History of Targoviste

lang="EN-US">Another nucleus of the city was built by Saxon colonists from Transylvania, in the area where the Catholic Saint Mary Church is located, a church that was built during the early years of the colony. A local tradition says that the church was build in 1300. The colonists came around the end of the 13th century and the beginning of the 14th century, the same period that Câmpulung was colonized. There is archeological evidence that the land occupied by the new colonists had been previously inhabited by locals, which leads to the conclusion that it had been approved by the local ruler.

The colonists influenced the local administration, as Târgoviște was the only town in Wallachia that had Transylvanian organization features, having official titles such as birău and folnog, which are found in documents together with local officials, like vornic and pristav. The town had a night watch which was also known by a Latin term (viglu < vigilia) instead of the local terms such pază or strajă.

After 1400, the town began to grow and become denser. Both Saxon part (around the stronghold) and in the Romanian part, there were several large dwellings with cellars and tile stoves similar to those found in Central Europe. The wealth is also known based on the number of treasure troves discovered, the largest being a hoard of 6284 silver coins, found in the Saxon part of the town. The town gravitated around the Saxon part, this being valid until the Saxon community began its decline during the 16th century.

Capital of Wallachia

In the 14th century, the capital of Wallachia was Curtea de Argeș, however, due to Târgoviște's economic growth, toward the end of the century, it became a secondary residence of the