Udrişte Năsturel Manor in Herăşti (also known as 'The Stone House') was built in 1641-1643 by two brothers: Udriște Năsturel and Cazan Postelnicu Năsturel. 1831 saw the mansion sold to Serbian Prince Miloš Obrenović, which lived for a while in Wallachia; the price had the property expanded with stables and other buildings. Yet only 50 years later the mansion was sold to a rich landlord, Anastase Stolojan, which maintained it until it was confiscated - together with the grounds around - by the Communist regime in 1949. The property comprises of 500 Hectare fields, an 19th century English style Stolojan villa, a mill, as well as a few ruins of barns and other buildings. Next to the mansion yard there is a separate enclosure hosting the 1644 small Holy Trinity Church raised by Udriște Năsturel's sister.
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. Returned to the inheritors of Stolojan Family, the manor was run by the Romanian Peasant Museum and it hosted exhibitions of traditional crafts until 2014, when the owners decided to list it for sale. 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