Romanichthys Valsanicola/Sandbox

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Comana Natural Park is in Region of Country.

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Sleep

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Caracal is a historic city in southwestern Romania, located in the Oltenia region. Known for its unique blend of cultural heritage, intriguing architecture, and a rich tapestry of folklore, Caracal has long been an important center in the region. The city is often recognized for its iconic buildings and humorous anecdotes, often shared across Romania with a playful sense of humor about city's quirks. With a population of around 30,000, Caracal offers visitors a welcoming, small-town atmosphere paired with significant historical and cultural sites that speak to its long-standing role in Romanian history.

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Though often overlooked by travelers, Caracal is rich in history, culture, and local traditions, making it a worthwhile stop for those exploring the area. The city is perhaps best known for its legends, historic architecture, and its role as a cultural hub in the region.

Caracal’s history dates back centuries, with archaeological evidence indicating that the region has been inhabited since ancient times. By the 19th century, Caracal had become an important administrative and economic center in the Oltenia region. The city is situated in the fertile plains of the Romanați area, which has historically been an agricultural heartland, contributing to its prosperity.

One of the city's most notable historic periods was during the reign of Wallachian princes, when Caracal served as a strategic hub. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the city expanded, leading to the construction of significant buildings that still stand today, both showcasing Neo-Romanian architectural influences. These buildings are not only architectural treasures but also serve as a reminder of the city’s historical and cultural significance.

Get in

Caracal is well-connected and accessible by various modes of transportation, making it a convenient stop for travelers exploring southern Romania or traveling internationally.

By Train

Caracal is located on an international railway line, making it accessible for travelers coming from countries like Serbia or Bulgaria, as well as from within Romania. The city’s train station is part of Romania's national rail network, with regular services connecting it to major cities like Bucharest, Craiova, and Timișoara. You can choose between slower, budget-friendly trains (Regio) or faster, more comfortable options (InterRegio). International trains passing through Caracal typically connect to major European routes.

By Bus

Intercity buses and minibusses frequently connect Caracal with nearby cities such as Craiova, Slatina, and Alexandria. These are an efficient option for regional travel and operate multiple times daily.

By Car

Caracal is conveniently located on several regional roads. The city lies about 50 km east of Craiova and roughly 150 km west of Bucharest. DN6 (European route E70) connects Caracal to major cities and international routes. Driving offers flexibility for exploring nearby attractions, and parking is widely available in the city center and near key landmarks.

By Air

The nearest airport is Craiova International Airport (CRA), located approximately 50 km away. This airport serves domestic and international flights, including low-cost carriers. From the airport, you can reach Caracal by car, taxi, or bus.

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Principality of Wallachia coat of arms. In the traditional form of Aquila Valahica, used in second half of XVI century, XVII century, XVIII century, and first half of XIX century.

Map of Wallachia around 1390

The Principality of Wallachia (Romanian:principatul Țării Românești) is a historical European state. Wallachia is, with Moldavia and Transylvania, one of the three medieval principalities with a Romanian-speaking population; with Moldavia, it is one of the two “Danubian principalities” and, by its union with Moldavia in 1859, it is at the origin of Romania.

Wallachia was divided into județe (counties) and governed by a voivode (later hospodar) elected by the assembly of boyars, assisted by a Sfat domnesc (princely council). It had legislation (Pravila), an army (Oastea), a fleet on the Danube (Bolozanele) and a diplomatic corps (Logofeții): it was therefore not, as most modern historical works inaccurately represent, a Turkish province, but a principality at first independent, then autonomous, and only tributary to the Ottoman sultan of Constantinople (from 1460, but with interruptions). The principality of Wallachia successively had three capitals: Curtea de Argeș, Târgoviște and Bucharest.

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“ Mudromu I plemenitomu, I cistitomu I B(o)gom darovannomu zupan Hanăș Begner ot Brașov mnog(o) zdravie ot Nécșul ot Dlugopole.

I pak dau știre domnietale za lucrul turcilor, cum am auzit eu că împăratul au ieșit den Sofiia și aimintrea nu e. Și se-au dus în sus pre Dunăre.

I pak să știi domniia-ta că au venit un om de la Nicopoe de mie mi-au spus că au văzut cu ochii lui că au trecut ceale corăbii ce știi și domniia-ta pre Dunăre în sus.

I pak să știi că bagă den toate orașele câte 50 de oamini să fie în ajutor în corăbii.

I pak să știi cumu se-au prins nește meșteri den Țarigrad cum vor treace aceale corabii la locul cela strimtul ce știi și domniia ta.

I pak spui domnietale de lucrul lu Mahamet-Beg, cum am auzit de boiari ce sânt megiiaș(i) și de genere-miu Negre, cumu i-au dat împăratul slobozie lui Mahamet-Beg, pre io-i va fi voia pren Țeara Rumânească, iară el să treacă.

