() is the capital city of
Argeş County , in the
Wallachia informal region of
Romania , on the
Argeş River .
Piteşti is an important commercial and industrial center. Nearby
Mioveni is the site of
Dacia Car production.
The city lies on the right bank of the Argeş, where the river meets its tributary,
Râul Doamnei .
The city is surrounded by hills, being the center of an area rich in wineries and plum orchards. The latter give one of the finest Romanian
ţuica s: ''ţuica de Piteşti''.
The earliest traces of human settlements in this area relate to the
Paleolithic . Piteşti itself was first mentioned on
May 20 1386 .
Piteşti was one of the temporary residences of Wallachian rulers. Due to its positioning on the junction of important routes, the city used to be renowed as an important commercial center.
In the
1950s , the city gained an ill notoriety, when the
Communist Authorities used the local detention facility to subject political detainees to the infamous ''Reeducation'', in which violence between inmates was encouraged to the point of being mandatory. The purpose of the experiment was to psychologically destroy the capacity for outside attachment and outside loyalty, thus creating the
Brainwashed ''New Man'' that would suit a
Leninist society. The experiment was cancelled after five years. Twenty-two inmate/participants were condemned with sixteen being condemned to death for the experiments in a 1953-54 trial. A new trial in 1957 convicted certain members of the prison staff to light sentences. They were later pardoned.
- The ruins of the Princely court (1359).
- Church of Sf. Mucenic Mina (1564).
- Church of Saint George (1656).
- Church of Saint John the Baptist (1728).
- The Town Hall (1933).
- The Argeş County Museum (''Muzeul Judeţean Argeş'').
Each year, in the springtime, Piteşti is host of the ''Simfonia lalelelor'' (Tulip Festival).
