Târgșor
44°53′20.85″N 25°55′35.97″E / 44.8891250°N 25.9266583°E
Târgșor is a former medieval market town in what is now Prahova County, Romania. The town peaked around 1600, after which it declined to become the village of Târgșoru Vechi, located about 7 km (4.3 mi) southwest of Ploiești.
History
Built in a heavily forested area, Târgșor developed thanks to the local fair and its auspicious location at a crossroad of several trade routes.[1] These roads included Drumul Brăilei, which linked Târgoviște to the Danube port of Brăila, as well as the roads which linked Târgșor to Brașov and Bucharest.[1]
Târgșor gets its name from the diminutive of
Soon after, the merchants of Târgșor were granted trade privileges by Wallachia. The town was ruled by a județ and 12 pârgari.[2] Unlike other Wallachian cities at the time, in Târgșor there were no traces of German colonists, nor a Catholic church.[2]
The prince of Wallachia had a residence in Târgșor, which was probably built in the 16th century. While only
The city reached its peak around 1500, when it was one of only three cities in Wallachia (the other two being Câmpulung and Târgoviște) where the Brașov merchants were allowed to sell their wares.[4] In 1503, the trade of the merchants of Târgșor with Brașov was worth almost 1 million asprons, second only to Câmpulung.[4]
Some historians argue that
Demographics
The custom records show that most of the merchants had Romanian names (such as Tudor, Stan, Costea, Oprea), but nevertheless, there were merchants having foreign names (such as Tabutsch, Francilla, and Simon).[4] In the 16th century, a number of Greeks settled in the city.[4]
Notes
References
- Laurențiu Rădvan, At Europe's Borders: Medieval Towns in the Romanian Principalities, ISBN 9789004180109