Piteşti (population: 168,000) is a city in Argeş county of the Wallachia region of Romania, on the Argeş river.

Pitesti is an important commercial and industrial center, near this city the Dacia car is produced. This region is also famous for its alcohol drinks: ţuică (the traditional Romanian drink) and wine.

Geography

The town lies on the right side of Arges river, where it mets his tributary, Râul Doamnei.

Surrounded by south-west faced hills, the area is rich in wineries and plum orchards. The later give one of the finest Romanian ţuicas: "ţuica de Piteşti".

History

The earliest traces of human settlements in this area come from Paleolithic, however, it was not earlier than May 20, 1386, when the town was first mentioned in a known written source.

Pitesti was one of the temporary residences of the Wallachian rulers. Due to its position, at the crossroads of travel routes, the town was long-renowed as an important commercial center.

In the 1950s, the town gained an ill notoriety, when the communist authorities used the local detention facility to subject the political detainees to the infamous Reeducation, in which the violence between inmates was encouraged. The experiment was cancelled after five years.