The most beautiful religious buildings Transylvania & Carpathian Mountains

The Orthodox church of Feleacu has a singular appearance: it is Gothic in style (especially its vaults and portal) and almost entirely white. Inside it has wall paintings and icons from the 18th century. Built in 1516, it was completely restored in 1925 and has been listed as a historic monument since 2010. The adjoining monastery is also worth a visit, with its impressive architecture and beautiful paintings and gilding inside.

The imposing Armenian Church of the Holy Trinity(Sfânta Treime) was built between 1748 and 1804, at a time when Gherla was one of the most important centers of the Armenian community in Eastern Europe. All white, in Transylvanian Baroque style, with three towers, it houses ^14th-century gospels, including one written in Cyprus in 1316. Also on display is a painting attributed to Rubens, The Descent from the Cross. The high altar and secondary altars are decorated with typically Baroque paintings and statues.

Built by the Dominicans in the 13th century, following Gothic plans, its present appearance dates from the alterations carried out at the beginning of the 16th century. When the Saxons converted to Lutheranism in 1556, they made it their cathedral. Damaged in the fire of 1676, it underwent further modifications, including the addition of two buttresses. The frame of the decorated stone main door is typical of the Transylvanian Renaissance style. The interior, with its 16th century oriental carpets and Baroque altar, is particularly dark and overcrowded.

The center is dotted with numerous churches for the various religious communities. These include the Reformed Church (1781), which stands between the two central squares. To the west of piața Primăriei stands a Franciscan church, Baroque in style, with a façade flanked by two towers. Dating from the 18th^century , it is the oldest religious building on the square. It is adjoined by a Franciscan monastery. The Catholic church of Sfântul Nicolae (1793) stands on the hill of the same name, just south of the town, at the entrance to an attractive wooded cemetery.

Fifteen kilometers south-west of Odorheiu Secuiesc, the small village of Dârjiu(Székelyderzs in Hungarian) is home to a beautiful fortified church, listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1999. It's one of the few examples of a Saxon-style fortified church in Sicily. The complex has benefited from an extensive renovation program. Once you've collected your keys from the reverend, you'll be taken on a tour of the surrounding walls and storage areas... The bastions were long used as a larder by the villagers, who came here to stock up on meat, sausages and smoked bacon. Hence its nickname "the fortress of bacon". Every Wednesday, the enclosure was opened to allow villagers to come and stock up. Inside the Gothic church, built in the early ^15th century and remodeled in late Gothic style at the end of the ^16th century, you'll admire beautiful ^15th-century frescoes and attractive wooden furniture painted with traditional motifs on a light blue background. You'll also see a brick bearing the Sicilian runic script, dated between 1274 and 1431. Today, the church is dedicated to Unitarian (Protestant) worship.

Guided tours are offered in July and August. Every Wednesday, it's also possible to take part in the "bacon ceremony", followed by a traditional meal held inside a bastion. Call a few days in advance to make your reservation.

It was erected in 1921-1922 to celebrate the coronation of King Ferdinand and Queen Marie, sovereigns of a united Greater Romania, on October 15, 1922. Nicknamed the "Coronation Cathedral", it stands at the western entrance to the citadel. In traditional Romanian style, it follows the Greek cross plan, with an open porch supported by strong columns. The interior murals, in neo-Byzantine style, are by Costin Petrescu. You'll also see portraits of Michael the Brave (Mihai Viteazul) and his wife, Princess Stanca.

It is in this 16th century monastery that the craze for icons on glass was born. Practiced here since the 12th century, the activity developed strongly from 1699: that year, according to legend, tears flowed from the icon of the Virgin Mary for twenty-six days. It can be seen inside the Sfântul Ioan church Botezătorul (1879). The monastery also includes a wooden church dating from 1701 and a museum exhibiting many icons from different periods. On August 15, a crowd of pilgrims converges on this monastery and its famous icon.

This place of worship has had an eventful history over the centuries. Originally, it was the first Catholic church in Cluj. It was destroyed during the first Tatar invasion in 1241, replaced by a Romanesque church and rebuilt in Gothic style in the ^15th century. The monastery was then built by the Dominicans. The site was no longer used for religious purposes from 1556 to 1609, when it fell into the hands of the Calvinists. In 1728, the Franciscans recovered the building and launched a campaign to restore the bell tower, in a Baroque architectural style. The church then suffered the consequences of Romania's political climate: it was confiscated in 1949, when the Communist authorities decided to dissolve the Franciscan order in Romania. For many years, the building housed a music school, until 1990, the year that marked the end of the church's special history. It then became the property of the Roman Catholic Church and the Franciscan order, along with part of the monastery.

