Dragoslavele

Dragoslavele is a commune in the northern part of Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania, located by the former border between Wallachia and Transylvania, on the Wallachian side.

The commune lies at the bottom of the Southern Carpathians' slopes, at one end of the Rucăr-Bran Pass (the narrow valley separating the Piatra Craiului and Bucegi mountains), on the banks of the Dâmbovița River.

In a commercial privilege confirming the relations with Brașov, on 20 January 1368, Vladislav I, Lord of Wallachia, also known as "Vlaicu Vodă", mentioned that merchants paid "customs at Câmpulung, or near".

Documents from the 17th century show that the people of Dragoslavele were in charge of guarding the border, had properties outside the village boundaries, and were exempted from taxes through princely charters.

During World War II, Dragoslavele was a place of refuge for the Polish Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły, at that time Commander-in-chief and General Inspector of the Armed Forces, considered "the second man in the state after the President".

Having managed to avoid capture by German or Soviet troops, Śmigły-Rydz crossed into Romania on 18 September 1939, along with the government, the Polish treasury and the remnants of the army.

During his exile in Romania, Rydz-Śmigły was officially interned in the summer villa of the Patriarch Miron Cristea in Dragoslavele, by one of his friends, the former Romanian Prime Minister Armand Călinescu, but he remained free.

Church of the Dormition ("Joseni") in Dragoslavele