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Old St. George Church

Baroque Revival architecture in RomaniaChurches completed in 1881Historic monuments in BucharestRomanian Orthodox churches in Bucharest
Biserica „Sf. Gheorghe Vechi“
Biserica „Sf. Gheorghe Vechi“

The Old St. George Church (Romanian: Biserica Sfântul Gheorghe Vechi) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 36 Calea Moșilor in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to Saint George. A monastery was established on the site in 1492, as mentioned in the 1848 pisanie. The nearby foundation of a 16th-century church was excavated in 1954. Tradition holds that the monastery was the seat of the Metropolis of Ungro-Wallachia between 1545 and 1575. The complex was destroyed by Ottoman forces in November 1595, following the Battle of Călugăreni. A 1621 document mentions the imposing bell tower that likely survived until the Great Fire of 1847. Documents of the 1660s and ‘70s mention the church, which burned in 1718 but was rebuilt in 1724. Seriously damaged by the 1802 and 1838 earthquakes, it was finally destroyed by the 1847 Great Fire of Bucharest. Quickly rebuilt by parishioners, it reopened in 1849. The frail structure was demolished in 1875.The parish council supervised the rebuilding of the church, which was completed in 1881 and consecrated the same year by Calinic Miclescu. Gheorghe Pompilian, inspired by Gheorghe Tattarescu, executed the painting. The iconostasis, carved in sycamore, is in the Ukrainian Baroque style, as is the church itself. Parts of the interior are linden, while the massive entrance door is oak. Renovations were carried out following the 1940 earthquake, in 1964 and in the 1980s and ‘90s.The cross-shaped church is 32 x 16.9 meters, with the Christ Pantocrator dome reaching 24 meters high. The narthex, typical of the 19th century, is especially large. There is an original crypt under the altar. The structure has walls of 90-100 centimeters thick, on a foundation of cement and brick. The windows are of stained glass. The exterior is simple, the decor consisting of pilasters with neo-Corinthian capitals. A Greek Revival pediment sits above the portico. The domes are characteristically Ukrainian Baroque, but adapted for Romanian preferences.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Old St. George Church (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Old St. George Church
Calea Moșilor, Bucharest Centrul Istoric (Sector 3)

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N 44.43085 ° E 26.10518 °
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Biserica Ortodoxă "Sfântul Gheorghe Vechi"

Calea Moșilor
030204 Bucharest, Centrul Istoric (Sector 3)
Romania
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Biserica „Sf. Gheorghe Vechi“
Biserica „Sf. Gheorghe Vechi“
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Bucharest
Bucharest

Bucharest (UK: BOO-kə-REST, US: -⁠rest; Romanian: București [bukuˈreʃtʲ] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than 60 km (37.3 mi) north of the Danube River and the Bulgarian border. Bucharest was first mentioned in documents in 1459. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the centre of Romanian media, culture, and art. Its architecture is a mix of historical (mostly Eclectic, but also Neoclassical and Art Nouveau), interbellum (Bauhaus, Art Deco and Romanian Revival architecture), communist era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of 'Paris of the East' (Romanian: Parisul Estului) or 'Little Paris' (Romanian: Micul Paris). Although buildings and districts in the historic city centre were heavily damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and even Nicolae Ceaușescu's program of systematization, many survived and have been renovated. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom. It is one of the fastest-growing high-tech cities in Europe, according to the Financial Times, CBRE, TechCrunch, and others. UiPath, a global startup founded in Bucharest, has reached over $35 billion in valuation. Since 2019, Bucharest hosts the largest high tech summit in Southeast Europe (Romania Blockchain Summit).In 2016, the historical city centre was listed as 'endangered' by the World Monuments Watch. In 2017, Bucharest was the European city with the highest growth of tourists who stay over night, according to the Mastercard Global Index of Urban Destinations. As for the past two consecutive years, 2018 and 2019, Bucharest ranked as the European destination with the highest potential for development according to the same study.According to the 2011 census, 1,883,425 inhabitants live within the city limits. Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.27 million people. In 2020, the government used 2.5 million people as the basis for pandemic reports. Bucharest is the fourth largest city in the European Union by population within city limits, after Berlin, Madrid, and Rome, just ahead of Paris. Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania. The city has a number of large convention facilities, educational institutes, cultural venues, traditional 'shopping arcades' and recreational areas. The city proper is administratively known as the 'Municipality of Bucharest' (Municipiul București), and has the same administrative level as that of a national county, being further subdivided into six sectors, each governed by a local mayor.

Răzvan Church
Răzvan Church

The Răzvan Church (Romanian: Biserica Răzvan) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 3 Biserica Răzvan Street in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. The initial church on the site was reportedly founded in 1620 by the Vornic Răzvan. In 1956 and 1969, archaeological excavations unearthed graves from the mid-16th century, suggesting the presence of an even earlier church. According to the 1706 pisanie, it was rebuilt that year and the previous one by Ianache Văcărescu. Prior to 1775, it was placed under the authority of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Excavations of 1958 brought to light foundations and cellars from the 17th and 18th centuries, confirming its previous state as a monastery, mentioned in an 1813 document.After a period of deterioration, the church burned during the Great Fire of Bucharest in 1847. The parishioners repaired it in 1857–1859, at the same time commissioning Constantin Lecca and Mișu Popp to paint the interior. Meanwhile, the old portal inscription was placed upside down in the portico as a paving stone. The 1863 secularization law transformed the monastery into a parish church, while its properties and assets were seized. A 1969 restoration sought to return the church to its original form, replacing the square, wooden bell tower with the current structure, and lowering the entrance considerably beneath the street level.The nave shaped church measures 24 meters long by 6.5 meters wide, with walls nearly a meter thick and an altar apse that is polygonal on the exterior. It has an open portico followed by a narthex surmounted by the square-based bell tower, reached through a small tower on the north side. The narthex and nave each have a spherical ceiling. The portico facade has three arches resting on thick masonry pillars, as well as two arches on each side. Entry into the narthex is through a finely sculpted stone portal that holds the pisanie inscribed with Romanian Cyrillic characters. The exterior features a string course about two-thirds of the way up, between two rows of sawtooth bricks. The surface is covered in plaster and lime. The tile roof has a large gutter.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs. Also listed is the parish house, situated to the northwest. Built on two levels with thick walls, it is a fairly well preserved example of a wealthier town dweller's home from around 1856–1860.