Curtea de Argeș, Arges Monastery, the Episcopal Church

GPS Coordinates:
45.15688 N, 24.67543 E

In the park of the monastery we are greeted by the statue of Neagoe Basarab (1512-1521) the founder of the monastery. Vlad Dracul built the primacy of Muntenia here between 1437-1439. Neagoe Basarab pulled down these walls in 1512 and built the monastery. It was built between 1514 and 1517 and was done by the legendary Mesterul Manole (Kőműves Kelemen), who sacrificed his wife and his own life to complete the building.

Neagoe Basarab died before the opening of the monastery. It was completed in 1526 by his son-in-law, Radu de la Afumați, helped by master Dobromir, who painted the interior walls. The later damage caused by people, fired and earthquakes was mended in 1682 by Șerban Cantacuzino, ruler of Muntenia.

Following another fire, the last restoration was made between 1875 and 1886 under the lead of the French André Lecomte du Nouy, who replaced the old paintings with his brother's work. Jean Jules Antoine's paintings are much less valuable than the replaced ones. Only some of the XVI century paintings survived this restoration. Due to this the original paintings made by master Dobromir in 1526 can be seen only in the Bucharest History and Art Museum.

The old altar screen and some pictures of saints dating back to Serban Cantacuzino's time, in the XVII century are preserved by the monastery. The pictures of Carol I and Queen Elisabeth.

The gospel with gold letters written and painted by the queen herself are also guarded by the monastery. The interior pillars of the church vestibule support a middle tower, and two smaller spiral towers. The vestibule houses the vaults of Neagoe Basarab, Radu de la Afumați, and Romania's royal couples: Carol I and Elisabeth, Ferdinand and Maria. The columns standing for the 12 apostles are ornamented with flower patterns, in the oriental style.

Open hours:

In summer : 8.00 - 20.00

In winter : 8.00 - 17.00

Contact

Tel : 0040-248-722-223

You can speak with us in:

Romanian, English

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