Râul Doamnei

Geobox River
name =Râul Doamnei
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =


image_size =
image_caption =
country_type = Countries
state_type =
region_type =
district_type = Counties
city_type = Villages
country = Romania
country1 =
state =
state1 =
region =
region1 =
district = Argeş County
district1 =
city =
city1 =
length = 98
watershed =
discharge_location =
discharge =
discharge_max =
discharge_min =
discharge1_location =
discharge1 =
source_name =
source_location = Făgăraş Mountains,
Junction of headwaters Valea Rea and Zârna
source_district =
source_region =
source_state =
source_country =
source_lat_d =
source_lat_m =
source_lat_s =
source_lat_NS =
source_long_d =
source_long_m =
source_long_s =
source_long_EW =
source_elevation =
source_length =
mouth_name = Argeş
mouth_location = Piteşti
mouth_district =
mouth_region =
mouth_state =
mouth_country =
mouth_lat_d =
mouth_lat_m =
mouth_lat_s =
mouth_lat_NS =
mouth_long_d =
mouth_long_m =
mouth_long_s =
mouth_long_EW =
mouth_elevation =
tributary_left = Zârna,
Văsălatu,
Izvorul Surlei,
Murgu,
Jangu,
Izvorul Mioarelor,
Izvorul Groşilor,
Slatina,
Păcurarul,
Râul Târgului,
Făgetu,
Valea Mare
tributary_left1 =
tributary_right = Valea Rea,
Drăghina Mare,
Cernatu,
Valea lui Roman,
Miceşti,
Budeasa
tributary_right1 =
free =
free_type = Official River Code


map_size =
map_caption =

Râul Doamnei is a left tributary of the Argeş River (the two rivers meet just north of Piteşti). It is formed at the junction of headwaters Valea Rea and Zârna River. It is 98 kilometers in length and frequently dries up in summer, owing to the works upstream that have redirected part of its water supply toward a reservoir serving the hydroelectric plant on the Argeş.

Râul Doamnei flows through a hilly region, forming narrow strips of fertile plain on both of its banks.

Origin of the name

According to legend, a wife or concubine [Florescu, Radu R.; McNally, Raymond T. "Dracula, Prince of Many Faces: His Life and His Times".] of Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler (Vlad Ţepeş) - her name is not recorded - died during the 1462 siege of Poenari Castle by an Ottoman army led by Vlad's half-brother Radu cel Frumos (Radu the Fair).

A former servant of Vlad, held as a prisoner and servant to the Turks but still loyal to the Prince, having seen the shadow of Vlad's wife behind a window and shot an arrow in that direction, with a message informing that the Turkish army was going to attack the castle the next morning. Upon reading the message, Vlad's wife flung herself off the castle's tower and into the stream below the castle, preferring death to Turkish captivity. The stream was then named Râul Doamnei (the "Lady's River") in recollection of the event. Actually Poenari Castle is not located o the banks of the Râul Doamnei, but on the banks of the Argeş River

A fictionalised version of these events is depicted in the 1992 film "Bram Stoker's Dracula", although in the film, the river the princess throws herself into is the Argeş itself.

Naming conventions

"Râul" is Romanian for "The river". As such, it may form part of the Romanian names given in full for virtually all rivers. However, since "Doamnei" is the genitive of "Doamnă" ("A lady"), "Râul" is part of the name itself in this case.

Notes

References

* Administraţia Naţională Apelor Române - Cadastrul Apelor - Bucureşti
* Institutul de Meteorologie şi Hidrologie - Rîurile României - Bucureşti 1971
* Trasee turistice - judeţul Argeş [http://www.e-calauza.ro/index.php?afiseaza=trasee-turistice-arges]

Maps

* Harta Judeţul Argeş [http://www.harta-turistica.ro/map.php?ID=27&harta=Judetul%20Arges]
* Munţii Iezer [http://harti.mielu.ro/iezer.html]
* Munţii Făgăraş [http://harti.mielu.ro/fagaras.html]
* Alpinet - Munţii Făgăraş [http://alpinet.org/main/poteci/mapper_ro_t_muntii-fagaras-est_id_94.html]