In 1718, the Austro-Turkish war ended with the Treaty of Passarowitz, and the Habsburg Empire officially took control of the area on the right bank of the Olt River. Following orders from Count Steinville, the representative of Emperor Charles VI, the engineer and architect Friedrich Schwantz built the fortress Arxavia (Latin name) or Strassburg (Austrian name) between 1718 and 1722 at Malu Podului (current toponym), in the northern part of the village of Câinenii Mari.

The Arxavia fortress was situated on a flat plateau above the Sibiu-Râmnicu Vâlcea road. According to some references, Friedrich Schwantz, during the construction of the fortress, discovered traces of Roman constructions. These traces have been confirmed by archaeologists and are identified as a “Settlement – Roman Era, 2nd-3rd century AD.”

Along with building Arxavia, Friedrich Schwantz also completed the first cartographic documentation of all human settlements in Oltenia in 1722. This work, known as “Tabula Valachiae Cisalutane,” became Friedrich Schwantz’s map, which highlights both the Arxavia fortress and the Loviştea region as “ein Kleines Ländgen”—”a small country” or region separated from Argeș County.

In 1735, the Austro-Russian-Turkish War began and ended in 1739 with the Treaty of Belgrade, which returned control of Oltenia to the Ottoman Empire. Article IV of the Treaty of Belgrade stipulated the destruction of the Arxavia fortress, which occurred a year later.