Monasteries in Northern Wallachia

The Monasteries in Wallachia have been built in totally a different style from the ones in Moldavia. The local people habits, traditions and the way the villages look, as well as the scenery itself is different. Horezu Monastery (1690-1697) is the most important religious architectural monument from the Brancoveanu period (period that generated the only really genuine Romanian architectural style, Brancoveanu style). The church was decorated with exterior stone sculptures, and on the inside there is a valuable bunch of frescoes. The legend says that, being afraid of the Turks, the workers did everything at nighttime. Cozia Monastery (1386-1388) was built by Mircea cel Batran and attracts the attention through the elegance and harmony of its shape, as well as through the richness of its decorations and the valuable painting. Close to this monastery there can be visited Turnu and Staniaoara Monasteries, nicely located in Cozia Mountains. Govora Monastery (1488) still preserves an outstandingly beautiful interior painting, as well as a feudal art museum. Bistrita Monastery (1491-1492) and Arnota Monastery (1633-1636), Patrunsa and Pahomie Convents are just some other reasons to visit these places. The Church Built from Only One Tree in Francesti attracts travelers through a weird fact: it was built from only one oak tree in the end of the 16th century. The early 18th century painting can still be seen.

A particularly interesting monastery with a very nice legend linked to its building is the one in Curtea de Arges, located at the foothills of Fagaras Mountains, in the town where the Transfagarasan road starts. The monastery was built under the rule of Neagoe Basarab and hosts the graves of the Romanian kings.