City: Transylvania
Top Things to do in Transylvania
Things to do in Transylvania, Romania: The Best Sacred & Religious Sites
Transylvania is a historical region in today's central Romania. Bound on the east and south by its natural borders, the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended westward to the Apuseni Mountains. The term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical regions of Crișana and Maramureș, and occasionally the Romanian part of Banat.
Restaurants in Transylvania
1. Wooden Churches of Maramures
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 98 reviews
Reviewed By doinab634
More or less alike at a first glance - elegant shape, sky-piercing spires,,richly decorated interiors, polychrome murals evoking the most memorable episodes of Christianity, any of the 5 UNESCO-listed wooden churches I visited exudes a unique feeling of simplicity,sobriety and devotion.Apart from elaborately carved wooden doors laden with such typical symbol-motifs as the twisted rope, the tree life, the wolf's tooth or rosettes (notice them on the monumental gates of a peasant's home), each of them is peculiarized by fabulous details. For instance, St Nicholas' Church in Budesti - the chainmail armor and helmet of Pintea the Brave (Pintea, legendary figure of the local historiography and folk literature, was the Robin Hood of Maramures, preceding the latter by nearly 100 years);or the Virgin Mary's Nativity Church in Ieud on the Hill.Built in mid-14th century by a local craftsman, this wooden church is the oldest in Romania and it jumped into public attention a century ago when the oldest writing in the Romanian language notwithstanding its Cyrillic characters(dating back to 1391-1392) was found out in its garret.Known as The Pandect from Ieud, it can be seen in the Library of the Romanian Academy and the Introduction adorns the entrance to the new church erected in the lowland area of the village.
2. Manastirea Sf. Ilie
3. Sf. Nicolae Church (Saint Nicholas)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 231 reviews
Reviewed By Vladimiramirela - Mississauga, Canada
St. Nicholas is more than a church. It is an Orthodox Cathedral as well as a Museum Complex as it also represents the First Romanian School, taught in Romanian in times where schooling was regarded as a luxury and subjects were mostly presented in French, German or Latin. St. Nicholas is an amazingly beautiful monument in itself and while in Brasov, I highly recommend stopping for a visit.
4. Bezdin Monastery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By MonicaB85 - Oradea, Romania
The Monastery is located in a very quite area- National Parc of Muresul River, isolated by Bezdin village. Inside fresco remind of the glorios time of fine artists...is a very nice jewellery of Serbian Orthodox Church....one of the unique in Romania. The place need urgently some renovations works, otherwise in some years will disappear.
5. Moon Church (Biserica cu Luna)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 120 reviews
This name derives from the mechanism installed in the church tower in 1793. The clock and the moon are the work of George Rueppe, an innovative mechanic from Oradea. The mechanism rotating the moon is designed to make a full rotation on its axis in 28 days, thus indicating the moon phases, depending on the daily cycle marked by the clock mechanism. Inside the Moon Church you can visit a representative museum, with particularly beautiful Orthodox church-related objects.
Reviewed By Vladimiramirela - Mississauga, Canada
The rotating moon installed in the church tower in 1793 gives this religious sanctuary its name and reputation. The mechanism is still working, enabling people to admire the diferent phases of the moon from accross the square. The church is also known as the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and it is a Christian-Orthodox church with intricate interiors.
6. Lutheran Evangelical Cathedral & Tower
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 412 reviews
Reviewed By sricu1 - Tel Aviv, Israel
The cathedral was built in 1520 on the building of a 12th century Romanesque church. In the foreground stands the statue of George Daniel Tautz, Bishop of Sibiu from 1899. The cathedral is Gothic-style and has five towers, the highest of which is 73 meters high and is seen from almost everywhere in the city The eastern wall of the church is covered with a huge painting (more than 9 meters high), painted by the painter "Rosano" in 1445, showing the crucifixion of Jesus. The largest organ in all of Southeastern Europe, located in the Baroque style dating from 1671, has six thousand pipes and in the summer months of June-September, there are concerts for organ organisms on Wednesdays.
7. Orthodox Cathedral Holy Trinity
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 240 reviews
This is the second largest Orthodox Cathedral in Romania.
Reviewed By Honisoiquimalypense - Derby, United Kingdom
This is quite an impressive building from outside with its red and yellow striped brick work - very Byzantine in appearance. It was apparently modelled on the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and is the seat of the Romania Orthodox Archbishop of Sibiu. Although the outside is quite magnificent in its own way - the inside is fabulous - ornately decorated and painted with a great altar. This is the umber one attraction in Sibiu, in my opinion.
8. The Roman-Catholic Cathedral
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 69 reviews
Reviewed By florentinadriang - Arad, Romania
Built in Baroque style, between 1751-1779, the Roman Catholic Cathedral is located on Şirul Canonicilor Street, inside the Park of the Baroque Complex, a space that also houses the Roman Catholic Episcopal Palace. Being in a very good state of preservation, both inside and outside, the building is distinguished by its exterior monumentality and by an intelligent exploitation of the interior space. All those who step on its doorstep and enter it will feel dominated by a deep state of mystical elevation, largely due to the play of light, shadow and color, but also the special effect of the altar. The pipe organ, still functional, was donated by Empress Maria Theresa. Adorable!
9. Surdesti Wooden Church
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 41 reviews
Reviewed By Tiberiu_Baranyi - Timisoara, Romania
The wooden church at Surdesti - together with it twin church in Plopis - used to be the tallest wooden church in Maramures , until the church of the Monastery Sapanta Peri was erected ... it is 72 m high ( Peri is 75 m still debatable since it is half stone and brick and half wood that 1 - so for me is not all "Wooden" !). Built in 1721 by team of locals lead by the famous master of wooden church building Ion Macarie and painted by the not less famous church painter Stefan Zugravul - the church still preserves the decorations as those were made (it is a Greek Catholic church - and given that less candles and incense is used during the service - hence less smoke to darken the paintings ...). Visiting will cost you 7 RON - a little over 1,5 Euro's but the custodian will give you a very detailed explanation about the history of the church. The steep roofing - stepped - and the central tower with the 4 small towers surrounding it are the marks of the old wooden churches in Maramures. Since 1999 this church is also on the UNESCO world heritage list (among other 7 ). So if you are in the area it is certainly a must do - regardless if you are religious or not (and since Plopis is only 3 km away you can visit both this churches.). It is indeed an experience.
10. Brancoveanu Monastery
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