Vlăsiei Woods (Codrii Vlăsiei)

The forests that once used to spread over a large region in Wallachia, meaning the southern part of Romania, were called “Codrii Vlăsiei” (Vlăsiei Woods). To be more precise: these woods used to spread from the Dunube to the north, starting from the town of Buzău, towards the west, all the way to the city of Ploiești, then all the way down under the town of Târgoviște, then over the southern third of the Argeș department, then all the way to the town of Slatina and then south again to the Danube, south of Craiova. This means that the woods entirely covered the departments of Ilfov (meaning Bucharest), Giurgiu, Teleorman and partially the departments of: Buzău, Ialomița, Călărași, Dâmbovița and Olt.

Romanians used these dense forests as a place of refuge during the great migrations, because they offered good shelter against the armed riders, who had to dismount in order to attack. Vlăsia is the old Slavonic name for Wallachia.
The forest had a rich history and many battles took place here during the Middle Ages. In 1456, Vlad the Impaler defeated his rival, Vladislav Dan in Târgșor, on a battlefield close to the edge of Vlăsiei Woods. In the same place, Vlad the Impaler defeated the Ottoman army that had come to depose him and it was again in these woods that he was assassinated by the treacherous boyars. The woods provided a haven for many outlaws or rebels, from highwaymen to noble outcasts who would take from the rich and give to the poor and who, thanks to their actions, became part of Romanian folklore. The expression, the “Romanian people and woods are brothers” most likely originated from the time when the forests sheltered people from foreign invasions and the abuses of boyars, and had become a hiding place for noble highwaymen.
The greater part of the woody areas was left untouched up until the XVIIIth century, when the development of cereals and timber trading brought about the start of deforestation to make way for cultivable land. The forests that are left today only cover about 35,000 ha.

So, in time, Vlăsiei Woods (a compact, even impenetrable area) turned into the Vlăsiei plain by means of deforestation, which dramatically changed the area. Today, the habitats are very fragmented and no measures were taken to preserve tracts at least 50 meters wide to connect the remaining forests. Connecting the forests in this way would be extremely beneficial for the remaining species.

All around Bucharest, there are patches remainin of what used to be Vlăsiei Woods, (especially in the northern area), and there are tourist attractions on the outskirts of these forests: Pustnicu forest – Pustnicu and Pasărea monastery, Snagov forest – Snagov monastery, Comana forest – Comana monastery, Râioasa forest, Băneasa forest, etc. and towards the north, around the city of Ploieşti, there are other remaining patches of these woods: Mislea forest, Plopeni forest, Păulești forest, Bucov forest-park and the Românești forest.

There are many justifications for the importance of these forests in the Vlăsiei Plain, like: protecting the watercourses, protecting the soil, protecting against harmful climatic factors, recreational benefits, scientific interest and preservation of genome diversity and the ecological forest lands.