Curtea Veche

Curtea Veche, the Old Princely Court, is the ruins of Bucharest's former royal court, the place from which the city was governed during the glory centuries of Wallachia. Here too lies the first documentary mention of Bucharest, in a deed issued in 1459, linked to Vlad the Impaler, the ruler who strengthened the court in the 15th century and made the citadel a base for his reign. To walk among these old walls, among the brick foundations and worn stones, is to step, quite literally, through the city's beginnings.

Alongside the ruins of the princely palace, the complex includes the Old Court Church, the oldest church in Bucharest preserved on its original site, founded by Mircea Ciobanul in the 16th century, where the rulers of Wallachia were once anointed. It is precisely this concentration of history, right in the Old Town, that makes the site unmissable for anyone wanting to understand where it all began and how the city grew up around the court.

Good to know

• Check the official website or the site itself for visiting hours, as the complex has undergone extensive restoration work in recent years.
• It sits in the heart of the Old Town, a few steps from Manuc's Inn and the area's other attractions.
• The nearest metro station is Piața Unirii, a few minutes' walk away.

For history lovers, Curtea Veche is the very nucleus from which today's Bucharest grew, the place where the city meets its most distant origins.