Cula Cuțui from the Village of Broșteni, Mehedinți County
Cula Cuțui from the Village of Broșteni, Mehedinți County

Summary/Abstract: Since medieval times, in the area of Oltenia, several tower-dwellings were preserved, which remind, by their structure and construction system, of the Byzantine ones or of those from the Balkan world. They are called, by a term of Turkish origin, cula/ă (cule for plural = tower, turret). In Mehedinți County, there were quite a few cule, most of them are located in the Motru river valley. Their placement and the construction site indicate their identity and functionality: watch-tower and signalling cule, refuge and defence cule, or dwellings. Such a request was also answered by the cula from Broșteni, built by the members of Săvoiu family. It was built by Gheorghe Cuțui, called Surcel, towards the end of the eighteenth century and had, at first, the role of refuge and defense. Later, after stoves were built inside the cule, it began to be used as a permanent dwelling as well. The cula had a rectangular shape and two levels (one ground floor and one floor).

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