Top 10 Bucharest Churches
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Since ancient times Bucharest has grown and developed around its churches. The town’s old wards were organized around them, being actually called “parishes”, much like in Venice were “Campo San Polo”, “Campo San Stefano” etc. The travelers from abroad passing the Capital of Wallachia were always impressed by their large number, as nowadays visitors still are. Bucharest’s churches are intimately part of the history and the spirit of the city, bearers of tradition and cultural identity. It has also to be mentioned that they are almost the only remaining edifices older than 18th century.
The churches are not impressive in terms of size, but for their unpretentious, discreet appearance, for the atmosphere full of spirituality they radiate and for the harmonious beauty of their architecture and decoration of Byzantine tradition.
A peculiar occurrence within today Bucharest’s city-scape are the churches which have been relocated or purposely obscured among high-rise buildings in the 1980s during the last years of the communist totalitarian regime.
The churches presented below are the most important and beautiful in Bucharest.
Old Court Church • Patriarchy Cathedral • Stavropoleos Church • Coltea Church • Antim Monastery • Mihai Voda Church • Sf Apostoli Church • Doamnei Church • Sf Gheorghe Nou Church • Radu Voda Monastery
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Old Court Church (1559)
Considered the oldest preserved church in its original appearance in Bucharest, The Old Court Church was part of the Princely Court and served for Wallachian Princes coronation ceremonies for two hundred years. It is among the few remaining examples of the old Wallachian ecclesiastical architecture of Byzantine origin (see also below the church of the former Mihai Voda Monastery), whose essential features, specific to the Balkan region, are small dimensions, three-apsed plan, tall slender towers, simple exterior decoration contrasting with the rich frescoed adornment of the interior. READ MORE…
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Patriarchy Cathedral (1654-1658)
From the Union Square an alley goes up to the Patriarchy Hill, one of the most significant places in Bucharest. The Patriarchy Hill has always been the symbol of a triple authority: Divine, Ecclesiastical and State authority. The church became the Mitropolitan Cathedral of Wallachia almost from the beginning, remaining over time a symbol of the country’s state power. Over time, the Mitropoly Hill was either the witness or the scene of the events of the history. It was here that the Union of Romanian Principalities was proclaimed by choosing Alexandru Ioan Cuza as Prince of Wallachia… READ MORE…
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Stavropoleos Church (1724)
In the city’s historical center is to be found the most brilliant in the pleiad of Bucharest’s churches, but at the end of the 19th century the now famous church was in such a bad condition that it was strongly considered to be demolished and rebuilt in its entirety. Fortunately, the church has eventually undergone a complex reconstruction and restoration under the supervision of the architect Ion Mincu. Mincu also laid out the plans of the parish house and the peristyle court (“chiostro”), taking over the style and dimensions of the church, resulting in a perfect harmonious ensemble. READ MORE…
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Coltea Church (1699)
In the heart of Bucharest, next to University Square and facing Sutu Palace stands one of the most beautiful churches in the city, Coltea Church, part of Coltea Settlements. Coltea Church was founded by the Sword Bearer Mihail Cantacuzino, a remarkable figure and a highly educated man who travelled widely, descendant of one of the wealthiest boyar families of the time.
Monument representative of Brancovan time, it achieved a rare artistic perfection by the technique and mastery of decorative methods that combined Oriental and Italian Baroque influences. READ MORE…
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Antim Monastery (1715)
Antim Monastery bears the name of its founder. Antim was an outstanding personality: polyglot, talented craftsman, printer and books editor, bishop and later Mitropolitan of Wallachia. Of Georgian origin he had an adventurous life, being taken into captivity by the Turks in his early years. In Constantinople he had the chance to learn a number of languages and various crafts before Prince Constantin Brancoveanu brought him to Wallachia where he developed a remarkable activity of printing liturgical books and eventually became the head of the Romanian Orthodox Church.
Shortly before being killed because of his outspoken position against the Turks, he founded of his own fortune one of the most wonderful monasteries in Bucharest. The iconostasis in carved stone -unique in Romanian art- as well as the richly adorned church door, are attributed to Antim himself. READ MORE…
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Mihai Voda (Michael The Brave) Church (1589)
Mihai Voda Church is one of the churches which have been relocated during the major demolitions of the 1980s. The church and its Belfry were moved away from the hill where they had been sitting for almost 400 years, and were transported over a distance of 289m and 6.2m lower, which was considered at the time a major technological performance. Today, the Belfry rests unusually behind the church and both are hidden from view by apartment buildings, constructed afterwards.
Legend has it that Mihai Voda, when he wasn’t yet the Prince of Wallachia, but still represented a threat to the throne, was caught to be executed. On the way to the execution place, he was allowed to pray in a church. The future Prince made a vow that if he would get away alive, he would build a church, and so it happened. READ MORE…
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Sf Apostoli Church (1636)
Sf. Apostoli Church (1636), one of the oldest preserved and most precious churches in Bucharest, belongs to the reign of Matei Basarab (1632-1654), whose peaceful and flourishing era was a happy exception in those times when the invasions, internal struggles for power, fires and robberies were common place. The church is most representative of 17th century ecclesiastical architecture.
Located on the right bank of the Dambovita river, in the central-west part of the city, the actual Sf Apostoli neighborhood is one of the city’s areas affected by the harsh transformations in the last years of communist rule, when extended demolitions were part of the urban planning intended to replace the old Bucharest with a new socialist-type city. Once the “heart” of the Sf Apostoli mahala (“mahala” coming from the Turkish “mahalle” is the name of the city’s old wards), this church is both a vestige of the medieval city and a remnant of its lost neighborhood. READ MORE…
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Doamnei Church (1675)
Doamnei Church (around 1675). Founded by Maria Doamna, the second wife of Serban Cantacuzino (1678-1688), the church was initially the chapel of the boyar house of Serban Cantacuzino, destined for a future Princely residence. The mural painting is the original one, but this church well worth a visit if only to admire the intricate pattern of the carved wooden door and the wonderful sculpted stone portal with the inscription above. Noteworthy are the bases and capitals of the pillars carved also with oriental motifs. READ MORE…
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Sf. Gheorghe Nou Church (1705)
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Radu Voda Monastery (1614)
The right bank of the Dambovita river terrace formed natural hills on which monasteries have been set up since old times. On one of these hillocks stands Radu Voda monastery, right on the river bank, close to the center of the city.
Radu Voda is a Princely foundation, one of the earliest in Bucharest. The first church founded here dates back to 1568 as part of a large complex which included thick defensive walls and a Princely Palace. In those turbulent times the monastery has been soon occupied by Sinan Pasha’s Turkish armies which set up here their headquarters turning the church into a mosque (1595). READ MORE…
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