CURTER DE ARGES, an old city in the department of Arges, Rumania, on the right bank of the Arges, where it flows through a valley of the lower Carpathians, terminus of a branch railway from Pitesti. Pop. (193o) 6,831. Tradition says it was founded early in the i4th century by Prince Radu Negru, suc ceeding Campulung as capital of Wallachia. Hence its name Curtea, "the court." It contains a few ancient churches, and was created a bishopric at the close of the 18th century.
The cathedral, the most famous Rumanian building, stands in monastery grounds I Zm. north of the city. Mausoleum-like, it is built in Byzantine style, with Moorish arabesques ; it is oblong, with a many-sided annexe at the back. A central dome is fronted by two smaller cupolas; while a broader and loftier secondary dome springs from the annexe. Each summit is crowned by an inverted pear-shaped stone, bearing a triple cross, emblematic of the Trinity. The interior is of brick, plastered and decorated with frescoes. Close by stands a large royal palace, Moorish in style.
The archives of the cathedral were plundered by Magyars and Muslims, but several inscriptions, Greek, Slav and Rumanian, are left. One tablet names the founder, Prince Neagoe Bassarab (15 I 2-2 I) ; . another says Prince John Radu completed the work in 1526; a •third describes repairs executed in 1681 by Prince Serban Cantacuzino; a fourth, the restoration, in 1804, by Jo seph, the first bishop. The cathedral was reconstructed 1875-85, and reconsecrated in 1886. Its legends have inspired Rumanian poets, among them V. Alexandri (18 21-90) .