Târgşor. Idei referitoare la evoluţia şi dezvoltarea oraşului medieval
Târgşor. Some ideas on the evolution and development of the medieval city

Summary/Abstract: The site of Târgşoru Vechi attracted the attention of historians and archaeologists in the first half of the 20th century, mainly due to the medieval buildings visible on the surface. Thus, among others, Nicolae Iorga, Constantin C. Giurescu, Ion Ionaşcu, the architect Virgil Drăghiceanu, G.M. Petrescu-Sava (formerly Gh. Zagoritz) and Nicolae Simache wrote about the medieval monuments and the history of Târgşor. In the medieval period Târgşor was one of the oldest and most important urban centres of Romania. Târgşor was without doubt ‘the city of Mircea the Elder’, the famous ruler and lord of Wallachia and the ‘father’ and founder of Târgşor. Furthermore, Târgşor can be considered the equivalent in status to Ploieşti before Ploieşti was founded. The medieval fair at Târgşoru Vechi was documented on 6th of August 1413 in a commercial privilege granted by Voivode Mircea the Elder (1386-1418) to traders of Braşov. This article proposes a possible interpretation of the development of the medieval city, starting with some preliminary observations: the medieval city was located on a plain, without geographical constraints; the medieval city was not surrounded by a fortification, therefore not potentially constrained in its development; the medieval city probably developed quickly in the context of what is called a Novum Forum (‘New City’) in the earliest documents. The analysis of the written sources combined with the results of the archaeological research provide new hypotheses and research directions towards a more complete knowledge of the history and evolution of one of the most interesting and important boroughs of Wallachia.

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