-1866), Rosiorii de Vede managed to break away from the authority of the St. Spiridon the New monastery.

The adoption of today’s name Rosiorii de Vede is said to have been the expression of the locals’ wish, and not a decision of the central administration, according to the website of the local town hall. The name started being used in official documents in 1864.

After an army mobilisation of April 1877 for the achievement of national independence, many locals enlisted on July 23, when the 3rd Company of eh 1st Teleorman Battalion was created as part of the Romanian army of operations. The locals also contributed to the Independence War by requisitions and shipments, subscriptions to purchase weaponry and cash donations as well as other volunteer contributions for the army.

In the first half of the 20th century, Rosiorii de Vede was known as a main hub for grain trade, with famous weekly trade fairs and larger annual fairs that was just about to embark on industrialisation.

After Romania joined in WWI in August 1916, many people of Rosiorii de Vede enlisted with the 20th Dorobanti, 60th Dorobanti and 4th Calarasi regiments. The German armies burned down the business centre of the town and took hostages in retaliation.

In WWII, after Romania switched sides on August 23, 1944 and joined the United Nations coalition, three companies of the 3rd Pioneers Regiment, headquartered some 6 km away from the town, went on a mission to take over the German garrison of the Rosiorii de Vede airfield. On August 25, 1944 at night, Romanian soldiers disarmed 500 heavily-armed German soldiers at the German airfield of Rosiorii de Vede.

In 1947, the 209-kmBucharest-Rosiori-Craiova railroad opened.

In the second half of the 20th century, the light and food industries developed, including cotton spinning and weaving, furniture manufacturing, rolling stock manufacturing, knitting, edible oil manufacturing, fruit and vegetable canning.

A March 4, 1977 strong earthquake left Rosiorii de Vede seriously damaged.

It was promoted to municipality on January 18, 1995. According to the 2011 census of the population and housing, the resident population of Rosiorii de Vede is 27,416.

Worth mentioning among the local monuments are the churches of St. Elijah (1804), St. Theodore-Tiron (1818), Sts. Constantine and Helena—Serdareasa (1832-1835), Dormition of the Mother of God (1836), St. Paraskeve (1836), St. John the New (1842), Holly Cross (1849), the remains of a St. Nicholas Church (1780), the East Station (1889), the Town Hall House (1912), the Court House (1912), and the Mamut House (1899). AGERPRES

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

Archaeological research have revealed remains dating from the Paleolithic, the Neolithic (Boian and Gumelnita cultures), the Metal Age and the Middle Ages.

Near the current territory of the city, in a place called “La Vii”, traces of a Geto-Dacian settlement of the 5th-4th centuries BC have been discovered, i.e. handmade ceramic vessels, bowls, cups with two handles, bronze fibulas etc. Also found were the vestiges of a settlement dating from the 4th century AC, with rectangular huts, and ceramic pots made of grey or reddish clay.

An old Romanian settlement dating from the 8th-11th centuries was discovered on the left bank of the Veda river. There are also archeological evidence at the beginning of feudalism about the economic development and social organization of local settlements (pits and pots for storing grain, agricultural tools, pottery).

The locality of Alexandra was founded on this territory in 1834 by Prince Alexandru Ghica (1834-1842).

The Russian occupation in Wallachia and Moldavia was put an end in March 1834, and the Ottoman Gate appointed, with Russia’s consent, new princes in the two principalities. Thus, Alexandru Ghica was appointed prince of Wallachia; he conducted a remarkable activity as regards the judiciary, urban development, communication and transport development, especially in the former rayas (territorial unit) of Turnu Magurele, Giurgiu and Braila.

Founded in 1834, according to the urban plans designed by Austrian engineer Otto von Moritz (the designer of the plans for Giurgiu, Braila and Turnu Severin), the city was named after Wallachia’s then-ruler Alexandru Dimitrie Ghica (1834-1842) whose bones are found today in a monumental sarcophagus inside the “St. Alexander” Episcopal Cathedral in Alexandria, according to the website of the city hall.

After being founded, Alexandria has rapidly become one of the most important trade-agrarian centers in the area.

In 1837 the city was largely destroyed by a violent fire.

The inhabitants of Alexandria took part in all the important events in the modern history of Romania: the 1848 Revolution, the Union of the Romanian Principalities (1859), the Romanian War of Independence (1877-1878), the Peasant Uprising of 1907, the First and the Second World Wars.

In the second half of the 19thh century and early 20th century, famous annual fairs were being held in Alexandria. Trade, dominated by grain and cattle, was the most important branch of the town’s economic life until 1948.

In the second half of the 20th century, Alexandria’s light and food industry has developed, and new enterprises were founded, such as the bearing plant, milling and bakery factory, fruit and vegetables enterprise etc.

After the county of Teleorman was refounded in 1968, Alexandria became its county seat. On July 27, 1979, the city of Alexandria is declared a municipality. The city suffered great damage due to the quake on March 4, 1977.

According to the 2011 census of people and housing, its resident population was standing at 45,434.

As of Sept. 1996, the headquarters of the Alexandria and Teleorman Bishopric have been established in Alexandria.

Among the main attractions of the city there are: the “Marin Preda” County Library; the History Museum of Alexandria (inaugurated on May 1, 1952), including collections of archaeology, numismatics, ethnography, art, history; the Teleorman Folk School of Arts, founded in 1978; the Romanian-French Cultural Centre, opened on April 14, 2000.

Photo credit: (c) Alex TUDOR / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

The list of the main monuments includes: the Orthodox Church dedicated to Saint Alexander, built between 1869 and 1898, in Byzantine-Romanesque style, with interior mural paintings by Stefan Luchian and Constantin Artachino in 1898; the churches “Saint Apostles Peter and Paul” (1842-1846, restored between 1902 and 1904), “Saint Nicholas” (1848-1850), “Saint Emperors Constantine and Helen” (1852),”The Dormition of the Mother of God” (1858-1860), “The Healing Fountain” (1859-1861); monuments built in memory of the peasants killed during the 1907 Uprising and the heroes who died during the First World War; the busts of Prince Alexandru Ghica and Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza.AGERPRES