‘This ancient sanctuary, which once shone on Uranus hill…”

Today the historical Mihai Voda Church, one of the oldest preserved churches in Bucharest, rests hidden from view behind high-raised communist apartment buildings. Hard to imagine that only 30 years ago it used to stand prominently atop one of the city’s hills, looking like a citadel surrounded by walls, one of Bucharest’s much loved symbols.

Mihai Voda Church bears the name of its founder, the Wallachian Prince Michael the Brave (1558-1601). The monastic complex, richly endowed by the founder and the following princes, was often praised by the visitors from abroad for its beauty. Along the centuries the monastery served as a refuge place for more than a few princes, witnessed Turkish assaults as well as dramatic moments. Mihai Voda is acknowledged not only for the historical value, but as important architectural patrimony being a rare example of Wallachian medieval ecclesiastical architecture.

The exceptional value of Mihai Voda monastery as part of the city’s history and memory did not spare it from the woes of the last years of the totalitarian regime. Mihai Voda church is one of the churches which have been relocated during the 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 transported over 289m. 

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