Udrişte Năsturel Manor in Herăşti (also known as 'The Stone House') was built in 1641-1643. On the same property there is the Holy Trinity Church (also raised by Năsturel family in 1644) and Anastase Stolojan's residence dating from the 19th century. The manor was built in the pre-Brâncoveanu era and it employs rather unique features for Wallachia: it was entirely built of polished stone, it includes stone stairways and instead of Byzantine or Oriental features, it has a Romanic atmosphere. The whole building, while not vast, bears an elegant simplicity and a captivating tranquility. The manor is nowadays run by the Romanian Peasant Museum and it hosts exhibitions of traditional crafts (it was old pottery from all over Romania when I last visited). The yard near the manor provides a view towards River Argeș, across the many vegetable and corn fields. An interesting feature, the village has got strong Bulgarian influences, as rose jam and various vegetable stews are locally produced.

One can get to Herăști by bus from Piața Sudului (with subway access); ask for a bus to Herăști or, alternatively, get one (more frequent) to Oltenița, get off at the Herăști junction between Pasărea and Gruiu villages, 28 km. from the Piața Sudului; then walk or hitch a ride for the remaining 5 km. to Herăști.

GPS - 44.2099264N 26.3633466E