National Cathedral of Romania (Cathedral of the Salvation of the Romanian People)

The National Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of the Salvation of the Romanian People, is the largest and tallest Orthodox church in the world, standing on Arsenal Hill at Calea 13 Septembrie 4-60, near the Palace of the Parliament. The foundation stone was laid in 2007, actual construction began in late 2010, and the altar was consecrated on 25 November 2018 by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and Patriarch Daniel of Romania. The full consecration, marking 100 years since the founding of the Romanian Patriarchate, took place on 26 October 2025. The building is 126 metres long, 67.7 metres wide, and 120 metres tall (127 metres including the 7-tonne cross on the main Pantocrator tower). The interior holds around 5,000-6,000 worshippers, with room for tens of thousands more on the outer esplanade. The architectural style is neo-Byzantine, blending traditional Romanian elements such as Moldavian blind niches and towers inspired by Transylvanian church architecture. The reinforced-concrete structure was engineered to withstand earthquakes above 8 on the Richter scale. The interior is covered in Murano-glass mosaics spanning about 25,000 square metres — the largest such ensemble in the world — including the largest Orthodox iconostasis (23.8 m long, 17.1 m tall) and the largest mosaic icon anywhere, depicting Christ Pantocrator. The cathedral also holds one of the largest active bells in any Orthodox church, weighing over 25 tonnes. Pope Francis visited the cathedral in May 2019, a historic moment for Orthodox-Catholic dialogue. Worth visiting for its monumental scale and its role as a spiritual and national symbol of contemporary Romania.