Between 1679 and 1681, Şerban Cantacuzino, Prince of Wallachia, has deforested a densely wooded area of the former Vlăsia forest, on the right bank of the Dâmboviţa River, on Cotroceni Hill, and erected a monastery on the place of an old wooden hermitage. The monastery was surrounded by walls and had a beautiful church built in a a style that anticipated the Brâncovenesc style. Inside the monastery, the prince raised also a royal residence.
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