Religious, Spiritual sights in Bucharest
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Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral
Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral sits south of Piaţa Unirii, atop Patriarchy Hill. It's the majestic centre of the Romanian Orthodox faith. During the 15th century a small wooden church surrounded by vineyards stood on the hill. The cathedral consecrated the metropolitan centre of Wallachia in 1868, and was built in 1656-58 by Wallachian prince Şerban Basarab.
None of the original interior paintings or icons remains, bar a single icon (1665) depicting Constantin and Helen, the cathedral's patron saints. The present-day frescoes were painted by Dimitrie Belizarie in 1923. To the west is a small chapel, linked by a balcony to the Patriarchal Palace, the south wings of which…
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Princess Bălaşa Church
One impressive church to survive the 1980s demolitions is the candy-striped Princess Bălaşa Church. The church, just northwest of Piaţa Unirii (behind the riverside Justice Palace), is named after Brâncoveanu's sixth daughter, who had a small wooden church built here in 1744. Widowed from 1745, the princess replaced the church with a stone structure in 1751 and set up a school and asylum.
Damaged by an earthquake, the second church was replaced by a third church in 1838-42, which was subsequently damaged by floods and replaced by a fourth church in 1881-85.
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Creţulescu Church
Creţulescu Church stands just south of Piaţa Revoluţiei; the 1722 red-brick structure was damaged in the 1989 Revolution. To the side stands a memorial bust of Corneliu Coposu, who spent 17 years in prison for his anticommunist activities and, prior to his death in 1995, was awarded the Légion d'Honneur by the French government. Behind the church is a statue of a headless torso, a memorial to fallen revolutionaires.
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New St George's Church
A few blocks south of Piaţa Universităţii is the 1699 New St George's Church, the burial place of Wallachian prince Constantin Brâncoveanu (r 1688-1714). Brâncoveanu was captured by the Turks in 1714, following his refusal to take part in the Russo-Turkish War (1711). He and his four sons were taken to Istanbul where they were tortured, then decapitated. His wife smuggled his mutilated body back to Romania.
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St Apostles' Church
Tiny St Apostles' Church, north of B-dul Unirii (west of Piaţa Unirii) survived systemisation to a degree. The church, built in 1636, was not moved but the surrounding parkland was ripped up and replaced with blocks of flats. It's overgrown with trees and near abandoned buildings inhabited by squatters, with packs of stray dogs sometimes walking by. It's hard to believe it's only 100m from the 'Parliament of the People'!
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Stavropoleos Church
A block east of the National History Museum, the Stavropoleos Church, on a street meaning 'town of the cross', dates from 1724 and is Bucharest's nicest church, with a courtyard filled with old tombstones and an ornate wooden interior. Prominent Romanian architect Ion Mincu designed the courtyard and restored this little gem in 1899.
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Prince Mihai Monastery
A block northwest of the candy-striped Princess Bălaşa Church is the nearly lost former symbol of the city: the 16th-century Prince Mihai Monastery, built in 1589-91 under the orders of Mihai Viteazul (r 1593-1601). Ceauşescu moved it 279m east in 1985 to this patch of wasteland between apartment blocks.
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St Slujbă's Monastery
East of Piaţa Romană, via Str Pictor Verona or Str Jules Michelet, past the slightly scrappy Icoanei Garden, are a couple of religious sites. Around the corner from the mid-18th-century Church of the Icon is pretty St Slujbă's Monastery, surrounded by a lush walled garden.
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Church of the Icon
East of Piaţa Romană, via Str Pictor Verona or Str Jules Michelet, past the slightly scrappy Icoanei Garden, are a couple of religious sites. The Church of the Icon was built by monk and former privy secretary Mihail Băbeanu in 1745-50.
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Choral Temple
The Choral Temple, built in 1857, is the city's main working synagogue and is visually stunning inside. You'll need your passport to enter. A memorial to the victims of the Holocaust (including 400,000 Romanian Jews), erected in 1991, fronts the temple.
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Old Princely Court Church
The Old Princely Court Church, built in 1546-59 during the reign of Mircea Ciobanul (Mircea the Shepherd), is Bucharest's oldest church. The faded 16th-century frescoes next to the altar are originals. The carved stone portal was added in 1715.
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Armenian Church
Along B-dul Carol I, east of Piaţa Universităţii, is the alabaster Armenian Church, which originally dates from 1781 (though this church was built in 1915).
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Church of Bucur the Shepherd
Other churches that miraculously survived the 1980s demolition include the Church of Bucur the Shepherd, dating from 1743 and dedicated to the city's legendary founder.
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Prince Radu Monastery
Other churches that miraculously survived the 1980s demolition include the 16th-century Prince Radu Monastery, southeast of Piaţa Unirii.
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Antim Monastery
The surviving Antim Monastery is a beautiful walled complex built in 1715 by the metropolitan bishop Antim Ivireanu.
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