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Mântuleasa Church

Churches completed in 1733Historic monuments in BucharestRomanian Orthodox churches in Bucharest
Biserica Mântuleasa 69
Biserica Mântuleasa 69

The Mântuleasa Church (Romanian: Biserica Mântuleasa) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 20 Mântuleasa Street in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The church is named after the street on which it stands, which in turn derives from a wealthy merchant, Manta, who owned land in the area. It was built by his sister Maria and his wife Stanca, according to the pisanie of 1733. For a time, it was enlarged by closing the portico and adding another in front. The dome, which fell during an earthquake, was provisionally replaced by one of wood. It was restored to its original form between 1924 and 1930.The church is small, 22 meters long by 7.7 to 10 meters wide, with the dome rising to 18 meters. Cross-shaped, it is covered in tin and has a long gutter. The portico has three arches in the main facade and one on each side; these rest on massive cylindrical columns of painted brick. The octagonal dome, with narrow windows, sits on a square base above the elongated narthex. The interior Byzantine frescoes came to light when the walls were washed in 1925. Their color and style places them in the Brâncovenesc period. The masonry facades are divided into two sections by a painted row. An icon of the patron saints sits in a recess above the entrance, flanked by paintings of Saints Nicholas and Stylianos.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, as is the parish house.

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

Mântuleasa Church
Strada Mântuleasa, Bucharest Cartierul Armenesc (Sector 2)

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N 44.4352 ° E 26.1134 °
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Biserica Ortodoxă Mântuleasa (Biserica Sfinții Arhangheli Mihail și Gavril)

Strada Mântuleasa 20
023962 Bucharest, Cartierul Armenesc (Sector 2)
Romania
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Biserica Mântuleasa 69
Biserica Mântuleasa 69
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St. Stephen–Călărași Church
St. Stephen–Călărași Church

St. Stephen–Călărași Church (Romanian: Biserica Sfântul Ștefan–Călărași) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 83 Calea Călărași in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to Saint Stephen. The church was built by the clucer Stoica and completed in 1768, as mentioned on the pisanie. It suffered damage in the 1838 earthquake and was repaired the following year. It burned during the 1847 Great Fire of Bucharest and was again fixed. It underwent restoration in 1915–1916, 1942, after the 1977 earthquake and in 2003. The interior oil painting dates to 1886, and covers the original, which suffered damage in 1847. Fragments of the initial frescoes survive in the portico. The paintings include allusions to two recent events: the military saints George and Demetrius recall the Romanian War of Independence, while the bishop's miters symbolize the autocephaly of the Romanian church.A small church, it measures 19.7 meters long by 7-11 meters wide, reaching 6.7 meters high at the pediment and 13.5 meters at the dome. It forms part of the post-Brâncovenesc current, with a cross shape like most of its contemporaries. It has an open portico, a narthex surmounted by a bell tower, a nave and an altar. The bell tower is one of few surviving examples with its form: octagonal on the exterior, with slender columns on the edges and five small arches above the elongated windows. The portico has three arches on brick columns.The facades are divided into two sections by a brick row. The larger lower portion is decorated with recesses, while the upper features medallions painted with icons of saints, as at the Stavropoleos Monastery. The subjects are Saint Stephen, John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, the Virgin Mary as well as Plato, Aristotle and the sibyls Delphica and Persica, depicted as saints with haloes. These were repainted in 1907. The exterior is decorated with flowers and leaves of various hues. The parish house dates to 1936, while a wooden bell tower is from 2002.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

Merchants' Church
Merchants' Church

The Merchants' Church (Romanian: Biserica Negustori) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 5 Teodor Ștefănescu Street in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to Saint Nicholas. The oldest mention of a church on the site dates to 1665; the structure was of wood, with a bell tower. Its roof was of thatch or frame, and the entire church was destroyed by a 1718 fire that ravaged the city center. Under the supervision of Župan Simion Cupețul, it was rebuilt of brick between 1721 and 1726, dates recorded by the pisanie, and was painted by Pârvu Mutu and his apprentices. The 1802 earthquake damaged the structure, with an 1819 document mentioning its “very bad shape”. The 1838 earthquake provoked further damage, leading to its closure for a year. In 1839, High Agha Manuil Serghiad repaired it with his own money, so that he is considered a second ktetor.Radical repairs took place in 1867-1870, when the two domes were built of wood and tin, in an academic style with Classic Revival touches. The frame roof was replaced with tin. In 1888, Mayor Pache Protopopescu, whose father had been the parish priest, led efforts to enclose the portico with French windows, enlarge the side windows and hire Gheorghe Tattarescu to paint over much of the original fresco. Restorations took place in 1924-1930, including of the newer frescoes. In 1942, as a result of the 1940 earthquake, a wide iron belt was placed on the upper part of the exterior. The 1977, 1986 and 1990 earthquakes enlarged old cracks and caused new ones to appear, while the structural stability was weakened. Consolidation work took place in 2002.The cross-shaped church measures 27.6 meters long by 8.3 meters wide, and 11.4 meters high. The portico is spacious, with three frontal arches and two on each side resting on cylindrical masonry columns. The portal contains the 1839 pisanie, while the older one is fitted into the left wall. The 1870 bell tower rises above the square narthex; coated in tin, it has a slender column on each corner. An intermediate space, covered by a vaulted ceiling, separates the narthex from the nave. The latter is also square, with two apses, and supports the Pantocrator dome. A wooden iconostasis leads to the altar. A string course divides the exterior into two unequal sections. The pediment, with Neoclassical touches, probably dates to 1870. Nearly all of the surviving original frescoes are in the portico. Illustrating the Psalms, they offer valuable insight into the costumes of early 18th-century Wallachia. Near the altar, there is a small parish house, donated to the church in 1872.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

