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With a specific architecture, the capital of Oltenia gives you many reasons to include it in the list of tourist destinations, since here you can find many places of worship, museums and promenades.
The city is located approximately in the center of Oltenia, 227 km from Bucharest and 68 from the Danube, with an irregular shape, especially in the west and north, being very compact in the center.

The origin of the current name of the city is the subject of much controversy, the name comes from the Slavic “kralj” (emperor, king). Craiova can also mean area, country, nation. The settlement of Craiova first appeared in the inscription on the tomb of Vladislav I, then on June 1, 1475 in a document of Mr. Laiota Basarab under the name of Pelendava. Today Craiova is an important economic and university cultural center.

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Sightseeing features

Roman Castrum Pelendava

Roman Castrum Pelendava
Craiova is documented in the Pelendava version on the map called Tabula Peutingeriana, a medieval copy of a Roman map around the year 225 on the initiative of Emperor Caracalla.
Pelendava was the ancient capital of the Dacian tribe of Pelen.
The remains of Pelendava can still be found in Craiova, in the Mofleni district.

Historical center

The historic city center is a true architectural gem of the city and an exceptional promenade square where you can admire old historical buildings, artesian wells and monumental ensembles.
The historic center is dominated by the Administrative Palace, which is the city’s most representative building.

The Nicolae Romanescu Park

Romanescu Park, which has come to be known as Bibescu Park, Independence Park or People’s Park, is where the Bibescu family manor and garden stood in the mid-19th century. Arranged by a German gardener on the initiative of the great Chancellor Ioan (Iancu) Bibescu, the garden was furnished with gazebos, benches and greenhouses.
After 1848, in an advanced state of degradation, the garden was bought by the city magistracy from the great chancellor Ioan Bibescu; the purpose of the purchase was to turn it into a real public garden for the recreation of the city’s residents. The internal events that led to the unification of the principalities made this wish of the ruler Barbu Ştirbei no longer possible.
By the end of the century, less than 50 years after the city bought the garden from Chancellor Iancu Bibescu, the former garden had become one of the dirtiest areas in the city. The lake was an outbreak of infection and one of its edges were built the stable houses of the town hall. The summer residence of the Bibescu family was also converted into a nursing home.

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