Cozia Monastery

Cozia was founded around 1388 by Mircea the Elder and is one of the oldest surviving monastic complexes in Wallachia, built at a narrow point of the Olt valley where the river cuts through the Carpathians. The church shows its Serbian Morava influences clearly in the alternating bands of brick and stone and the rosettes carved around the windows, and inside it holds fourteenth-century wall painting alongside later work. Mircea's tomb is in the nave. A porch was added in the Brâncovenesc period, along with a fountain and improvements to the courtyards, and the museum in the complex holds manuscripts and icons. The monastery sits directly beside a busy main road, which is both why it is so easy to visit and why the setting is less peaceful than it was; the wooded slopes of the Cozia massif rise immediately behind.

History

Mircea the Elder, who ruled Wallachia from 1386 to 1418, built the monastery between 1387 and 1391 on a site first known as Nucetul, the walnut grove, and is buried here. Radu Paisie added the infirmary church in 1543, with frescoes including a votive portrait of Mircea and his sons, and in 1707 Constantin Brâncoveanu added the open porch, the stone fountain, a small chapel and a guard tower; repairs followed in 1850-1856 and a long restoration ran from 1958 to 1980 (Wikipedia, Cozia Monastery).

What's there

• The banded facade - alternating brick and stone with carved rosettes.
• Mircea the Elder's tomb - the founder's burial in the church.
• Fourteenth-century painting - original frescoes surviving in the nave.
• The Brâncovenesc porch - the later addition and the courtyard fountain.

When to go

Year-round. The Olt valley is attractive in autumn. Sunday services and feast days fill the church. Weekday mornings are the calmest, and the roadside parking is easier then.

What to expect

The main road runs a few metres from the walls and traffic noise is constant, which undercuts the atmosphere. The complex is small and an hour is enough. Photography inside is restricted and modest dress is required. The museum keeps irregular hours.

Nearby

Călimănești spa is minutes away; Cozia National Park trails climb from the valley.

Key facts