Next to the palace stands the Old Court Church (), dating from 1559 and considered the oldest in Bucharest.
For two centuries, the church served as coronation ground for Romanian princes.
Where: 104 miles northwest of Bucharest / 11 miles north of Curtea de Arges Note: access by car only Next visit Arefu, where many of the villagers trace their ancestry back to the loyal minions of Vlad Tepes himself (in the movies, these are the ones who are always busy loading up Dracula's coffins with Transylvanian earth).
Legend has it that when the Turks attacked and took over the Poenari Castle in 1462, it was the villagers of Arefu who helped Vlad escape.
The oldest document attesting to the city's origin under the name of Bucuresti was discovered here.