Tismana is a town in

Gorj County Gorj County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Oltenia, with its capital city at Târgu Jiu. ''Gorj'' comes from the Slavic ''Gor(no)-'' Jiu (“upper Jiu”), in contrast with Dolj (“lower Jiu”). Demographics In 2011, the county had a ...

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 ...

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

. It administers ten villages: Celei, Costeni, Gornovița, Isvarna, Pocruia, Racoți, Sohodol, Topești, Vâlcele and Vânăta.

History

During the

Byzantine period The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, Tismana was a major center of

hesychasm Hesychasm (; Greek: Ησυχασμός) is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Orthodox Church in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in early Christian monasticism, it took i ...

when

Nicodemus of Tismana Nikodim Tismanski, also known as Nikodim Osvećeni, Nikodim Vratnenski, Nikodim Grčić, and in Romanian, Nikodim de la Tismana (Prilep, today in North Macedonia, then Byzantine Empire, c. 1320 – Tismana, Walachia, now Romania, 26 December 140 ...

built a monastery in Tismana during the 1300s.

Demographics

According to census data, Tismana had 7894 people in 2002. By 2011, the population had decreased to 6862.

Notable people

( – 1406)

References

* Towns in Romania Populated places in Gorj County Localities in Oltenia Places associated with hesychasm {{Gorj-geo-stub