Chindiei Tower (Sunset Tower), Targoviste

The Chindia Tower is a tower in the Curtea Domnească monuments ensemble in Târgovişte, Romania, built in the 15th century. The tower was begun during the second reign of Prince Vlad III the Impaler over Wallachia and took its final form during the 19th century. It initially had a military purpose, but during history it has been used as a guard point, a fire spotter, and for storing and protecting the state treasury. Between 1847 and 1851, the Chindia Tower was completely restored by Gheorghe Bibescu who added 5m to its height. The building in its current form has a height of 27m and a diameter of 9m.The Chindia Tower, the most important tourist attraction in Târgovişte, is considered the city's symbol; the tower elements are present in the city's emblem, at the top and also at the bottom. As a monument the tower now houses an exhibition of documents, weapons and objects which belonged to Vlad the Impaler. Today the tower is administered by the National Museum Curtea Domnească.NameThere are two contrasting hypotheses on the origin of the name of the tower, neither of them fully recognized. The first argues that the area adjacent to the tower was the site of many large feasts and festivals, known in Romanian as chindia. It has also been suggested that the name originates from the word chindia, an archaism which means "sunset", the period of the day in which the guard had an obligation to give the curfew signal, before closing the city's five gates. After this time, he was prohibited from entering or leaving the city throughout the night, and residents were required not to pass through the streets and not to maintain outdoor fires that would have made the town visible from a distance.

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