I pak să știi domniia ta că are frică mare și Băsărab de acel lotru de Mahamet-Beg, mai vârtos de domniele voastre.

I pak spui domnietale ca mai-marele miu de ce am înțeles și eu. Eu spui domnietale, iară domniia ta ești înțelept și aceaste cuvinte să ții domniiata la tine, să nu știe oamini mulți și domniele vostre să vă păziți cum știți mai bine.

I B(og)i te ves(e)lit, Aminu

”

—Neacșu's letter, 1521

While the Russian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1721, it was preceded by Russian kingdoms dating back as early as the 9th century. Due to the complete Ottoman conquest and annexation of Bulgaria by 1396, Wallachia bordered on the state of the Ottoman sultans and, despite fierce resistance by Prince Mircea the Elder against Sultan Bayezid I, became dependent after the battles of Rovine in 1395 and Nicopolis in 1396. to the Ottoman Empire. An exact point in time for the beginning of the Wallachian dependency on the Ottomans can hardly be pinpointed, since it was a gradual process that was never regulated in a binding manner. Initially there were isolated, later regular tribute payments to maintain the peace. The voivodes viewed the payment of tributes as a payment to buy peace, while the Ottoman side interpreted it as submission to the sultan's supremacy. Tributes had to be paid to the sultan's court in Edirne and from 1453 in Constantinople, which over the centuries secured the state's internal autonomy and also prevented a violent conquest and Islamization of the principality. After the political overthrow of Prince Vlad the Impaler in 1462, however, solidified the political dependence on the neighbor to the south. Due to the weakness of the rulers and internal power struggles within the boyar oligarchy, the principality became a de facto vassal state of the Ottoman Empire in the following centuries, which meant that the Wallachian princes, also known as Voivode or Hospodar, were obliged to serve in the Ottoman army in addition to paying tribute .

At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Wallachia and other Ottoman protectorates in the region briefly regained their independence, helped by a period of weakness in the Ottoman Empire. The Principality of Wallachia was united for the first time in 1600 with the Principality of Transylvania and the Principality of Moldova in the course of a personal union under Prince Michael the Brave for almost a year. Târgovişte was the capital of Wallachia until 1659, then Bucharest.

The Danube cities of Giurgiu and Turnu Măgurele (from 1417) and Brăila (from 1538) were under direct Ottoman rule until 1829.

The union with the Principality of Moldova in 1859 gave rise to the Principality of Romania, proclaimed on December 24, 1861, which is considered the successor to both states.

Talk

The use of the Romanian name for the language as well as the Romanian name to designate the speakers of this language, did not wait for the founding of the state of Romania. Although the subjects of the voivodeships were referred to as "Ardeleni" (or "Ungureni"), "Moldoveni" or "Munteni", the name "rumână" sau "rumâniască" for the language is attested during the 16th century to several foreign travelers and in Romanian documents. The oldest preserved document, written in Romanian, is the Letter of Neacșu din Câmpulung, dating from 1521. It uses the Greek-Slavonic Cyrillic alphabet specific to the Romanian language (and different from the Russian one).

The Slavic influence was the first to occur during the formation of the Romanian language, due to the migration of the Slavic tribes (who crossed the territory of today's Romania). According to some authors, the influence of the Slavic language manifested itself especially after the introduction of the Cyrillic alphabet (late ninth century). Slavic influence continued into the Middle Ages, especially through the use of the Church Slavonic language, for liturgical purposes and as the language of the chancellery, until the eighteenth century. The other neighboring languages ​​(all Slavic, except Hungarian) influenced Romanian.

The slow process of institutionalization of the Romanian language, as an official language used in public space, in literature and in the Church, began in the late fifteenth century and ended in the first decades of the eighteenth century, when its ecclesiastical use had become widespread. The oldest Romanian texts of a literary nature are religious manuscripts, translations of some elementary biblical texts. The language remains relatively poorly attested in the early modern period.

Destinations

Muntenia

Mountainous North

• 1 Târgoviște. The traditional capital of the Kingdom of Poland and the whole Commonwealth.  
• 2 Curtea de Argeș. De facto capital for most of the commonwealth's history.  
  • Wilanów Palace. Baroque royal palace, dubbed the "Polish Versailles". 
• 3 Câmpulung. Located between Kraków and Vilnius, the union between Poland and Lithuania was signed here in 1569. Moreover, Lublin was the seat of the Polish Crown Tribunal (highest appeal court) during spring and summer. Old town with castle, national museum and cathedral.  
• 4 Piotrków Trybunalski. One of the royal cities, first seat of the Sejm (parliament) and seat of the Polish Crown Tribunal during autumn and winter.  
• 5 Gdańsk. Chief seaport.  
  • 1 Oliwa. Place of a 1627 naval battle against Sweden and the 1660 peace treaty ending the Second Northern War ("Swedish Deluge"). Cathedral and rococo palace.  
• 6 Poznań. Capital of the Greater Poland Province.  
• 7 Zamość. The Renaissance old town is a World Heritage site.  

