Turnu Monastery

Turnu Monastery stands in the village of Târgșoru Vechi, in the commune of the same name, about 10 km from Ploiești, inside the Târgșoru Vechi Archaeological Reserve, on the site of the princely court of the medieval market town of Târgșor. The church, dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel and to St Nicholas, is a listed historic monument (LMI code PH-II-m-B-16773) dated 1669-1672 and was rebuilt on its ruins in 1997-2001. The church of the princely court stood on this spot. Its inscription set up by Vlad Țepeș, dated 24 June 1461, is now in the collection of the Prahova County Museum of History and Archaeology. Antonie Vodă of Popești (1669-1672), whose father had been a merchant in Târgșor, turned the old princely church into a monastery, restored it and added the dedication to the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel. After a long period of decline, the reactivation of the monastery was requested in June 1997, and in August 1997 the first three residents moved here from the Sfântul Nicolae-Balamuci Monastery. After more than three years of litigation between the Church and the county authorities, almost 13 ha of the former reserve were assigned to the monastery and 4 ha remained with the county museum. The rebuilding of the church took almost eight years and was funded by the Ministry of Culture. On 6 June 2023 a fire destroyed a building of about 400 square metres next to the church, including the parish house. The ruins of the White Church and the Red Church, the Roman fort and the other remains around it belong to the archaeological reserve, which is described separately.