“Destination: Bucharest” - A tour of the city’s churches

After the urban transformations undertaken during the last years of communism, the city’s churches were among the most affected. Demolished, relocated and hidden in between blocks of flats, these managed to survive however, taking further a rich patrimony of religious art and architecture. We go on a tour of several of the city’s Orthodox churches and discover centuries of history that gather active communities.

First stop: Colțea Church, near Universitate Square. Constable Mihail Cantacuzino built it between 1695 and 1698, on the place of a wooden church dating back to 1641. It is considered a representative monument of the Brâncovenesc era, combining decorative techniques of the local tradition with oriental, Baroque and Late Renaissance influences. The exterior fresco is attributed to Pârvu Mutu, a muralist and church painter who worked on several ensembles, many of them commissioned by the Cantacuzino family.