Biserica Mănăstirii "Stavropoleos"

Stavropoleos Monastery Church is a small jewel tucked into a side street in the Old Town, a few steps from the bustle of Lipscani. Built in the early 18th century, in the time of the Phanariote princes, it is one of the purest examples of the Brâncovenesc style in the city — a Romanian synthesis of Byzantine, Oriental and Baroque elements that developed around the year 1700. Despite its modest size, the church is considered a masterpiece of Romanian religious art.

Its beauty lies in the detail, not the scale. The façade is covered in fine stone carving, with delicate columns and rich framings; the open porch has decorated arcades and painstakingly worked capitals; and the interior preserves murals and an atmosphere of quiet contemplation rarely found downtown. In the peaceful, plant-filled inner courtyard, fragments of carved stone and old tombstones are gathered together, salvaged from demolished churches. The monastic community also keeps up a well-known tradition of Byzantine chant, and the monastery holds a valuable library of old books, which makes it a living place and not merely a monument to look at.

Good to know

• It is an active church — enter discreetly, respect the silence and any services.
• You will find it on Strada Stavropoleos, very close to Cărturești Carusel and Manuc's Inn.
• For the schedule of services or Byzantine-chant concerts, check official sources.
• The inner courtyard is as worth seeing as the church — it is an unexpected corner of calm in the Old Town.
• The closest metro station is Piața Unirii.

In a quarter of bars and terraces, Stavropoleos is the oasis of silence — a small place that leaves a large impression. It is precisely the contrast between the bustle of the Old Town and the calm of its inner courtyard that makes it one of the most memorable stops on a walk through the area. It is the kind of place you discover by chance, at a turn in the street, and remember long afterwards, precisely because it is like nothing else around it.