The South Cemetery Church () is a

Romanian Orthodox The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; , ), or Romanian Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates in the Eastern Orthodox Church. S ...

church located at 17 Vâlcele Street in

Focșani Focșani (; ) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. , it has a population of 66,719. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curvature Carpathians, at a point of ...

, Romania. It is dedicated to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. Located inside the city's South Cemetery, tradition holds that the church ''

ktetor ''Ktetor'' () or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ; ), meaning 'founder', is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox church or monastery, for the addition of icons ...

'' was

Vlad the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ) or Vlad Dracula (; ; 1428/31 – 1476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most important rulers in Wallachian hi ...

, grateful for defeating the Ottoman Army in the area. This notion was based on two inscriptions, one of which was carved into the stone above the entrance. Both inscriptions were destroyed by careless workers during an 1887 renovation. The initial structure, made of wood, also had

Basarab Țepeluș cel Tânăr Basarab IV cel Tânăr ("the Young"), also known as Țepeluș ("the little Impaler"), (before 1444 ? – 23 March 1482) son of Basarab II, and grandson of Dan II (1422-1431) was 4 times the voivode of the principality of Wallachia between 1474 an ...

and

Vlad Călugărul Vlad IV Călugărul ("Vlad IV the Monk"; prior to 1425 – September 1495) was the Prince of Wallachia in 1481 and then from 1482 to 1495. Context of his reign His father Vlad Dracul had previously held the throne, as had his brothers Mircea II ...

as ''ktetor''s. A marble tablet indicates that

Constantine Mavrocordatos Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek language, Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian language, Romanian: ''Constantin Mavrocordat''; February 27, 1711November 23, 1769) was a Greeks, Greek noble who served as List of rul ...

rebuilt the church in stone in 1742. The ruined structure was again restored in 1852, by two ''boyar'' families.Description
at the Focșani tourist office site The church is cross-shaped, with porch,

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

, nave and altar, and a tower atop the porch. The tower is accessed through a spiral staircase attached to the narthex. The interior ceiling features semi-spherical vaults. The initially open porch has arches resting on large masonry pillars. The church is listed as a

historic monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

by Romania's Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010: Județul Vrancea

Notes

{{coord, 45.69346, 27.16629, format=dms, type:landmark_region:RO, display=title Religious buildings and structures in Focșani Historic monuments in Vrancea County Romanian Orthodox churches in Vrancea County Churches completed in 1742