Sinaia Monastery
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The Sinaia Monastery, founded by Prince Mihai Cantacuzino in 1695 and named after the great Sinai Monastery on Mount Sinai, in the Sinai Peninsula. It was the residence of the royal family until the present castle was built, and is now inhabited by 20 Christian Orthodox monks.
The monastery consists of two courtyards surrounded by low buildings. In the centre of each courtyard there is a small church built in the Byzantine style. One of them - "Biserica Veche" (The Old Church) - dates from 1695, while the more recent "Biserica Mare" (The Great Church) was built in 1846.
The monks possess a library that constitutes a repository for valuable jewels belonging to the Cantacuzino family, as well as the earliest Romanian translation of the Bible, dated 1668.
Until 1850, Sinaia consisted of little more than the monastery and a group of huts. In 1864, however, the monastic estate was assigned to the Board of Civil Hospitals, which opened a hospital and several baths, and helped develop mineral springs in Sinaia.
[Painted Church Interior:[link]]
[Church Paintings:[link]]
References
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