3121 ROMANIA (Prahova / Braşov / Dâmboviţa) - Bucegi Mountains

3121 Panoramic view of Bucegi Mountains
in the village of Poiana Mărului, Braşov County

The Bucegi Mountains are located at the eastern extremity of the Southern Carpathians, extending between the Prahova Valley to the east and the Rucăr-Bran Corridor and the Ialomiţa Valley to the west, and are delimited to the North by the Bârsa Depression and to the South by the Sub Carpathians of Curvature. Being of a great structural and morphological complexity, the massif appears as a natural fortress, with an enclosure suspended from 1600-2500 m, supported by strong abrupts. The highest point of the massif is the Omu Peak (2514m).

2936 ROMANIA (Dâmboviţa) - The Sphinx of Bucegi Mountains

The Sphinx is a natural rock formation located at an altitude of 2,216m, in the Bucegi Mountains, a 10-minute walk from Babele. The name of the Sphinx is due to its similarity with a human head, or with the similarity with the Egyptian Sphinx, its creation being the work of natural forces (especially wind erosion but also rain). The image of the Sphinx appeared when the rock, having an 8m height and a 12m width, was watched from a certain angle. The megalith has its clearest outline on 21st November, at the time the sun goes down. It only acquired its nickname in the year 1936.

2597 ROMANIA (Dâmboviţa) - The Princely Court in Târgovişte

The crusader Hans Schiltberger, who attended to the military expedition ended with the defeat of Nicopolis (1396), mentions Târgovişte as the capital of Wallachia, along with Curtea de Argeş. The Princely Court is attested during Mircea the Elder, in an act of his son, associate to reign, Michael I, dated 1417-1418, but the extending of the fortifications was made after the city became the only capital of the country (1431), possibly during the reign of Vlad Dracul or even during Vlad The Impaler.