Tudor Vladimirescu Cula

About Tudor Vladimirescu Cula

The Tudor Vladimirescu Cula stands on Gârdanul Hill, on the edge of the village of Cerneți, a few kilometres from Drobeta-Turnu Severin. Tradition says it was built around 1800 by Tudor Vladimirescu, who owned a vineyard and a cellar here, and that he kept part of the weapons prepared for the 1821 Revolution in it; an inscription on the wall recalls that his last passage here was on 29 January 1821. Some historians dispute the link, however: in 1838 the vineyard and cellar were bought by the sardar Ion Gărdăreanu, who is said to have turned a simple watch gallery into a grander boyar house, the one seen today.

It is a two-storey building of brick and timber, of the Oltenian cula type: on the ground floor a large cellar and vaulted rooms, and above an open gallery with ten massive brick columns, three rooms and a long, narrow corridor. A watchtower with narrow windows, joined to the house by a covered passage, completes the ensemble; firing loopholes survive in the walls, and the windows were enlarged once the building lost its defensive purpose. Between 1967 and 1977 a memorial museum with documents and objects belonging to Tudor Vladimirescu operated here, after which the cula fell out of use, and a restitution dispute prevented any work for years.

Information verified on 13 October 2026.

Good to know before you go

Getting there

By car: Cerneți is a few kilometres from Drobeta-Turnu Severin, on DJ 607A, the road linking the city with Târgu Jiu. From the Severin bypass follow DJ 607A to Cerneți; on leaving the village towards Puținei, turn right onto DC 15A, which climbs to the cula on Gârdanul Hill.

Public transport: there is no verified public transport to the cula; the simplest way is to come by car or taxi from Drobeta-Turnu Severin.

Where to park

There is no laid-out car park; cars are left on the access road next to the cula, where there is open space. Check the state of the hill road after rain.

Rules

The cula is a decayed historic monument and may now be a building site: do not enter the building or climb on the walls or the gallery. Respect any fences and warning signs and take your litter home.