Schitu Golești – historic church, Roman fort and landscape

Culture

The Schitul Golești ensemble in Valea Pechii is a national historic monument. It comprises the “Sf. Trei Ierarhi” Church, monks’ cells, a bell tower and an enclosing wall. Thus, the sacred building, monastic rooms and structural enclosure belong to the same historic complex.

Construction of the “Sf. Trei Ierarhi” Church in Schitu Golești began in 1670 and was completed in 1676. In 1802, the church became a parish church and bears this patronage. Fragments of the original frescoes have been preserved in its apses. The building history therefore extends from the 17th century to its later use as a parish church.

The church’s ecclesiastical holdings include the Gospel, 12 Menaia and icons painted on wood in the 17th century. These preserved components supplement the information about the church’s architecture and history with religious books and artworks handed down through the generations.

History

The exhibition at the Roman fort of Jidava includes pottery as well as inscribed brick and roof-tile fragments. Amphorae and mosaic pieces are also part of the exhibition. It also includes water conduits, weapons and military equipment accessories. The exhibits therefore range from vessels and building remains to conduits and military objects.

The Principia, Praetorium and Horreum, among other structures, have been restored on the grounds of the Roman fort of Jidava. The fort was built between 190 and 211 AD. Its construction took place during the reigns of the emperors Commodus and Septimius Severus. Between 244 and 245 AD, it was destroyed by the invasion of the Carpi. The restored building sections are therefore associated with a complex whose construction and destruction period spans several decades of the 2nd and 3rd centuries.

Landscape

The municipality of Schitu Golești lies on national road DN 73 between Pitești and Brașov. It is 7 kilometres south of Câmpulung. This location connects the municipality to the road between the two cities while also placing it in the immediate surroundings of Câmpulung.

High hills characterize the municipality, with ridges that are extensive and angular in shape. The surfaces are divided into terraces. The terrain includes narrow, slightly eroded watersheds. Steep slopes are marked by pronounced erosion processes. Thus, extensive ridges, divided surfaces, narrow watersheds and steep slopes alternate within the municipality.

Level terraces and narrow floodplains run along the Râul Târgului. These floodplains are 200 to 300 metres wide. The river receives water from the side valleys.

The local hills have smooth, parallel ridges separated by valleys and known as muscele. The terraces are covered with pastureland and orchards. In addition to the prominent ridges, the landscape therefore also includes the muscele separated by valleys and the agriculturally shaped terraces.

For further orientation, you will also find Băiculeşti, Dragoslavele, Godeni, Bradu, Valea Mare-Bratia, Coteneşti, Bălilești and Podu Dâmboviței.

Remembrance

The war memorial in Schitu Golești was erected in 1932. Its inscriptions commemorate local war dead from the First World War and also name people who died in the service of the lignite mine. The monument thus links remembrance of the war dead with the memory of those who died in mining.

For the higher-level travel overview: Argeş.