Snagov

Snagov
Commune

Location within the county
Snagov

Location within the county

Coordinates: 44°42′32″N 26°10′17″E / 44.70889°N 26.17139°E / 44.70889; 26.17139
Country  Romania
County Ilfov County
Population (2002)[1] 6,041
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Snagov (population: 6,041) is a commune, located 40 km north of Bucharest in Ilfov County, Romania. According to the 2002 census, 99.2% of the population is ethnic Romanian. The commune is composed of five villages: Ciofliceni, Ghermăneşti, Snagov, Tâncăbeşti and Vlădiceasca. Snagov is a popular holiday resort, and many villas have lately been built on the shores of Snagov lake.

The name is of probably Bulgarian origin, from the word sneg (meaning "snow"). It might also derived from the Bulgarian snaga, meaning "human body".

History

Archeologists confirmed human presence of inhabitants since 400 BC. Snagov village was built around the Snagov monastery, founded in the late 14th century on an islet in Lake Snagov, about 2 km north of Snagov village. The first written record of it is found in a document from the court of Mircea cel Bătrân and dated 1408. Snagov monastery was excavated in 1933 by archaeologist Dinu V. Rosetti.[2]

Communist dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu and his entourage used Snagov as a vacation retreat.

In 2002 the Romanian government decided to build in Snagov a Disneyland-style theme park, "Dracula Park", but in 2006 the government canceled the project. The connection with "Dracula" is due to a spurious 19th-century tradition which makes Snagov monastery the site of the tomb of Vlad III Dracula.

Notable sites

Snagov monastery
Snagov monastery -interior

References

  1. Romanian census data, 2002; retrieved on March 1, 2010
  2. Dinu V. Rosetti, Sapaturile Arheoogice dela Snagov (1935).

External links

Coordinates: 44°42′32″N 26°10′17″E / 44.70889°N 26.17139°E / 44.70889; 26.17139

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