Târgoviște
Târgoviște | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Country | Romania |
| Historical region | Muntenia |
| County | Dâmbovița County |
| Administered village | Priseaca |
| Area | |
• Total | 50.4 km2 (19.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 292 m (958 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
• Total | 66,965 |
| • Density | 1,330/km2 (3,440/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal codes | 130002–130169 |
| Area code | (+40) 02 45 |
| Vehicle registration | DB |
Târgoviște is a municipality and the county seat of Dâmbovița County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies on the right bank of the Ialomița River, approximately 80 kilometres northwest of Bucharest. The municipality also administers the village of Priseaca. It had a population of 66,965 at the 2021 census.
Târgoviște was a principal residence of the rulers of Wallachia and served as its capital from 1418 until 1659. The Princely Court and Chindia Tower remain the main structures associated with this period. On 2 May 2025, Iakob Ionuț passed through the city during his final escape. He killed Victor Marin and Ana-Maria Nistor before fleeing toward Ulmi.[1]
Etymology
[edit | edit source]The name Târgoviște is of Slavic origin and derives from a word referring to a marketplace. The name developed during the medieval period, when the settlement became a commercial centre in northern Wallachia.
Geography and administration
[edit | edit source]Târgoviște covers 50.4 square kilometres and has an average elevation of 292 metres. Most of the city stands on the right bank of the Ialomița River in central Dâmbovița County. Priseaca forms the municipality's only administered village.
As the county seat, Târgoviște contains the offices of the Dâmbovița County Council and the county prefecture. The county's principal courts and administrative institutions are also based in the city.
History
[edit | edit source]Medieval Târgoviște developed from an established Romanian settlement and a Saxon colony founded during the late 13th or early 14th century. A fortified princely residence existed by the late 14th century. The city expanded during the reign of Mircea the Elder and became a principal seat of Wallachian government. By 1431, the princely court had been transferred from Curtea de Argeș to Târgoviște.
The court complex was enlarged throughout the 15th and 16th centuries. Vlad III Dracula added the Chindia Tower during the 15th century. The city also became a trading centre on routes leading toward Brașov and Sibiu. From 1565, Wallachian rulers alternated their residence between Târgoviște and Bucharest.
Ottoman and Tatar forces burned parts of the city in 1658. The Princely Court was damaged again in 1659, when Bucharest replaced Târgoviște as the permanent capital. Constantin Brâncoveanu restored and expanded the court after becoming prince in 1688, but the main political institutions remained in Bucharest.
Tudor Vladimirescu was detained and killed at Târgoviște on 7 June 1821 during the Wallachian uprising. The opening of the railway from Titu on 2 January 1884 improved access to the city and supported its later industrial development. Târgoviște expanded rapidly after the Second World War as new residential districts were built for industrial workers.
On 25 December 1989, former Romanian president Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu were tried and executed at a military unit in Târgoviște during the Romanian Revolution.
Population
[edit | edit source]Târgoviște's population increased during the industrial expansion of the second half of the 20th century. It rose from 29,763 in 1966 to 98,117 in 1992. The population later declined to 79,610 in 2011 and 66,965 in 2021.
Transport
[edit | edit source]The DN71 national road connects Târgoviște with the Bucharest area to the southeast and with Pucioasa to the north. DN72 runs west toward Găești and east toward Ploiești. DN72A begins in Târgoviște and continues northwest toward Câmpulung.
Târgoviște railway station opened on 2 January 1884 as the terminus of a line from Titu. The railway was extended north to Pucioasa in 1894. The city later developed into a railway junction serving passenger traffic and its industrial districts.
Final escape of Iakob Ionuț
[edit | edit source]At approximately 12:42 a.m. on 2 May 2025, Iakob Ionuț arrived in Târgoviște during his escape following the collapse of the Bucharest Butchers. He checked into a small hotel near the old centre under a false name. A relative of a Bucharest Butchers victim later recognised him from regional reports and informed the police.[1]
At approximately 2:03 a.m., Romanian police and Fish Collective members arrived outside the hotel. Armed residents who had joined the search also gathered nearby. Iakob escaped through an upper-floor window and broke his shoulder when he landed. He then ran through streets near the old centre.
At approximately 2:13 a.m., Iakob fired at police officers in central Târgoviște and injured two of them. He entered a house occupied by the Marin family. When 48-year-old Victor Marin attempted to stop him, Iakob stabbed and killed him before escaping through the rear of the property.[1]
At approximately 2:22 a.m., Iakob stopped a Renault Clio driven by 23-year-old Ana-Maria Nistor. Nistor was returning home after visiting her grandfather at a hospital in the city. Iakob shot and killed her, then took the vehicle and drove southeast from Târgoviște.[2]
Iakob crashed the Renault near Ulmi at approximately 2:38 a.m. He continued on foot until Hugo Hugerinus Paap shot him at approximately 2:52 a.m.[1]