Presentation of the heritage site from Trgovite, Dmbovia County

The exhibition - The Metamorphoses of a Place of Memory: From the Chivalry of the
"Ferdinand I" School of Officers to the profane space of the process and execution of
Ceausescu spouses and the end of the totalitarian regime in Romania

Through this project, we aim to turn to good account and promote among the local,
national and European public the heritage, the building where the exhibition Metamorphoses of
a place of memory: from the chivalry of the "Ferdinand I" School of Officers to the profane
space of the process and the execution of Ceausescu spouses and the end of the totalitarian
regime in Romania is located. Why? Because the national consciousness and the identity is
manifested in the colours of the flag, in the works of the great writers and poets of our nation, in
customs and traditions, in the costumes and folk art, in the music of the great Romanian
composers, in all the discoveries and inventions of the famous Romanian researchers, in the
demeanor of each Romanian citizen, both in the country and abroad, and also in heritage
objects.
The heritage site, on which we focused our attention (although it was not easy, because
Dmbovia County has a lot to offer) is the building that, since 1910, housed the Cavalry
Officers School in Trgovite. (The history of this objective was made available to us by the
representatives of The Royal Court National Museum Complex.) Thus, on 29 January 1899,
on the basis of a cession signed by Dimitrie Athanasiu, the Mayor of Trgovite and D.
Dragotescu, the Deputy Minister of War, an area of 102 hectares and 8198 square meters,
"situated in the high part of the city", was given to the Administration of the War by the
municipality to build the Cavalry School and to develop a field of training and jogging. The
document was based on a decision adopted by the Communal Council of Trgovite, approved
by the High Decree no. 2496 on the 13th of July, 1898. After World War I, the school provided
the necessary space through a series of legal expropriations of privately-owned land located on
Carol I Boulevard, in the vicinity of it.
In the presence of two emblematic figures of the Romanian history , prince Ferdinand
the heir to the throne and also the future king Ferdinand I the Unifier (1914-1927) and the
Minister of War General Alexander Averescu (1859-1938), on 20th October , 1907 was laid the
foundation stone for the building that, since 1910, was going to host the School of Cavalry
Officers in Targoviste. On the frontispiece of the building, the slogan of this school was
inscribed: "THE CAVALRY OFFICER MUST BE BOTH A HORSEMAN AND A KNIGHT ",
which is still visible today.
 The barracks of the Cavalry Officers' School in Trgovite (later became the Ferdinand I
Cavalry School) included a series of buildings and exercise grounds appropriate to the proposed
mission. The central pavilion of the school, now considered a historic B-class monument,
presents itself as a monumental, well-proportioned, sober building with high and spacious halls.
It housed the commander's office, the classrooms, the officers' casino, and the students'
bedrooms. The state building, an elegant, harmonious one-storied building, built in the Neo-
Romanian style, was located in the vicinity of the central pavilion. Behind them, there were other
barracks needed: barracks for soldiers, infirmary, kitchen, dining room, bathroom, laundry. The
barracks had four stables of 84 horses each. These, along with two maneuvers, surrounded the
barracks' great gathering place on three sides. Taking into consideration the specific of the
school, the barracks had infirmary for horses, farriery, feedstocks.
Throughout time, the newly built barracks housed alongside the Ferdinand I Knights
Officer School, the Cavalry Reserve Officers School, the Cavalry Warrant Officer School, and
the Special School of Cavalry Officers (moved according to general S. Baicoianu's decision in
the year 1893 to Trgovite, where it remained until 1914 and from 1920 it was reopened in
Sibiu).
Among the personalities who graduated from the Targoviste School of Cavalry Officers
or from the Specialized Cavalry School are the following: Marshal Ion Antonescu who attended
the courses in 1905-1906 and led this unit during the period of Romania's neutrality in the First
World War.
The school ended its activity in Targoviste in 1948 and was relocated to Sibiu. In
memory of the graduates, among many other elite professors remained the figure of the major
cavalry Andrei Cristescu who graduated in 1931 "Queen Mary" promotion of the school, a
fighter on the Eastern Front of the Second World War and one of the most long-lived teachers of
this school who was removed from the army in 1952 for opposing views of the Communist
regime in power in Romania, and because he said that "friendship with the USSR meant only
the loss of Bassarabia, the politicization of the army and the weakening of the discipline." Upon
his death in the spring of 1980, in front of the former Ferdinand I Cavalry School the
commander of the military unit, the future general Andrei Kemenici, honored the funeral
procession, despite the rigors of the regime.
The fact is that UM 01417, the military unit commanded by Colonel Andrei Kemenici,
was going to become one of the important centers of the1989 Romanian Revolution, this being
the place where the dictatorial couple of the totalitarian regime from Romania, Nicolae and
Elena Ceausescu found their end. On Christmas Day, 25 December 1989, the Extraordinary
Military Tribunal judged Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu who were charged with the genocide
crime. Nicolae and Elena Ceausescu were finally sentenced to death and executed at 2:45 pm, in
the premises of the military unit in Targoviste, the information being televised during the
evening.
To remind the events of December 1989 and see where the Ceausescu couple spent
their last days, you are welcome to visit the exhibition Metamorphosis of a place of memory:
from the chivalry of the "Ferdinand I" School of Officers to the profane space of the trial and
execution of the Ceausescu spouses and the end of the totalitarian regime in Romania.
It is therefore necessary, both at national and European level, to promote heritage sites in
our county, a dowry of Romanian culture which embody architectural, historical and artistic
values. The country and region brand must be popularized along with the other components:
tourism, monasteries, hospitality, etc. All these together can speak at superlative about Romania.