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Religious Tourism
The population on the present territory of Romania was converted to Christianity since the very first centuries after Christ. Romania, the only Latin country in the region, is, unlike other Latin countries, an almost entirely Orthodox country.
Dobrogea is the place where Christianity entered Romania. This area is rich in an early Christian inheritance and some old monastic traditions dating since the first Christian centuries. Here you can visit the Cave of Saint Andrew, the apostle who preached Christianity in Dobrogea, and the cave art complex from Basarabi, containing six small churches, galleries and tombs dating since the 10th century. At Cocoş and Celic Dere monasteries there are the shrines of some martyr saints since 290 – 303 a.C.
Expression of the powerful religious feeling animating the inhabitants of these places throughout the time, there are the numerous churches and monasteries raised all over the country, some of them sheltering some saints’ relics.
After the fall of Constantinople, in this area the religious architecture knew an extraordinary growth which was also perceived as a means of facing the Ottoman danger. The churches built in this period, in the Northern area of Moldavia, having as specific feature the walls covered with exterior frescos, are now included in the UNESCO patrimony. Voroneţ Monastery, also known as ”The Sixtine Chapel of the East”, Suceviţa and Moldoviţa Monasteries are the most famous among these.
The religious buildings in The Romanian Country dating since the same period (the 15th and the 16th centuries) present strong eastern influences, the most representative being Curtea de Argeş Monastery, characterized by an extremely rich adornment. At the end of the 17th century, the influences of the Renaissance combined with the local styles gave birth to the Brâncovenesc style, perfectly depicted by Horezu Monastery, a construction with wide vaults and white walls, also belonging to the UNESCO patrimony.
In Maramureş, the religious architecture took the shape of the wooden churches. These works of traditional art can be found in every village on the Iza Valley. The tallest wooden building in Europe is the church of Bârsana Monastery, whose spire is 63 m. moreover, at Ieud, one of the most beautiful villages from Maramureş, there is the oldest wooden church in the world. The most valuable such churches are in their turn part of the UNESCO patrimony.
One of the oldest churches in Romania is found in Densuş, in the Haţeg depression. It is certified since the 10th, although it contains elements dating from the 2nd century. Built on the supporting pillars of a Roman altar, it has as buttresses Roman columns from Sarmizegetusa Regia. Other monasteries having an exquisite architecture are Cozia, Mănăstirea dintr-un lemn (The One wood Monastery), Arnota and Frăsinei – the Romanian Athos.
Apart from the numerous Orthodox churches, in Romania there are also other religious settlements, Judaic, Muslim, Catholic and Protestant, built by the different ethnic populations. Thus, in Dobrogea there are numerous mosques, in many cities from Transylvania, at every corner, you will meet Catholic cathedrals and Protestant churches, and quite few are the synagogues of the Jewish community.
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