The Princely Church of Saint Nicholas in
Curtea de Argeș
Curtea de Argeș () is a municipiu, city in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass ...
was founded by
Basarab I
Basarab I (), also known as Basarab the Founder (; – 1351/1352), was a ''voivode'' and later the first independent ruler of Wallachia who lived in the first half of the . Many details of his life are uncertain. According to two popular theo ...
(1310 - 1352), completed in 1352, in the perimeter of the 13th century voievodal court. The church, a complex inscribed Greek cross monument, is one of the most representative monuments of medieval
Romanian architecture
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
**Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditional ...
, being the oldest voivode funded religious monument in
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
. The interior murals are from 1364 - 1369. The church is included on the new list of Romanian historical monuments: AG-II-m-A-13647.01 and in the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
Indicative List.
History
The construction of the church began under the reign of
Basarab I
Basarab I (), also known as Basarab the Founder (; – 1351/1352), was a ''voivode'' and later the first independent ruler of Wallachia who lived in the first half of the . Many details of his life are uncertain. According to two popular theo ...
, with it being continued by
Nicolae Alexandru (1352 - 1364) and finished once with the mural painting, mostly preserved until today, under the reign of
Vladislav I of Wallachia
Vladislav I of the Basarab dynasty, also known as Vlaicu or Vlaicu-Vodă, was the Voivode of Wallachia between 1364 and 1377. He was the son of Nicholas Alexander of Wallachia and Clara Dobokai.
In February 1369, Vladislav I subdued Vidin an ...
(1364 - 1377).
[In Romanian: https://www.crestinortodox.ro/biserici-manastiri/biserica-domneasca-sfantul-nicolae-curtea-arges-123583.html]
Architecture
The architecture of the church is of the
Byzantine type, the plan of the church belonging to the
Cross-in-square
A cross-in-square or crossed-dome floor plan was the dominant form of church architecture in the middle and late Byzantine Empire. It featured a square centre with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome.
Architecture
Archite ...
type, ending with three apses to the east. The carved stone frames of the windows date back to the 17th century when the church was renovated. This church founded by the
Basarabs in
Curtea de Argeș
Curtea de Argeș () is a municipiu, city in Romania on the left bank of the river Argeș (river), Argeș, where it flows through a valley of the Southern Carpathians (the Făgăraș Mountains), on the railway from Pitești to the Turnu Roșu Pass ...
is large: the rectangle in which the outer contour of its plan is inscribed is 14.55x23.50 m, and the height, measured at the top of the roof of the tower, reaches 23.00 m. The inner volume, well balanced, comprises three distinct rooms: a narrow narthex (2.80 m), a spacious nave (11.80 x 12.40 m) and the altar consisting of a large, central apse, framed by two apses. The nave, the main and most characteristic room of the church, has four pillars in the middle, arranged in a square shape. Through them, the interior is divided into three long compartments, three naves: one medium, wide, and two lateral, narrower, each extended to the east with an apse.
References
{{reflist
Gallery
Image:Flickr - fusion-of-horizons - Curtea de Argeș (8).jpg
Image:Flickr - fusion-of-horizons - Curtea de Argeș (7).jpg
Image:Flickr - fusion-of-horizons - Curtea de Argeș (16).jpg
Image:Flickr - fusion-of-horizons - Curtea de Argeș (9).jpg
Image:Interior 1 of Princely Church.jpg
Image:Interior 2 of Princely Church.jpg
Image:Biserica Domneasca Arges.jpg
Image:Biserica Domneasca, Curtea de Arges.jpg
Image:Flickr - fusion-of-horizons - Curtea de Argeș (14).jpg
Image:L'Eglise princiere de la ville d'Argech.jpg
External links
Biserica DomneascăMonumentele istorice din Romania
14th-century establishments in Romania
Christian monasteries established in the 1360s
1369 establishments in Europe
Romanian Orthodox churches in Romania
Historic monuments in Argeș County
Curtea de Argeș