Saint Mina Vergu Church
Saint Mina Vergu Church

Saint Mina Vergu Church (Romanian: Biserica Sfântul Mina Vergu) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 18A C. F. Robescu Street in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to Saint Mina. The name of the church derives from Vergo, who served as paharnic around 1695. The first church on the site dated to 1724–1725. It was destroyed by the 1838 and 1853 earthquakes, and by the 1847 Great Fire of Bucharest. The rebuilt church was completed in 1874; it houses relics and a wonderworking icon of its eponymous saint. The building was renovated in 1900, when the portico was added, and painted the following year. Following the 1940 earthquake, it was again repaired in 1941–1943, following the plans of Constantin Joja. In 1945, the large dome was consolidated and the frescoes redone. Further repairs and repainting followed the 1977 quake, and the church was rededicated in 1981.The bell tower dates to 2002.The nave-shaped church has a polygonal altar apse. It measures 23.8 meters long by 8 meters wide. The large dome sits on the nave, while the smaller, which features bells, is on the narthex. The square-based domes have eight faces with arched windows and slender columns on the edges. The portico has a single arch on two columns. The facades are simple, in Neo-Brâncovenesc elements, and divided by two rows of bricks. The large stained-glass windows have ornamental niches. The upper areas are decorated with friezes in geometric patterns.The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.

Olari Church
Olari Church

The Olari Church (Romanian: Biserica Olari) is a Romanian Orthodox church located at 6 Olari Street in Bucharest, Romania. It is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God. The church is named after the surrounding district, a place where potters (olari) dug for clay, according to a 1752 document. A church, probably of wood, stood nearby in the first half of the 18th century. According to the pisanie, located above the entrance door and written in Romanian Cyrillic, the church was built in 1758. An 1847 plan notes that it was also called Ceauș (doorman) Precup. The church was originally surrounded by walls and cells, which also hosted a school; all these structures were demolished in the late 19th century. In 1836, the church was repaired and modified: the portico was closed, with another small one on two columns added, and the interior was repainted in oil. The tin-coated wooden domes were rebuilt in 1863. An 1869 repainting followed the style of Gheorghe Tattarescu, with a series of framed works.A professional restoration of 1939-1943 replaced the tin with tiles and remade the domes of masonry, like in the original structure; the added plaster was removed, bringing to light the initial form of the portico, with painted columns and arches; the second portico was removed. In 1982-1983, during the systematization of Calea Moșilor ordered by the Nicolae Ceaușescu regime, the church was moved 58 meters, ending up behind a row of apartment blocks. It was re-sanctified and reopened in 1984. The painting was restored in 1994-2002, bringing to light a previously hidden depiction of Abraham.The three-lobed church measures 23 meters long by 6.5 to 13 meters wide, with two octagonal domes on square bases. The portico, with three semicircular arches resting on masonry columns, is enclosed by windows and metal grilles. The columns and archivolts are painted with red, black and brown floral motifs. A simple string course divides the facade into two nearly equal parts. These are decorated with arched recesses, in pairs above, single and larger below. On the entrance facade, above the arches and among the frames, there are three medallions from 1943. These are painted in fresco with the patron feast in the center, flanked by Saints Peter and Paul. A small flower garden surrounds the church.The north apse features an icon of the Virgin Mary; ascribed by some with wonder-working abilities, it is surrounded by 24 depictions of reported miracles. It was brought around 1810 by monks fleeing persecution in Turkey; in 1864, the gilt silver coating was removed and placed on another icon before the royal doors, while a new covering was created for the original. The church is listed as a historic monument by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.