Snagov Monastery is an important feudal religious and historical edifice, built in 1408 on an island situated in the centre of Lake Snagov, 40km north of Bucharest. Built by Mircea the Elder, the monastery was said to have been the burial place of Vlad the Impaler. also known as Dracula. Legend has it that he was murdered and decapitated in a nearby forest either by the Turks during battle or by disloyal and rather cheesed off Wallachian boyars just as he was about to overcome the aforementioned Turks and send them packing.
The monks of the monastery took it upon themselves to bury him. Perhaps they felt indebted to him for the additions he ordered be added to their 'home' - a prison and a torture chamber. Whatever the reasons, the monks dressed the headless body richly and put it to rest in front of the church altar.
It is well documented that his head was taken to parade around in Constantinople (proof that his rule was finally over). Visitors who cross the lake by boat reach the quiet, remote monastery that brings the legend alive! One can pay his respects at Dracula's tomb, located at the altar footsteps, and admire the beautiful frescoes, some of which go as far back as the 15th century.
Locals tell stories about a different church that existed here, which fell into the lake together with its steeple, during a storm. When the wind blows they say you can hear a chime rising from the bottom of the lake.
Archeologists confirmed human presence of inhabitants since 400 BC. Snagov village was built around the Snagov monastery, founded in the late 14th century on an islet in Lake Snagov, about 2 km north of Snagov village. The first written record of it is found in a document from the court of Mircea cel Batran and dated 1408. Snagov monastery was excavated in 1933 by archaeologist Dinu V. Rosetti.
Snagov area is also a natural reservation, with two natural protected areas for fauna and flora, Snagov Lake and Snagov Forest.
Sursa foto: wikipedia.org
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