Tismana Monastery

Tismana was founded in the second half of the fourteenth century by Nicodim of Tismana, the monk who effectively organised Wallachian monastic life, and it is generally counted the oldest surviving monastery in the region. It stands on a rock terrace where a stream falls out of the hillside, so the church sits above a waterfall with cliffs behind it, an unusually theatrical position for a Wallachian foundation. The church has been rebuilt and repainted repeatedly and its exterior painting is nineteenth century, but the plan and the setting are original. The complex is fortified with high walls and a gate tower, as monasteries in exposed positions had to be, and the courtyard within is planted and quiet. Caves in the cliffs above were used by hermits and by Nicodim himself, and paths lead up to them. During the twentieth century the monastery was used to hide part of the national treasury, a story recounted on site.

What you actually see

• The clifftop position - the church on its terrace above the falling stream.
• Fortified walls and gate - the defensive enclosure around the courtyard.
• The painted church - exterior painting and an interior of icons and tombs.
• Hermit caves - openings in the cliffs above, reached by short paths.

When to go

April to October, when the approach and the paths above are pleasant; spring gives the strongest flow over the falls. Feast days bring large pilgrim crowds. Winter is quiet but the road can be icy.

Honest expectations

It is a working monastery and visitors are expected to be quiet and modestly dressed; photography inside is not permitted. The interior painting is later work rather than medieval, which surprises visitors who come for the founding date. The village outside has grown a strip of stalls. An hour or so covers the visit.

Nearby

Târgu Jiu with the Brâncuși works is east; Polovragi and the Oltăț gorge lie further along the foothills.