Poenaru Kula

Almăj village, Almăj district, Dolj county

From E 70 European Road, E 79 Craiova – Filiaşi, beyond the village of Işalniţa, there is a road on the right to Almăj, for about 3 km.

This is not a public building.

On his estate from Almăj village, boyar Barbu Poenaru built his kula in 1764 and also a church dedicated to the Saint Voivodes, which was completed in 1789. There is an old stone-chiselled inscription above the kula's entrance states: B(arbu) P(oienaru) v(el) po(stelnic), l(eat)1764. The kula had two floors, and the top floor also featured a balcony with wooden posts. In 1801 and in 1844, the kula was set on fire, and consequently lost its upper floor, which was not rebuilt. In 1904, the boyar Gheorghe Poenaru offered the kula as a gift to the town hall so that it would be turned into a school. First, a classroom was added to the kula, which extended the old building horizontally. The extensions continued in the years 1938-1939 and in 1956. At present, the nucleus represented by the old kula is completely incorporated in the school's building, which surrounds it on three sides.

At present, what is left of the Poienari Kula is incorporated in the local school: a large square room, about 8 meters on the side, and a corridor housing the staircase to the upper floor. This building is very high and it is covered with a series of high windows on all sides, decorated with bas-reliefs and painted medallions.

In close proximity of the ancient kula there is the “Saint Voivods” Church, ordained by the same Barbu Poenaru who built the kula, erected in 1787-1789. Near the two historical monuments, in the village's center, there is a monument to the heroes of Almăj.