Oltenia

• 8 Vilnius. Capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.  

Belarus

• 9 Grodno. Secondary capital of Lithuania, alternate seat of the Sejm and the Lithuanian Tribunal. During the 1793 Grodno Sejm, the deputies submitted to Russia, quashed the constitution and accepted the second partition of Poland.  
• 10 Minsk. Was the capital of a Polish-Lithuanian voivodeship. The baroque Catholic cathedral from that period is extant. Minsk's city hall is a modern reconstruction of the Baroque-Neoclassical one from the Polish-Lithuanian era.  
• 2 Mir Castle Complex. Late-Gothic castle of Polish-Lithuanian magnates.  
• 3 Nesvizh Castle. Residence of the Radziwiłł family, one of the wealthies and most powerful clans of Poland-Lithuania.  

Ukraine

• 11 Lviv. Used to be the capital of the Ruthenian Voivodeship of Poland-Lithuania. Many Renaissance and Baroque buildings in the city centre are evidence of that period.  

See also

• Austro-Hungarian Empire
• Ottoman Empire
• Russian Empire
• Byzantine Empire
• Thirty Years War

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Budeasa is a village near the city of Pitesti, which is best known for Budeasa Dam.

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Regarding the name of Budeasa commune, we can say that it comes from the name of the Budișteanu boyars, the first owners of these lands. There is also the version that the name of this locality comes from the derivation of the old Slavic word "Bud", which has become "voda"-water in modern Slavic. This name justifies the large number of springs and waters found in this region.

Get in

It's just off the A1 motorway, near Pitești.

Get around

See and do

• 4 Budeasa Dam (Barajul Budeasa). (updated Nov 2022)
• 5 Cula Budișteanu. (updated Nov 2022)
• 6 Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God (Biserica ,,Adormirea Maicii Domnului”). (updated Nov 2022)
• The ensemble of the Hagi Tudorache House. (updated Nov 2022)
• 7 Saint Nicholas Church (Biserica Sfântul Nicolae). (updated Nov 2022)
• 8 Tabacovici Mansion (Conacul Tabacovici). (updated Nov 2022)
• 1 Budeasa Public Beach (Plaja Publică Budeasa). (updated Nov 2022)
• 2 Ciucaș Glade-Budeasa (Poiana Ciucaș-Budeasa). (updated Nov 2022)
• 3 Little Prince Leisure Base. (updated Nov 2022)

Sleep

• 1 Pensiunea Budeasa. (updated Nov 2022)
• 2 Karl King. (updated Nov 2022)
• 3 Casa Lidia și Gogu. (updated Nov 2022)
• 4 Pensiunea Margareta. (updated Nov 2022)
• 5 Vila Budeasa. (updated Nov 2022)

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Romanichthys Valsanicola/Sandbox is a commune situated in the Muntenia, on the western outskirts of Bucharest. Serving as a suburban residential area near the bustling capital is standing as a testament to the dynamic growth of the Bucharest metropolitan area.

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The village’s history dates back to the 18th century, with its name believed to have originated from Doamna Chiajna, the wife of Vornicul Cernica-Știrbei. The first settlers are said to have arrived from the Ottoman Empire, establishing their homes on the estate owned by Doamna Chiajna. The first documented mention of Chiajna is in relation to the burning of Constantin Ipsilanti’s palace on the Cotroceanca estate in 1787.

Militari Residence has been the subject of some controversy due to issues such as construction quality and infrastructure. However, it continues to be a popular choice for many due to its modern amenities and convenient location.

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Marginimea Sibiului

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Marginimea Sibiului is a picturesque rural region in southern Transylvania, Romania, renowned for its well-preserved traditional villages, rich cultural heritage, and beautiful mountain landscapes. Located near the city of Sibiu, this area is famous for its pastoral life, traditional architecture, and local crafts. It is an excellent destination for those looking to experience authentic Romanian rural life while enjoying outdoor activities such as hiking and cycling.

===Regions=== Marginimea Sibiului is made up of several small villages, each with its own unique charm and traditions. Notable villages include Rășinari, Săliște, and Gura Râului. This region is part of the larger Sibiu County in the historical region of Transylvania.

===Cities=== There are no major cities in Marginimea Sibiului, as it is primarily a rural area. However, nearby Sibiu serves as the urban center for those visiting the region. Sibiu is a former European Capital of Culture and boasts medieval architecture, museums, and vibrant cultural life.

