Historic Churches

Apostles' Church (Biserica Sfintii Apostoli)
Address: Str. Sfintii Apostoli 1 (map)
Tel: (21) 336.07.84
One of the oldest churches in Bucharest (with parts dating back to the 16th century and a steeple built in 1715), the Apostles' Church is brimming with some rather strange portraits that are well worth seeing.

Metropolitan Church (Biserica Patriarhiei)
Address: Aleea Dealul Mitropoliei (map)
Set atop one of the city's few hills, known as Mitropoliei, the Metropolitan Church has been the centerpiece of the Romanian Orthodox faith since the 17th century. The church was built by Constantin Serban Basarab, ruler of the province of Walachia between 1656 and 1658, to a design inspired by the Curtea de Arges monastery. It became the Metropolitan Church in 1668 and the seat of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 1925.

The Byzantine interior, containing the most dazzling of the city's iconostasis, as well as a couple of exquisitely carved side altars, bestows great beauty on the services presided over by the Romanian Patriarch. A huge crowd gathers here for the Easter midnight service.

The outstanding bell-tower at the entrance was built in 1698 and restored in 1958. Next to the church, and closed to the public, is the Patriarchal Palace (1708), residence of the Teoctist, supreme leader of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

Stavropoleos Church (Biserica Stavropoleos)
Address: Str. Stavropoleos 4 (map)
Tel: (21) 313.47.47
The Stavropoleos Church was built in 1724 by the Greek monk Ioanikie Stratonikeas. Featuring a combination of Romanian and Byzantine architecture, it has a beautiful façade and a delicately carved columned entrance. Surrounded by a peaceful garden, it is an architectural jewel, with beautiful frescoes and wood-painted icons. The mass (in Romanian) is worth viewing if you can find room in this small and cozy church.

St. Joseph's Cathedral (Catedrala Sfantul Iosif)
Address: Str. G-ral Berthelot 19 (map)
Tel: (21) 312.12.08
Constructed in red brick between 1873 and 1884, this Roman Catholic cathedral is an architectural masterpiece combining both gothic and Roman elements. Organ recitals are held every week.

St. Nicolas Church (Biserica Sfantul Nicolae)
Address: Str. Ion Ghica 9 (map)
Tel: (21) 314.64.50
Built in 1909 by the Russian Tsar Nicholas II for 600,000 gold rubles, this Orthodox Church has a wooden, gold-gilded iconostasis allegedly modeled after the altar in the Archangelskiy Cathedral in Moscow.