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"This is where it all started isn't it? Targoviste."
Sypha in "Murder Wakes It Up"

Targoviste was an important Romanian city in Wallachia. Lisa Ţepeş was imprisoned there before her execution in 1475. The city was destroyed by Dracula in 1476, as a revenge for his wife's death.

Historical background[]

Târgoviște served as the capital of Wallachia from 1418 until 1659 (which includes the period depicted in the Castlevania animated series), when it was moved to Bucharest and served as the capital of the Principality of Wallachia until 1859, when it united with Moldavia to create the United Principalities of Romania. Romania then became a unified, independent kingdom in 1881, and Bucharest has remained the capital of Romania ever since.

History[]

In 1475, Lisa Ţepeş was arrested in the neighboring village of Lupu under false accusations of practicing witchcraft and brought to the city of Targoviste, where she was briefly incarcerated. Not really having any kind of trial, she was quickly sentenced to die burned at the stake at the city square.

That same day, Vlad Ţepeş, Lisa's husband, was returning from a long journey, only to find his house in Lupu burned down. A local informed him about what had transpired in his absence and Vlad, a powerful vampire, made haste in returning to his castle in Transylvania, where he made use of the magical devices there to communicate with his wife's executors. A fiery visage of him then appeared in front of the people that was congregated at the city square, while the remains of his former wife were still burning, and confronted them. He warned them to leave the city as he would destroy it after one year had passed. Nevertheless, the Targoviste clergy dismissed this threat just as an apparition and most of the people stayed in the city and returned to their normal lives.

One year later, in 1476, a festivity was taking place at the city square. While the Archbishop of Targoviste was addressing the crowd gathered there, the sky suddenly started to darken and blood then began raining down all over the city, along with some demonic fetuses that started dropping from the sky as well. Not long after this, Dracula's castle emerged in the middle of the city. All the windows of the building then opened, releasing a myriad of demons that slaughtered a great number of the city's population, regardless if they were men, women or children.

The city was devastated by this attack and it remained under the control of vampires and other night creatures from that day onward, while the remaining human citizens sought shelter by staying inside secure buildings and other hiding places.

The old Royal Family of Targoviste initially survived this raid and they were brought to an underground catacomb for their safety; however, they didn't survive for long and perished shortly after. The Royal Guard, leaded by the former court guard Zamfir, remained to defend the vestiges of the family, as well as to attempt to fight back this menace.

Trevor Belmont, last surviving member of the ancestral Belmont Family of monster hunters, and Sypha Belnades, a powerful Speaker, at one point arrived to the still devastated city of Targoviste and, after an initial rough start, they ultimately decided to join forces with Zamfir and help the remaining Royal Guard and the surviving citizens.

Using a tracking device they managed to attach to Zamfir during their last encounter, the vampire army, leaded by the powerful vampires Ratko and Varney, finally discovered the location of the underground shelter where the remainder of the Royal Guard were hiding and raided the place, slaughtering most of the population gathered there. Trevor, Sypha and Zamfir's forces barely managed to fight back the monsters. Finally realizing that her true purpose as a warrior was to protect the citizens, Zamfir carried on one final heroic act where she sacrificed herself and died.

Varney ultimately managed to find what they were looking for: a transmission mirror that was in possession of the Royal Family, and used it to escape, although not without being followed by Trevor and Sypha.

Known inhabitants[]

Appearances[]

Season 1
1-01. Witchbottle
Yes
1-02. Necropolis
No
1-03. Labyrinth
No
1-04. Monument
No
Season 4
4-01. Murder Wakes It Up
Yes
4-02. Having the World
Yes
4-03. Walk Away
Yes
4-04. You Must Sacrifice
Yes
4-05. Back in the World
Yes
4-06. You Don't Deserve My Blood
No
4-07. The Great Work
Yes
4-08. Death Magic
Yes
4-09. The Endings
No
4-10. It's Been a Strange Ride
No

Quotes[]

About Targoviste
Zamfir: We are taking back control of our country.
Trevor: Targoviste isn't a country.
Zamfir: It's the beating heart of the country.
Trevor: Not even a city.
Zamfir: It's the greatest city in the world.
— "("The Great Work")

Gallery[]

Screenshots[]

Artworks[]

Concept art[]

Trivia[]

  • The name "Targoviste" comes from a Bulgarian word meaning "marketplace".

External links[]

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