Country Romania Population (2002) 6,041 | County Ilfov County Time zone EET (UTC+2) | |
Snagov (population: 6,041) is a commune, located 40 km north of Bucharest in Ilfov County, Romania. According to the 2002 census, 99.2% of the population is ethnic Romanian. The commune is composed of five villages: Ciofliceni, Ghermănești, Snagov, Tâncăbești and Vlădiceasca. Snagov is a popular holiday resort, and many villas have lately been built on the shores of Snagov lake.
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Map of Snagov 077165, Romania
The name is of probably Bulgarian origin, from the word sneg (meaning "snow"). It might also derived from the Bulgarian snaga, meaning "human body".
Snagov cu tibi
History
Archeologists confirmed human presence of inhabitants since 400 BC. Snagov village was built around the Snagov monastery, founded in the late 14th century on an islet in Lake Snagov, about 2 km north of Snagov village. The first written record of it is found in a document from the court of Mircea cel Bătrân and dated 1408. Snagov monastery was excavated in 1933 by archaeologist Dinu V. Rosetti.
Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu and his entourage used Snagov as a vacation retreat.
In 2002 the Romanian government decided to build in Snagov a Disneyland-style theme park, "Dracula Park", but in 2006 the government canceled the project. The connection with "Dracula" is due to a spurious 19th-century tradition which makes Snagov monastery the site of the tomb of Vlad III Dracula.