Anthropic tourism potential of GORJ County

PMPolovragi Monastery is located in the contact area of the Carpathians with The Subcarpathians, near The Polovragi Cave (which the monastery administrated for 300 years), at the entrance of The Olteţ Gorges. The monastery has existed for over 500 years.

Polovragi commune takes its name from a rare plant that grew here, “polovragi” used by a famous medicine man that lived in the mountain cave to cure people of stomach and bones diseases. Archaeological excavations in Polovragi have revealed the remains of a fortress and a cemetery since Dacian times. A big celebration (Nedeia) takes place every year, on the 20th of July, in Polovragi, where people from Gorj, Vâlcea and Transylvania come.

RRânca resort, located along Transalpina Road, has four ski slopes equipped with ski lifts and nocturne, the most famous ski resort in the Oltenia Region. Declared as having the greatest winter tourism potential in Romania, the resort has a large ski area, located between 1600 m and 2100 m altitude. The area is growing and the number of accommodation and catering is increasing from year to year.

IMIcon Monastery (Crasna – Carpiniş) was raised in 1997 at the initiative of a priest originally from the area.

CMCrasna monastery (The hermitage) was founded in 1636 by Pitar Dumitru Filişanu being a monastery of monks.

CF Curtişoara Folk Architecture Museum, founded in 1975, comprises a number of 30 objectives that show the lifestyle of Gorj over time. It was built around the assembly constituted of Cornoiu Manor and other buildings raised by families who owned it.

RCThe Roman camp, in Bumbeşti Jiu, was intended to defend and ensure the entry into The Jiu Defile as well as to supervise the Dacian population from here.

The camp was built and used between the two wars against Dacia by the Romans (101-102 and 105-106); It was originally made of earth and then, in 201, stone walls were raised. Today it retains only the east side (167 meters) and partially the south side (88 meters). In 2002, inside the fort there was discovered a Roman imperial treasure consisting of 92 silver coins, covering a period of almost 50 years.

RVThe ruins of Vişina Monastery, situated at the entrance of The Jiu Defile, were made of stone during Mircea the Old (1386-1418).

LMLainici Monastery – at an altitude of 450 m. The name of the monastery is given by the passage where the monastery is, the word LAINICI is of Greek origin and means “pass through the mountains “.

The old church was built between 1812 and 1813, on the site of an old wooden church shaped like a ship (1770-1794). After 1990, a new church was built near the old one shaped like a Greek cross. Near the monastery, at an altitude of 750-800 m, there is Locurele Hermitage which was sanctified in 1860.

CBConstantin Brâncuşi Memorial House inaugurated in 1971, is a folk architecture monument.

Constantin Brâncuşi (1876 -1957) was a Romanian sculptor with overwhelming contributions to the contemporary sculpture. Considered by some critics as the greatest sculptor of the XX^th century, Constantin Brâncuşi is the most famous Romanian artist. He attended the School of Arts and Crafts in Craiova, Bucharest and Munich; after six months he starts walking through Bavaria up to France, where he takes the train to Paris – where he lives much of his life. In 1905, he was accepted to the prestigious École Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts. He died when he was 81 years old, leaving behind 1200 photographs and 215 sculptures of an incalculable aesthetic and cultural value. He was buried in Montparnasse cemetery from Paris. His works are exhibited in New York, Washington, Paris and Bucharest. In 2009, one of Brâncuşi ‘s sculptures – Madame LR- was sold for $ 37 million.

“The human body is beautiful only when it reflects the soul.”

“Work like a slave, command like a king, create like a god!”

Constantin Brâncuşi

TMTismana Monastery is the oldest monastery in Ţara Românească.

The founder of the monastery was the monk Nicodim. The legend says that Nicodim walked along the valley and the beauty of the landscape was decisive in choosing the place for the holy sanctuary, on Stârmina rock, with a 40 m waterfall whose waters flow in the river. There were also other reasons in choosing the place: the trout, the forests of edible chestnut, the walnut and the grape-vines that grow in the wild, but also historical events related to maintaining the independence of Ţăra Româneascã and stopping the Catholic influence south of the Carpathians. On the back of a document of the Romanian ruler Dan II there are two dates, namely that the church was sanctified in 6886, ie 1377-1378 and that Nicodemus died in 6915 (1406-1407). Near the monastery there is Cioclovina Hermitage.

TVTudor Vladimirescu Memorial House. He was the leader of the revolution of 1821. The house is a typical rustic house with wooden porch. The two rooms manage to recreate the Romanian village atmosphere of the early XIX^th century and depict the life and work of Tudor from images and documents. It is located at 50 km south-east of Tãrgu-Jiu.