Where you are
Berevoești sits in the north of Argeș county, in the Getic Depression, right where the hills stop and the southern slope of the Carpathians begins. The commune gathers around the Bratia valley — a river that rises in the Iezer mountains at over 2,100 metres and runs more than 60 kilometres before joining the Râul Târgului.
Who was here before
The settlement is first mentioned in 1427, under Dan II. For centuries it was a village of moșneni — free peasants who held forest and pasture in common rather than in individual plots. From the late 17th century the Golescu boyar family began buying land here, plot by plot, from 1693 onwards. Today's commune gathers four villages: Berevoești, Bratia, Gămăcești and Oțelu.
Why plums
In Argeș, the plum tree is no ordinary tree. The county has its own brandy with a protected designation — Țuică de Argeș — made from four varieties: Tuleu Gras, Grasă Românească, d'Agen and Vinete românești. In the villages here, the still has always been a gathering place at the end of autumn, not merely a piece of equipment.
In spring the orchard is white for about two weeks. In autumn the plums ripen in turn, not all at once — which is why the harvest takes weeks rather than a day.
What to do with all this
Nothing in particular. Just so you know what you're standing on when you drink your morning coffee.