The building was restored in the 1970s and 1980s, during two periods of renovation. An attractive inner courtyard separates the church from the monastery. The monastery also houses an important Franciscan library, with a collection of over a thousand volumes. Finally, in the square in front of the building stands an obelisk, said to have been erected after the visit of Austrian Emperor Francis ^I and his wife, Caroline.

Along the narrow rue Mihail Kogălniceanu you will notice the beautiful stones of the central reformed church, nicknamed the reformed church of the rue des Loups. Built in 1486 by order of Mathias Corvin, then King of Hungary, it houses organs reputed to be among the best in Europe. Its portal is guarded by a replica of one of the oldest Renaissance statues (14th century), Saint George Slaying the Dragon, the work of two local sculptors. The original is now in Prague, opposite the palace Hradčany.

This beautiful Reformed church, with its bell tower emblematic of the region, was built in the ^13th century. Destroyed by fire in the ^19th century, it was partially rebuilt, retaining its tower, built in 1762. One of its bells, on display in the surrounding garden, dates back to 1481. The interiors are quite sober, but very harmonious, adorned with beautiful white and red Hungarian embroidery. Note also the superb coffered vaults, painted with traditional local motifs and magnificently restored in 1994.

In the ^19th century, Romanian Orthodox were not allowed to build overly visible religious edifices within the city walls. That's why the Church of the Assumption, built in 1896, is located in a courtyard behind the parish house: to reach it, you have to cross a long porch, which passes under the house. A faithful copy of the Greek church in Vienna, its frescoes and decorations are impressive. Major renovation work was carried out in 1972.

Before 1781, the Orthodox were not allowed to build places of worship within the city walls. At the end of the ^18th century, however, they were allowed to erect a discreet church without a steeple. Occupying two former Saxon houses, the Church of the Holy Trinity(Sfânta Treime), invisible from the street, is characterized by its rich ornamentation, beautiful icons and precious collection of religious objects. It was used by the Greek community.

This baroque church was built between 1776 and 1782 with the support of Empress Maria Theresa. It was built on the site of a 14th century church erected by the Dominicans, which was abandoned after the Lutheran Reformation. Inside, the walls are richly decorated with stucco. The stained-glass windows were made at the end of the 19th century in the workshop of the master József Palka in Budapest. It is the only building in the city that is entirely Baroque in style.

20 km east of Avrig, not far from the banks of the Olt river, the monastery of Cârța was built in the early ^13th century by Cistercian monks. Ravaged in 1241 by the Tatars, it was rebuilt, then abandoned in the ^15th century on the orders of King Mathias Corvin, in the face of the Ottoman threat. Only the choir of the abbey church (transformed in the ^18th century), the entrance tower and the ruins of the monastery itself remain of the complex, which is Gothic in style with Romanesque remains. Today, the abbey church is used by the Saxon Lutheran community.

At the very end of the long Rue Lungă (hence the name!), heading towards Bran and Râșnov, you'll see the evangelical church of St. Bartholomew(biserica evanghelică Sfântul Bartolomeu). Built in 1223 by Saxon settlers, this Romanesque church is the town's oldest. Its Gothic elements are later additions. Today, it is used by a small community of Saxon parishioners. In July, organ concerts are held here.

This place is well worth a visit. One of the churches of this Franciscan monastery was built by the famous voivode János Hunyadi in 1448. Demolished in 1802, it was rebuilt in neoclassical style with a Baroque influence. The church is famous for its statue of the Virgin Mary, carved from limewood to a height of 2.30 meters and reputed to perform miracles. On Whitsun Sunday, Mount Somlyó (1,035 meters) hosts the Pilgrimage of the Siculi, which attracts huge crowds.

Built in several stages on the site of a Romanesque church destroyed by the Tatars in 1241, this cathedral is representative of the major artistic trends of the Middle Ages: Romanesque (basilica, transept), Gothic (choir), Renaissance and Baroque. The funerary monuments house the remains of the city's great bishops and the sarcophagi of great princely families, including that of János Hunyadi (Iancu de Hunedoara), famous prince of Transylvania.