Other destinations

Rășinari – One of the oldest and most picturesque villages in Marginimea Sibiului, known for its pastoral heritage and as the birthplace of Romanian writers and intellectuals. Păltiniș – A mountain resort in the Cindrel Mountains, popular for hiking and skiing. Săliște – A traditional village, known for its local crafts and artisans, particularly in textiles and pottery. Cindrel Mountains – Offering beautiful hikes, panoramic views, and nature experiences. Gura Râului – A tranquil village set against a scenic backdrop of mountains and forests, known for its natural beauty. ==Understand== Marginimea Sibiului is a cluster of Romanian Orthodox villages that have preserved their traditional way of life over the centuries. The area is recognized for its historical architecture, folk customs, and rich pastoral economy, particularly sheep farming. The local people are known for their craftsmanship in textiles, ceramics, and woodwork. The region offers visitors a glimpse into authentic rural life in Transylvania, and it has been listed as an ethnographic region of national importance in Romania.

The area’s proximity to Sibiu makes it an ideal destination for travelers interested in rural tourism, traditional culture, and outdoor activities. Many of the villages host festivals throughout the year that celebrate their cultural heritage, including traditional music, dance, and crafts.

===Get in=== The easiest way to reach Marginimea Sibiului is through the city of Sibiu, which has an international airport (Sibiu International Airport) and is well-connected by road and rail to other major Romanian cities such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, and Brașov. From Sibiu, you can travel by car or use local buses that serve the villages in the region. Driving is the most convenient way to explore Marginimea Sibiului, as it gives you more flexibility to visit the different villages at your own pace.

===Get around=== The best way to get around Marginimea Sibiului is by car or bicycle, especially if you plan to visit multiple villages. The roads are generally well-maintained, but some smaller roads may be narrow and winding. There are also some local buses that connect the villages, but the schedules can be limited.

For those interested in hiking, many trails connect the villages to the surrounding Cindrel Mountains, offering scenic routes through forests, pastures, and along rivers.

See

Traditional Village Architecture – The villages of Marginimea Sibiului are known for their well-preserved traditional houses, churches, and wooden gates. Orthodox Churches and Monasteries – Each village has its own church, many of which feature beautiful iconography and wooden architecture. Rășinari Ethnographic Museum – A small museum showcasing local history, traditions, and artifacts related to the pastoral lifestyle. Sibiel Glass Icon Museum – This unique museum in the village of Sibiel houses a large collection of traditional glass icons, a folk art form popular in Transylvania. Sheepfolds (stâne) – Visit the traditional sheepfolds in the hills, where you can see how shepherds live and produce local cheeses such as telemea and caș.

Do

Hiking in the Cindrel Mountains – There are several marked trails leading from the villages into the nearby mountains, ideal for day hikes or longer treks. Cycling – The rural roads and trails between the villages are great for cycling, offering scenic views and a peaceful atmosphere. Attend a Traditional Festival – Throughout the year, villages host various festivals celebrating local customs, such as the Shepherds’ Festival in Rășinari. Sheepfold Visits – Visit a traditional sheepfold to learn about sheep farming and taste fresh, local cheeses. ===Eat=== The cuisine in Marginimea Sibiului is deeply rooted in pastoral traditions. Some local specialties include:

Telemea – A type of soft, salty white cheese made from sheep's milk. Caș – A fresh, unsalted cheese also made from sheep's milk, often used in traditional dishes. Ciorbă de burtă – A Romanian tripe soup, commonly served in the region. Mămăligă – A cornmeal dish similar to polenta, often served with cheese and sour cream. Smoked meats – Various cured and smoked meats, such as sausages and ham, are typical of the area. Many guesthouses and local restaurants serve traditional Romanian dishes, often made from locally sourced ingredients.

===Drink=== Try the local homemade țuică, a traditional Romanian plum brandy, often served as a welcome drink by locals. You can also find local wines and herbal teas made from plants gathered in the mountains.

===Stay safe=== Marginimea Sibiului is a generally safe region for tourists. The villages are peaceful and crime rates are low. However, when hiking in the mountains, make sure to stick to marked trails and be aware of potential encounters with wildlife, such as bears and wolves.

===Go next=== From Marginimea Sibiului, you can easily explore other parts of Transylvania:

Sibiu – Just a short drive away, Sibiu offers rich cultural experiences, museums, and medieval architecture. Alba Iulia – Known for its impressive citadel and historical significance. Transfăgărășan Road – One of the most scenic drives in Romania, offering stunning mountain views and access to hiking trails. Brașov – A beautiful medieval city with a well-preserved old town and access to nearby castles, such as Bran Castle and Râșnov Fortress.