The Old Princely Court MuseumThe Old Princely Court Museum (Curtea Veche) houses the oldest historical testimonies of Bucharest, dating from the XIIIth century. However, the most remarkable fact about this location is that it had been lived in for over 500 years. Very few places in Bucharest can claim such historical importance. The museum is organized within the space provided by the Princely Court, where Wallachian rulers had resided beginning with the XIVth century. The Old Princely Court is the oldest medieval monument found in Bucharest. Between the years 1459 and 1660, Bucharest was where Wallachian rulers dwelled, along with the country’s old capital city, Târgovişte. After 1660 Bucharest became the sole capital city. The Old Princely Court’s golden age came to pass during the time of Constantin Brâncoveanu (1688-1714), when the surface of the Voivodal Palace, its surrounding court, and adjacent gardens covered a total of 25 000 square meters. This space’s borders are marked today by the Dâmboviţa River on the South side, the streets of Smârdan and Şelari on the West, by Lipscani on the northern border, and by I.C. Brătianu Boulevard to the East. After 1798 a large part of the terrain was auctioned off and bit by bit replaced with modern streets and neighborhoods. The museum was arranged and polished between 1969 and 1974 and keeps intact the historical print of the XVIIIth century as well as wall fragments from the time of Vlad Ţepeş (1456-1462), as well as the foundations of the first residence, dating from the XIVth century.
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