Nicula Monastery

Nicula's reputation rests on two things. The first is an icon of the Virgin that was reported to have wept in 1699, an event recorded at the time and investigated by the authorities, which turned the monastery into a pilgrimage destination and still draws very large crowds to the August feast of the Assumption. The second is glass icon painting: the craft took root here in the eighteenth century and spread across Transylvania, producing the distinctive reverse-painted icons on glass with their flat colours and folk drawing, and the monastery holds a collection and keeps a workshop. The site itself is modest, a wooden church, a larger modern church and monastic buildings on a low hill among fields, and outside the great pilgrimage days it is quiet. The old wooden church burned in 1973 and was replaced with another brought from elsewhere in the region.

History

Tradition places the founding in the 14th century, but the first record dates from 1552, and a mention of 1659 notes the monastery stood empty. Its icon, painted in 1681 by Luca of Iclod, was reported by Austrian officers to have shed tears between 15 February and 12 March 1699; Pope Clement XIII granted indulgences to its pilgrims in 1767, and the stone church was built beside the wooden one in 1875-1879 (Wikipedia, Nicula Monastery).

What's there

• The glass icon collection - reverse-painted icons in the monastery museum.
• The pilgrimage church - the modern church built for the great feast crowds.
• The wooden church - a relocated timber church standing in the complex.
• The hill setting - fields and villages of the Someș country around.

When to go

April to October. The Assumption pilgrimage in mid-August brings enormous crowds and is a genuine spectacle, but it is not the time for a quiet look at the icons. Weekdays outside the feast season are almost empty.

Practical notes

Outside pilgrimage days there is not much to occupy more than an hour, and the buildings are mostly modern. The museum keeps irregular hours and may need someone found to open it. The village has no facilities. During the August feast, roads and parking around Nicula are overwhelmed.

Nearby

Gherla town is close; Cluj-Napoca is under an hour southwest.

Key facts