A ''culă'' (plural: ''cule''; from Turkish ''kule'' "tower, turret") is a semi-fortified building found in the

Oltenia Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...

region of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

with a number of examples located in the historical province of Muntenia. They were originally built as homes for the ruling Boyar class to defend against violent raids by rebels from the south of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

during the

eighteenth century The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave tradi ...

and also against riots by local population against the boyars (e.g.

Osman Pazvantoğlu Osman Pazvantoğlu (1758 – January 27, 1807 in Vidin) was an Ottoman soldier, governor of Vidin after 1794, and a rebel against Ottoman rule. He is also remembered as the friend of Rigas Feraios, a Greek revolutionary poet, whom he tried to r ...

). Similar constructions exist throughout the Balkans, see

Tower houses in the Balkans A distinctive type of Ottoman tower houses ( sq, kullë; bg, кули, ; sr, kуле, ro, culă, all meaning "tower", from Arabic (, “fort, fortress”) via Persian , meaning "mountain" or "top", and Turkish ) developed and were built in t ...

List of cule

: *''Cula Barbu Poenaru'' (1750), from Almăj, Dolj *''Cula Izvoranu'', from Brabova, Dolj *''Cula Crăsnaru'' (1808), from Groşerea, Aninoasa, Gorj *''Cula Cornoiu'' from Curtişoara, Gorj *''Cula Cartianu'' from Cartiu, Gorj *''Cula Grecescu'' (1818), from Şiacu, Slivileşti, Gorj *''Cula Cuţui'' (1815) from Broşteni, Mehedinţi *Cula

Tudor Vladimirescu Tudor Vladimirescu (; c. 1780 – ) was a Romanian revolutionary hero, the leader of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and of the Pandur militia. He is also known as Tudor din Vladimiri (''Tudor from Vladimiri'') or, occasionally, as Domnul Tudo ...

(1800) from Cerneţi, Mehedinţi *''Cula Nistor'' (1812), from Cerneţi, Mehedinţi *''Cula Galiţa'' (1790), from Câmpu Mare,

Dobroteasa Dobroteasa is a commune in Olt County, Muntenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to t ...

, Olt *''Cula Bujoreanu'' from Bujoreni, Vâlcea *''Cula Greceanu'' from

Măldărești Măldărești is a Commune in Romania, commune located in Vâlcea County, Oltenia, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Măldărești, Măldăreștii de Jos, Roșoveni and Telechești. References

Communes in Vâlcea County Localiti ...

, Vâlcea (the oldest in Romania, approximately 1517) *''Cula Zătreanu'' from

Zătreni Zătreni is a Commune in Romania, commune located in Vâlcea County, Oltenia, Romania. It is composed of fourteen villages: Butanu, Ciortești, Dealu Glămeia, Dealu Văleni, Făurești, Mănicea, Mecea, Oltețu, Sășcioara, Stanomiru, Valea Văle ...

(1754), Vâlcea Muntenia: *Cula ''Racoviţa'', from

Mioveni Mioveni () is a town in Argeș County, Romania, approximately 15 km (9 miles) north-east of Pitești. , it had a population of 31,998. The town administers four villages: Clucereasa, Colibași, Făgetu and Racovița. History It was firs ...

, Argeş *Cula ''Drugănescu'' from Retevoieşti,

Pietroșani, Argeș Pietroșani is a commune in Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary ...

Culă (Ansamblul culei Drugănescu )
/ref> *''Cula lui Costea'', from Frăsinet, Teleorman

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20160124230850/http://www.kule.ro/en/ Romanian kulas * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cula Oltenia Architecture in Romania