Sinaia Monastery

Sinaia Monastery is an Orthodox monastic complex located in the city of Sinaia, Prahova County, in the heart of the Valea Prahovei, near Peleș Castle. Founded between 1690 and 1695 by the great spătar Mihail Cantacuzino, it is the first structure built on this territory and is closely bound up with the very origins of the city of Sinaia, which took its name from the monastery. The name was given by its founder "in the likeness of the great Sinai" — the Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai, which Cantacuzino had visited on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land together with his mother and sister. The complex comprises two enclosures and two churches. The "old church" (or small church), dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God, dates from 1695 and is built in the Brâncovenesc style characteristic of the period, featuring a Latin cross plan unique in the country; its porch and pronaos preserve paintings by the celebrated painter Pârvu Mutu. The chapel of the Transfiguration dates from the same period. Originally conceived as a true fortress, with thick, high walls, the monastery also served a defensive role along the trade route linking Bucharest to Brașov. The "new" section, built between 1842 and 1846 and later extended, includes the Great Church, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, which in its current form dates from the period 1897–1903. The consecration of 1695 took place in the presence of voivode Constantin Brâncoveanu — the founder's nephew — and the Metropolitan of Wallachia. Over the years, the monastery has been closely connected to the royal family of Romania: it houses a votive painting depicting King Carol I and Queen Elisabeta, and the monastery was the first church to be electrified in Romania, through the king's initiative. Known as the "Cathedral of the Carpathians", it remains one of the most significant and most visited religious monuments in the Valea Prahovei.