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CURTEA DE ARGESH (Rumanian, Curtea de...

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 651 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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CURTEA DE ARGESH (Rumanian, Curtea de Arges; also written Curtea d'Argesh, Curtea d'Ardges, Argish and Ardjish) , the See also:

capital of the See also:department of Argesh, See also:Rumania; situated on the right See also:bank of the See also:river Argesh, where it flows through a valley of the See also:lower Carpathians; and on the railway from See also:Pitesci to the Rothenthurm Pass. Pop. (1900) 4210. The See also:city is one of the See also:oldest in Rumania. According to tradition it was founded See also:early in the 14th See also:century by See also:Prince Radu Negru, succeeding See also:Campulung as capital of See also:Walachia. Hence its name Curtea, " the See also:court." It contains a few See also:antique churches, and was created a bishopric at the See also:close of the 18th century. The See also:cathedral of Curtea de Argesh, by far the most famous See also:building in Rumania, stands in the grounds of a monastery, 12 m. N. of the city. It resembles a very large and elaborate See also:mausoleum, built in See also:Byzantine See also:style, with Moorish arabesques. In shape it is oblong, with a many-sided annexe at the back. In the centre rises a See also:dome, fronted by two smaller cupolas; while a secondary dome, broader and loftier than the central one, springs from the annexe. Each See also:summit is crowned by an inverted See also:pear-shaped See also:stone, bearing a triple See also:cross, emblematic of the Trinity.

The windows are See also:

mere slits; those of the tambours, or cylinders, on which the cupolas See also:rest, are curved, and slant at an See also:angle of 70°, as though the tambours were leaning to one See also:side. Between the See also:pediment and the See also:cornice a thick corded moulding is carried See also:round the See also:main building. Above this comes a See also:row of circular See also:shields, adorned with intricate arabesques, while bands and wreaths of lilies are everywhere scupltured on the windows, balconies, tambours and cornices, adding lightness to the fabric. The whole is raised on a See also:platform 7 ft. high, and encircled by a stone See also:balustrade. Facing the main entrance is a small open See also:shrine, consisting of a cornice and dome upheld by four pillars. The cathedral is faced with See also:pale See also:grey See also:limestone, easily chiselled, but hardening on exposure. The interior is of See also:brick, plastered and decorated with frescoes. Close by stands a large royal See also:palace, Moorish in style. The archives of the cathedral were plundered by See also:Magyars and Moslems, but several See also:inscriptions, See also:Greek, Slav and Ruman, are See also:left. One tablet records that the founder was Prince Neagoe See also:Bassarab (1512-1521); another that Prince See also:John Radu completed the See also:work in 1526. A third describes the See also:repairs executed in 1681 by Prince Sherban See also:Cantacuzino; a See also:fourth, the restoration, in 1804, by See also:Joseph, the first See also:bishop. Between 1875 and 1885 the cathedral was reconstructed; and in 1886 it was re-consecrated.

Its legends have inspired many Rumanian poets, among them the celebrated V. Alexandri (1821-1890). One tradition describes how Neagoe Bassarab, while a See also:

hostage in See also:Constantinople, designed a splendid See also:mosque for the See also:sultan, returning to build the cathedral out of the surplus materials. Another version makes him employ one Manole or Manoli as architect. Manolet being unable to finish the walls, the prince threatened him and his assistant with See also:death. At last Manole suggested that they should follow the See also:ancient See also:custom of building a living woman into the See also:foundations; and that she who first appeared on the following See also:morning should be the victim. The other masons warned their families, and Manole was forced to See also:sacrifice his own wife. Thus the cathedral was built except the roof. So arrogant, however, did the masons become, that the prince bade remove the scaffolding, and all, See also:save Manole, perished of See also:hunger. He See also:fell to the ground, and a See also:spring of clear See also:water, which issued from the spot, is still called after him.

End of Article: CURTEA DE ARGESH (Rumanian, Curtea de Arges; also written Curtea d'Argesh, Curtea d'Ardges, Argish and Ardjish)

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