Curtea de Argeș Monastery
The town’s best-known monument is a few hundred metres from Casa Sima. Leave the car in our courtyard and you’re there on foot in about 7 minutes.
- Address
- Bulevardul Basarabilor 1, Curtea de Argeș
- From Casa Sima
- about 600 m, roughly a 7-minute walk
- Indicative hours
- summer 8:00–20:00, winter 9:00–17:00
- Good to know
- it’s a working monastery: modest dress, quiet during services
What you’ll see
The church was built by Prince Neagoe Basarab between 1515 and 1517 and consecrated on 15 August 1517, the feast of the Dormition. The first thing that stops you is the carved stone facade, worked almost like embroidery, and the twisted towers, unlike any other church in the country.
It is also the setting of the legend of Master Manole, the builder who, as the story goes, walled his wife into the church so that its walls would stop collapsing.
The princely and royal necropolis
The narthex holds the tombs of princes Neagoe Basarab and Radu of Afumați and of Romania’s first royal couples: Carol I and Elisabeth, Ferdinand and Marie. Next to it stands the new archiepiscopal and royal cathedral, where King Michael I and Queen Anne are buried.
Getting there from Casa Sima
On foot: it’s about 600 metres, roughly 7 minutes. No need for the car, or for a parking space.
Tips
- Mornings are quieter, and the light on the facade is lovely.
- The hours above are those published by Argeș County Council. They can change on feast days and during services, so ask us if you want to go at a particular time.
- Combine the visit with the Princely Court and St Nicholas Princely Church, about 2.5 km from the guesthouse.
Next: Poenari Fortress, Vidraru Dam, or a plan for the whole weekend.